This is where superabrasive technology is a game-changer. Superabrasives last much longer than regular abrasives when they come into contact with powerful, abrasive materials. This lets foundries cut cycle times by a lot while getting better surface finishes. For decades, we've been designing custom superabrasive solutions at Abrasive Technology to meet the specific needs of foundries in casting applications. This has helped manufacturers deal with the material problems that have long troubled the industry.
Foundries today use a wider range of materials than ever before, which puts more strain on grinding tools. High-chromium white iron castings are very hard and are often used in the mining and cement industries because they don't wear out easily. These castings create extreme hardness gradients, causing regular grinding wheels to load and glaze. Nickel-based superalloys are used to make investment castings that are hard to remove and very hot when ground. To remove material quickly and keep their shape, tools are needed for ductile iron castings with through-hardened surfaces.
Each of these materials has its problems that come up during finishing operations. The differences in hardness on as-cast surfaces cause uneven grinding forces, which result in chatter, a bad surface finish, and wrong dimensions. Grinding generates heat that can change the properties of the material in the workpiece, causing metallurgical damage that weakens the integrity of the component. Aluminum oxide or silicon carbide wheels wear out quickly on these materials, which means they need to be dressed and replaced often. This slows down production and raises the cost of consumables.