Double face grinding of carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide composite

High performance ceramics are already being produced for rolling and sliding bearings, brake disks and medical implants. Due to their high hardness and wear resistance, these materials only can be machined using abrasive tools with diamond grains. Requirements such as high quality of components and low production costs complicate the development, selection and optimization of finishing processes for the machining of advanced ceramics. Carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide composite (C/SiC) has the potential to be used in high performance brake applications because of its low density and superior friction performances at increased temperatures. This article gives an overview of an innovative grinding concept, the double face grinding with planetary kinematics, for an efficient machining of C/SiC components. Using high speed double face grinding with planetary kinematics in C/SiC machining, the material removal rate can be increased and the contact forces can be reduced. As a result of increased cutting speeds, the chip formation mechanisms can be changed and the thermal damage of the machined workpiece can be reduced.