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1959
Expanding the Product Line
Setting
New Standards in Diamond Grinding Applications
RVG*
Diamond
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| RVG
Diamond |
Manufactured
diamond continued to expand as a product line. Within
the first 10 years of production, operations and engineering
developments were refined, and from this, three families
of diamond were created for specific applications using
resin, metal, electroplated or vitrified bond grinding
wheels. The first of these families was RVG diamond,
which, when introduced in 1959, replaced the Type A
product. This new diamond, which is designed for use
in resinoid and vitrified grinding, featured an improved
design for grinding tungsten carbide tools versus the
original products.
RVG diamond has an elongated, irregularly shaped crystal
with rough edges to assure a firm hold in either a resinoid
or vitrified bond wheel. This diamond also has the unique
capability to break down in a controlled manner, characterized
by friability, due to its composition of thousands of
tightly bonded crystals, known as multi-crystallinity.
When mined diamonds break, they dull and fail to grind
over time. However, its friability allows the manufactured
diamond to microchip, an effect to self-sharpen itself
by continually producing fresh cutting points on each
crystal. To the grinding industry, this means more cost
savings by longer production periods with less down
time due to wheel change-overs.
First Introduction of Diamond Coatings
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| MBG
600 Ni56 Diamond |
An entire
group of grinding products was eventually produced.
Nickel-coated crystal and copper-coated crystal products
entered the market in 1966. These coatings solved an
earlier problem of crystals being pulled out of the
resin bond due to high temperatures at the bond-crystal
interface. Nickel-coated products are used primarily
for wet grinding of cemented tungsten carbide. Copper-coated
products, which improve the thermal conductivity of
the wheel, were developed for dry grinding of carbide-steel
composites. The RVG diamond family of manufactured diamonds
remains an important product line today.
1961
Single-Crystal Diamonds Revolutionize the Stone and
Concrete Industry
The second
family of diamonds was made possible in 1961, when GE
began to synthesize large single crystal diamonds up
to 1/200th of a carat in size. This breakthrough made
it possible to offer even more specialized opportunities
for grinding, drilling and sawing with two new products:
the first, MBG* diamond metal bond grinding products
and the second, MBS diamond metal bond saw diamonds.
Improved apparatus design and process control made the
manufacture of these products feasible.
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MBG
Diamond Products
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| MBG
660 Diamond |
In
the MBG diamond product, each crystal has a distinctive
blocky shape and surface texture to give it the
required strength and retention for use in industrial
applications, such as grinding cemented carbides,
sapphires, ceramic materials and glass; the slicing
and dicing of germanium and electrolytic grinding.
The specialized needs of electroplated tools were
first met by diamond treated for platability.
Other diamond products which feature increasingly
strong, angular, single crystals, were added later
and completed the metal bond grinding product
line.
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MBS
Diamond Products
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| MBS
970 Diamond |
Metal
bond sawing requires a less friable, stronger
and larger crystal than either RVG diamond or
MBG diamond products. To meet these specifications
a single tough and uniform crystal is grown. Each
crystal approximates a cubo-octahedron, a morphology
between a cube and an octahedron, with smooth
and regular surfaces for the greatest resistance
to fracturing. MBS diamond products are used in
metal bond saw blades to cut cured concrete, tile,
marble, granite, other stone, cement block, brick
and a variety of masonry and refractory materials.
MBS diamond is also effectively used in rotary
dressers and in drill bits for exploration and
production mining.
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