Bulk metallic glass bonded grinding tools – Manufacturing and operational behaviour

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Berend Denkena
• Subject Area: Metal-Cutting and Abrasive Manufacturing Engineering
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549320959

Abrasive bondings made of metallic glasses enable the production of abrasive tools for high-performance grinding with an increase in performance limits by combining the advantages of ceramic and metallic bondings. These result from an improved self-sharpening behaviour compared to metallic bonds with a higher bond strength and thermal conductivity compared to ceramic bonds. To achieve this, the properties of the novel bond and its effects on the grinding process must be known. The aim of the research project is therefore to create knowledge about the relationships between the manufacturing process, the properties of the bond and the application behaviour of grinding wheels with a bond made of metallic glass for grinding. This objective requires the consideration of the entire process chain from the selection of the alloy to the operational behaviour of the tool. To achieve this, it is necessary to achieve specific sub-goals, into which the research project is structurally divided. At the beginning of the project, it is not known which alloy of metallic glasses is suitable for use as a bond in abrasive layers. This results in knowledge about the bonding properties depending on the composition of metallic glasses with regard to abrasive layers for the first sub-objective. It is also not known how the manufacturing process should be designed depending on the respective alloy composition. The second sub-goal is therefore to gain knowledge about the influence of the sintering process on the properties of metallic glasses. Furthermore, there is no knowledge available about the operational behaviour of grinding wheels with bonds made of metallic glasses. Therefore, the third sub-objective is to understand the application behaviour of the grinding wheels as a function of the coating properties. The fourth sub-goal is the availability of an empirical model that describes the relationship between the abrasive bond properties of the metallic glasses, the preparation for operation and the operational behaviour and can thus be used for the design of grinding tools on the basis of the metallic glasses.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants