Superabrasives Metal Stamping

Metal Stamping for the Superabrasives Industry

When you work with superabrasives, you need durable, high-performance parts to turn unfinished materials into useful tools. At Standard Die International, our team of specialists has mastered precision metal stamping for the superabrasives industry. They have the specific knowledge and skills necessary to deliver the exceptional results that you will not get anywhere else.

We are an ISO-1900 certified company with more than 50 years of experience in metal stamping, designing, tooling and engineering, and we provide the highest level of care with attention to the finest details.

What Are Superabrasives?

Superabrasives are extraordinarily hard materials used in precision grinding. They are attached to a grinding wheel used to shape materials that are too hard or too delicate for conventional abrasives. The superior strength of superabrasives makes them ideal for use in a wide range of industries, including oil, electronics, aerospace, automotive and medical.

The superabrasives material family includes industrial diamonds, cubic boron nitride (CBN), synthetic diamonds and nanodiamonds. Industrial diamonds, or non-gem-quality diamonds, are the hardest known material, with a Knoop hardness of approximately 7,000-8,000. The second hardest material is CBN, a synthetic grain with a Knoop hardness of 4,700. By comparison, grains used for conventional abrasives typically have a Knoop hardness in the 2,100 to 2,500 range.

Synthetic diamonds and nanodiamonds are also common superabrasives. Synthetic diamonds are made from a hydrocarbon gas mixture, while nanodiamonds are created through a controlled explosion process.

The superior strength of superabrasives makes them ideal for use in a wide range of industries, including:

• Oil and gas: Precision and durability are vital for products used in the oil and gas industry, including drill bits, gage blocks and wear parts. Superabrasives containing carbide and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) are common in this industry, particularly for drill bits. Drill bits made to gage are ideal for various grinding applications in oil and gas, including chamfer, centerless, form and surface grinding.
• Electronics: Superabrasives are the most popular grinding tools for manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCBs) worldwide. Superabrasives offer uniform diamond counts, consistent slicing performance and even distribution without clustering. As more PCB manufacturing companies choose superabrasives for applications involving grinding, the global market expects significant growth.
• Aerospace: Aircraft manufacturers depend on precision plated form mandrels and wheels when fabricating turbine blades and other engine parts. Superabrasives are especially valuable when working with materials like composites, graphite and Kevlar, titanium and reinforced plastics commonly found in aircraft.
• Automotive: The increased requirements for wear-resistant materials in the automotive industry and the need for high-performance finishing processes require abrasives with exceptional durability. Grinding tools are critical for machining and finishing parts like engine, transmission and chassis components. Superabrasives deliver the high quality and productivity automakers need to keep pace in a competitive industry.
• Medical: Tool manufacturing in the medical and dental industries involves strict tolerances and precision grinding applications. These industries depend on high-quality tooling for applications like bone sawing, intravascular procedures and more. Specific uses for superabrasives include dental instruments, surgical equipment and prostheses.

What Are the Benefits of Superabrasives?

Superabrasives offer unparalleled performance and longevity. They provide many benefits, such as:

• Enhanced thermal stability.
• Decreased wheel wear.
• Fast speeds for shorter grinding cycles.
• Higher G-ratios (a measure of grinding efficiency calculated by volume of ground material/volume of wheel wear).
• Reduced costs for tooling and fixtures.

The Difference Between Superabrasives and Conventional Abrasives

The primary differences between superabrasives and conventional abrasives lie in their respective grains. Conventional abrasives typically consist of natural grains blended with other composite elements to achieve their specific properties. Superabrasives often use significantly harder materials like synthetic diamonds or CBN to produce higher hardness levels.

Superabrasives are significantly more durable than regular abrasives, which are made with softer grains. Their enhanced durability means they do not wear out as quickly as standard abrasive products, so superabrasives will not have to be replaced as frequently. By improving production efficiency, superabrasives help you achieve more consistent and reliable results.

While using conventional abrasives can sometimes require multiple stages or processes, superabrasives can often benefit advanced applications by eliminating several of those steps to grind and polish a block of material in a single phase.

As manufacturers continue to face increased demands for production, accuracy and durability, more are turning to superabrasives, much like fabricators in the electronics industry. The growing need for wear-resistant materials and finishing processes that can handle them requires more durable abrasives. Because ceramic coatings are growing in popularity for their enhanced wear resistance in various applications, more companies are choosing superabrasives for higher production speeds and less frequent blade changes.

New demands for stress-free grinding capabilities require cutting abrasives that stay sharp longer to decrease the amount of grinding energy required.

Precision Metal Stamping for Superabrasives From Standard Die International

At Standard Die International, we work closely with you to create the perfect product to work with superabrasives. Our experienced design engineers translate your specifications into the high-quality, customized solutions that you are looking for. We use all the latest technologies and advanced engineering methods for expert crafting and manufacturing.

We have also honed our processes to create more parts better, faster and for less. We tackle high volume parts orders that require tight tolerances and deep draws with unbeatable precision and efficiency. And with our excellent quality management system, you can rest assured that your parts will arrive free of errors.

You can also count on Standard Die International for outstanding customer service. We walk you through every step of the process to ensure you are getting exactly what you need, and we go the extra mile to deliver parts that are entirely your own.

Contact us today to request your free quote.