Laser Dressing of Alumina Grinding Wheels

High-power lasers are being explored as a non-contact-type dressing tool for alumina grinding wheels. The alumina grinding wheel surface underwent melting and/or vaporization on the surface when laser-dressed, forming a modified layer on the surface. Refinement of the grain size took place. The individual particles that formed on the surface had well-defined faceted structures. Microcutting edges were generated on the individual grains and particles, which can act as cutting edges for efficient grinding. The results of x-ray diffraction and pole figure analysis suggested that the formation of these faceted structures was due to the preferential orientation of the grains after dressing.