The tribology between monocrystalline diamond and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride during frictional contact

The abrasive machining of superhard cutting tool materials such as polycrystalline cubic boron nitride is often conducted by grinding using diamond grinding wheels. Due to the high grinding wheel wear and the low material removal rates during grinding of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride, the manufacturing of this superhard material causes high production costs. The investigation of the tribology between diamond and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride enables to identify the cause-effect-relationships in the contact zone of the grinding wheel and the workpiece and thus to increase the process efficiency due to a knowledge-based process design. Hence, this paper presents an approach for the measurement of tribological process state variables and an empirical-analytical model to describe the tribological behavior during frictional contact of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride and diamond in cutting processes. The empirical-analytical model enables to calculate tribological process state variables such as the temperature of contact depending on the process input variables and the material properties of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride.