US20090094903A1

US20090094903A1 - Profiling tool using ultra-hard sintered body and elastic material, and method of producing the same

Info

Publication number: US20090094903A1
Application number: US11/871,344
Authority: US
Inventors: Son Jong Choul; Lee Ki Young; Lee Jin Woo; Lee Jin Se
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-10-12
Filing date: 2007-10-12
Publication date: 2009-04-16

Abstract

A profiling tool using an ultra-hard sintered body and an elastic material, and a method of producing the tool is provided. The profiling tool, used for grinding brittle workpieces, is produced by embedding ultra-hard sintered bodies in an elastic material such that the sintered bodies form a specific pattern, thus improving the grinding performance and lengthening the life span of the tool. The profiling tool includes a rotary metal body and a grinding part provided on the outer surface of the metal body. The grinding part is produced by embedding the ultra-hard sintered bodies in the elastic material such that the sintered bodies form a predetermined unit pattern and maintain a predetermined angle relative to the rotating direction of the tool. The metal body has both a shaft hole and a plurality of water outlet holes passing through the metal body outwards in radial directions from the shaft hole.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a profiling tool (also called a “Profile Router Bit” in the art) using both an ultra-hard sintered body and an elastic material and a method of producing the tool and, more particularly, to a profiling tool using both an ultra-hard sintered body and an elastic material, which is a tool used for grinding brittle workpieces, such as stone, and is produced by embedding ultra-hard sintered bodies, such as diamond sintered bodies, in an elastic material, such as rubber or urethane, such that the sintered bodies form a specific pattern in the elastic body, thus preventing poor quality in a ground workpiece, such as lines remaining on the workpiece or partial insufficient brilliance of the workpiece, induced during a grinding process due to partial abrasion of specified parts of the grinding layer of the tool, thereby improving the grinding performance of the tool and lengthening the life span of the tool, and to a method of producing the tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, diamond is known as the material having the highest hardness of all known materials on the earth. Due to this hardness characteristic, diamond has been preferably used in cutting tools, grinding tools and abrasion resistant tools. Particularly, diamond has been preferably used in the stone cutting industry, in which stone, such as granite or marble, is cut and ground or in a construction industry, in which concrete structures are cut and ground.
The prior art grinding tool using diamond typically comprises a metal body, on which diamond particles are arranged and in which water outlet holes are provided. Here, the water outlet holes are nozzles, through which cooling water is discharged from the metal body to reduce frictional heat generated during a grinding process in which the diamond grinding tool grinds a workpiece.
This prior art diamond grinding tool will be described in detail hereinbelow.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating the shape of a first example of a diamond grinding tool according to the prior art. FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the diamond grinding tool taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 1A.
FIG. 2A is a perspective view illustrating the shape of a second example of the diamond grinding tool according to the prior art. FIG. 2B is a sectional view of the diamond grinding tool taken along line B-B′ of FIG. 2A.
As shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the prior art diamond grinding tool 100 is constructed such that a metal body 110 is rotated by a shaft 120 fitted into a shaft hole 112 of the metal body 110. During the rotation of the metal body 110, diamond particles arranged in a grinding layer 130 of the metal body 110 grind a workpiece. To reduce the frictional heat generated in the junction between the metal body 110 and the workpiece during the grinding process, cooling water from the shaft 120 is discharged to the junction through the water outlet holes 140.
Here, the grinding layer 130 is formed along the circumferential outer surface of the metal body 110 of the diamond grinding tool 100. The grinding layer 130 is produced by evenly mixing diamond particles in a metal or resin binder. For example, when the grinding layer 130 is the layer of a grinding tool used in a former process comprising shaping and rough cutting, in which a workpiece is shaped through cutting and is, thereafter, subjected to rough cutting, a metal is used as a binder for binding the diamond particles in the grinding layer. However, when the grinding layer is the layer of a grinding tool used in a later process, in which surface polishing is executed to give smoothness and luster to the surface of the workpiece, resin or ceramic is used as a binder for binding the diamond particles in the grinding layer.
However, the prior art diamond grinding tool 100 is problematic in that, during the later grinding process, the grinding layer 130 may be unevenly abraded on parts thereof due to prominences and depressions remaining on the surface of the roughly ground workpiece, diamond segregation on the grinding layer 130 and heterogeneity of the structure of the workpiece, thus becoming deformed.
Further, on the circumferential surface of the diamond grinding tool 100 that is in contact with the workpiece, there is an area in which the rotating direction of the diamond grinding tool 100 coincides with the cutting direction. As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the unevenly abraded part 310 on the grinding layer 130, which is tangent to the axis 300 parallel to the axis of the shaft 120, is the area where the rotating direction of the tool 100 coincides with the cutting direction. The unevenly abraded part 310 of the diamond grinding tool 100 leaves lines on the workpiece or results in partial insufficient brilliance of the workpiece.
Further, another example of the prior art grinding tool having the following construction has been proposed and used.
FIG. 4A is a side view of the prior art grinding tool. FIG. 4B is a sectional view of the prior art grinding tool.
As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the prior art grinding tool 400 is configured such that a tape 410 is attached to the outer circumferential surface of a metal body 110, in which the gaps between the metal body 110 and the tape 410 are filled with rubber 420. Here, to produce the tape 410, a paste produced through mixing an ultra-hard material with a binder, such as resin or ceramic, is printed on a thin sheet made of metal or synthetic resin such that the printed paste forms a predetermined pattern and the printed paste is, thereafter, solidified at room temperature or at a high temperature.
The prior art grinding tool 400 can execute a desired grinding function during the beginning period of its use. However, the part of the grinding tool 400 on which the rotating direction of the grinding tool 400 coincides with the cutting direction is unevenly abraded in the same manner as that described for the prior art diamond grinding tool 100. The unevenly abraded part of the grinding tool 400 results in poor quality of the ground workpiece. Further, the grinding layer 130 of the prior art grinding tool 400 does not have sufficient thickness due to the thin coated layer, so that the grinding tool 400 has a short expected life span and is required to be frequently changed with a new one while grinding workpieces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and provides a profiling tool using both an ultra-hard sintered body and an elastic material and a method of producing the tool, in which a plurality of segmented diamond sintered bodies are regularly distributed on a grinding part such that they form a specific unit pattern and are oriented at different angles relative to the rotating direction or the cutting direction of the tool, and the sintered diamond segments in the elastic material are elastically moved in directions different from the rotating direction of the tool due to frictional force while grinding a workpiece, thus preventing uneven abrasion of the tool.
Further, the present invention aims to provide a profiling tool using both an ultra-hard sintered body and an elastic material and a method of producing the tool, in which the diamond sintered bodies are embedded in the elastic material, such as rubber or urethane, so that the grinding surface of the tool can efficiently come into even contact with a workpiece due to the shock absorbing effect of the elastic material of the tool during a grinding process, thereby preventing excessive abrasion of parts of the workpiece and preventing noncontact parts from remaining on the workpiece.
Further, the present invention provides a profiling tool using both an ultra-hard sintered body and an elastic material and a method of producing the tool, in which a grinding part is designed to have a predetermined thickness, so that the expected life span of the tool can be lengthened and the inconvenience to a user, attributable to frequent change of the profiling tool with a new one, can be removed.
In order to achieve the above features, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a profiling tool used for grinding a brittle workpiece and made using both an ultra-hard sintered body and an elastic material, the profiling tool comprising: a metal body, which is a rotary body configured to have a symmetric shape based on the rotating axis thereof; and a grinding part provided on the outer surface of the metal body and used for grinding the workpiece, the grinding part comprising a plurality of ultra-hard sintered bodies embedded in an elastic material such that the ultra-hard sintered bodies form predetermined unit patterns and maintain a predetermined angle relative to the rotating direction of the profiling tool.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing a profiling tool used for grinding a brittle workpiece, comprising: producing a metal body and a plurality of ultra-hard sintered bodies; arranging the ultra-hard sintered bodies on the inner surface of an opened molding flask; locating the metal body in the opened molding flask and closing the molding flask such that the metal body is placed in the closed molding flask; injecting an elastic material into the closed molding flask and heating and pressurizing the molding flask, thus producing a grinding part; and forming a plurality of water outlet holes such that the water outlet holes pass through both the grinding part and the metal body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating the shape of a first example of a diamond grinding tool according to the prior art;

FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the diamond grinding tool taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view illustrating the shape of a second example of the diamond grinding tool according to the prior art;

FIG. 2B is a sectional view of the diamond grinding tool taken along line B-B′ of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a view illustrating the unevenly abraded part formed in the first example of the diamond grinding tool according to the prior art;

FIG. 3B is a view illustrating the unevenly abraded part formed in the second example of the diamond grinding tool according to the prior art;

FIG. 4A is a side view of another prior art grinding tool;

FIG. 4B is a sectional view of the prior art grinding tool of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a profiling tool according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a sectional view of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along line C-C′ of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a view illustrating a first example of an arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on a grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a view illustrating a second example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6C is a view illustrating a third example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6D is a view illustrating a fourth example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6E is a view illustrating a fifth example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6F is a view illustrating a sixth example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6G is a view illustrating a seventh example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating examples of a diamond sintered body used in the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method of producing a profiling tool according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a molding flask used for forming a grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a profiling tool according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a sectional view of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along line C-C′ of FIG. 5A.
As shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the profiling tool 500 according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises a metal body 110 and a grinding part 510, which is provided on the outer surface of the metal body 110 to form a predetermined unit pattern and is produced by integrating a plurality of diamond sintered bodies 520 having a predetermined size with an elastic material 530.
The profiling tool 500 is a tool that is used for grinding a curved surface of a brittle workpiece or shaping the workpiece so as to form the workpiece into a predetermined shape. The profiling tool 500 according to the present invention is characterized in that the outer surface thereof has a concave or convex shape. Thus, the profiling tool 500 can grind a curved surface of a workpiece or can shape the workpiece to form a desired shape using the concave or convex grinding surface. However, in the present invention, it should be understood that the shape of the outer surface of the profiting tool 500 is not limited to the concave or convex surface.
The profiling tool 500 is provided on part of the outer surface thereof with the grinding part 510, which is formed by integrating a plurality of diamond sintered bodies 520 with the elastic material 530. Here, the present invention is characterized in that the diamond sintered bodies 520 are patterned in specific units. Due to the specific unit pattern, the profiling tool 500 has improved grinding performance, increases productivity, and removes problems experienced with the prior art grinding tools due to uneven abrasion. Here, the diamond sintered bodies 520 are materials produced through integrating diamond particles with metal or resin, and execute the function of grinding workpieces. The diamond sintered bodies 520 will be described in detail later herein.
The metal body 110 is a rotary body, which is rotated by a shaft 120 fitted into a shaft hole 112 passing completely from one surface to the other surface of the metal body 110 and grinds the workpieces. The curved outer circumferential surface of the metal body 110 is preferably configured as a bull nose shape having a semicircular cross-section or as an ogee shape having an S-shaped cross-section. However, it should be understood that the shape of the outer circumferential surface of the metal body 110 is not limited to the bull nose shape or to the ogee shape. Further, the metal body 110 may be produced using a core. However, the technique of producing the metal body 110 is not limited to the use of the core.
The grinding part 510 is an important part, which grinds a workpiece and is attached to the curved circumferential outer surface of the metal body 110 such that it has a predetermined thickness. The grinding part 510 is formed by embedding the plurality of segmented diamond sintered bodies 520 in the surface of the grinding part such that the diamond sintered bodies 520 are patterned in specific units. In the embodiment of the present invention, the diamond sintered bodies 520 are characterized in that they are patterned in block units, as will be described in detail hereinbelow.
FIG. 6A is a view illustrating a first example of an arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on a grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6B is a view illustrating a second example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6C is a view illustrating a third example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6D is a view illustrating a fourth example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6E is a view illustrating a fifth example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6F is a view illustrating a sixth example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6G is a view illustrating a seventh example of the arrangement of diamond sintered bodies on the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention.
***As shown in FIG. 6A, the one or more diamond sintered bodies 520, which is distributed on the grinding part 510, are characterized in that they are embedded in the elastic material 530. Here, the elastic material 530 is an elastic layer formed of rubber or urethane and constitutes the grinding part 510 in cooperation with the diamond sintered bodies 520, and is attached to the outer surface of the metal body 110.
The diamond sintered bodies 520 include diamond particles, which are bound using a binder, such as metal or resin. Here, the metal is used as the binder for binding the diamond particles in the diamond sintered body 520 of a profiling tool 500 used in a former process, in which the workpiece is roughly ground. Meanwhile, the resin is used as the binder for binding the diamond particles in the diamond sintered body 520 of a profiling tool 500 used in a later process, in which surface polishing is executed to give luster to the surface of the workpiece.
However, in the present invention, it should be understood that the binder used in the process of producing the diamond sintered bodies 520 is not limited to the metal or to the resin. For example, ceramic or a vitrified material may be used as the binder.
To produce the diamond sintered bodies 520, a large-sized diamond sintered body may be produced through mixing diamond particles with metal or resin and, thereafter, the produced diamond sintered body 520 is divided into segments having a predetermined size. The segmented diamond sintered bodies are embedded in the surface of the grinding part 510 formed of the elastic material 530. Thus, the desired grinding part 510 of the present invention is produced. Alternatively, the segmented diamond sintered bodies in place of the large-sized diamond sintered body may be produced prior to embedding the segmented diamond sintered bodies in the grinding part 510 formed of the elastic material 530. Of course, the technique of producing the diamond sintered bodies 520 in the present invention is not limited to the above-described techniques.
For example, a base is primarily produced using metal or resin. Thereafter, the diamond particles are arranged on a surface of the base by plating or applying a diamond mixture paste produced by mixing diamond particles with metal, resin or ceramic on the surface of the base prior to executing the sintering. Thereafter, the base having the diamond particles is divided into segments having a predetermined size, thus producing diamond sintered bodies 520. Thereafter, the diamond sintered bodies 520 are embedded in the surface of the grinding part 510. As a further alternative, after a metal or resin is divided into segments having a predetermined size, diamond particles are distributed on the surface of the metal or resin segments, thus producing the diamond sintered bodies 520.
The diamond sintered bodies 520 are embedded in the grinding part 510 at regular intervals. Here, it is preferred that the diamond sintered bodies 520 be densely distributed on the grinding part 510 such that they can efficiently grind the workpiece regardless of the location of the contact point on the grinding part 510 at which the workpiece is in contact with the grinding part 510 during a grinding process. Further, the diamond sintered bodies 520 are preferably oriented at predetermined angles relative to the rotating direction or the cutting direction of the profiling tool 500. Due to the above-mentioned orientation of the diamond sintered bodies 520 on the grinding part 510, the diamond sintered bodies 520 during a grinding process can elastically move in directions different from the rotating direction of the profiling tool 500 by both the frictional force between the diamond sintered bodies 520 and the workpiece and the elasticity of the elastic material 530 as if the diamond sintered bodies 520 were moved in diffused reflection, thus preventing poor quality of the workpiece. Further, the diamond sintered bodies 520 may be arranged on the entire surface or on part of the surface of the grinding part 510.
In the present invention, each of the diamond sintered bodies 520 preferably has a cuboidal shape. However, the shape of each of the diamond sintered bodies 520 is not limited to the cuboidal shape. Described in detail, each of the diamond sintered bodies 520 may have another polyhedral shape, a curved figure shape or an oval figure shape, which can generate the frictional force according to the shape and arrangement of the diamond sintered bodies 520 during a grinding process, thus elastically moving the diamond sintered bodies 520 in directions different from the rotating direction of the profiling tool 300. Examples of the diamond sintered bodies 520 may be referred to FIG. 7.
Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the diamond sintered bodies 520 are embedded in the grinding part 510, so that the diamond sintered bodies 520 are preferably designed to have thickness less than that of the grinding part 510.
In the grinding part 510 having the regularly distributed diamond sintered bodies 520, the diamond sintered bodies 520 distributed within a predetermined area form a diamond sintered body block 600. In the embodiment of the present invention, diamond sintered body blocks 600 are repeatedly arranged in the grinding part 510. Thus, the grinding part 510 of the present invention, on which the patterned diamond sintered body blocks 600 are regularly distributed, effectively solves the problem experienced with the prior art grinding tool in which the diamond particles are irregularly distributed. In the present invention, the diamond sintered body blocks 600 regularly distributed on the grinding part 510 may have another pattern, as shown in FIG. 6B or FIG. 6C.
Further, in the present invention, it should be understood that the distribution pattern of the diamond sintered bodies 520 on the grinding part 510 is not limited to the block unit pattern. For example, the diamond sintered bodies 520 may be distributed on the grinding part 510 such that they form a vertical symmetric pattern, as shown in FIG. 6G. Further, the diamond sintered bodies 520 may be distributed on the grinding part 510 such that they form a horizontal symmetric pattern. Further, the diamond sintered bodies 520 may be distributed on the grinding part 510 such that they are continuously connected to each other from the first end to the second end of the grinding part 510, as shown in FIG. 6D through FIG. 6F. Of course, the diamond sintered bodies 520 of the present invention must be densely distributed on the grinding part 510 such that they can efficiently grind a workpiece regardless of the location of the contact point on the grinding part 510 at which the workpiece is in contact with the grinding part 510 during a grinding process.
Further, the diamond sintered bodies 520 may be distributed on the grinding part 510 in a row unit pattern, in which the diamond sintered bodies 520 having the same size or shape are regularly arranged in the same row. Further, the diamond sintered bodies 520 may be distributed on the grinding part 510 in a column unit pattern, in which the diamond sintered bodies 520 having the same size or shape are regularly arranged in the same column.
Further, in the present invention, the diamond sintered bodies 520 may be distributed on the grinding part 510 such that they partially overlap each other when the grinding part 510 is shown in a side view.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the grinding part 510 is produced by embedding the diamond sintered bodes 520 in the surface thereof. Here, the binder used for binding the diamond sintered bodies 520 in the grinding part 510 preferably uses an elastic material, such as rubber or urethane. Due to the elastic material, the grinding part 510 can come into close contact with a workpiece so that the diamond sintered bodies 520 can evenly grind the entire surface of the workpiece during a grinding process. Further, unlike the grinding layer 130 of the prior art metal body 110, the grinding part 510 using the elastic material can be prevented from breakage due to the shock absorbing effect of the elastic material.
However, it should be understood that the elastic material used in the process of producing the grinding part 510 of the present invention is not limited to rubber or to urethane. Further, the ultra-hard sintered bodies embedded in the grinding part 510 and used for grinding the workpiece are not limited to the diamond sintered bodies 520. In other words, any ultra-hard sintered body comprising a material having high hardness capable of grinding workpieces may be used instead of the diamond sintered body. For example, aluminum oxide based metal particles, such as ruby or sapphire, titanium carbide based metal particles produced through sintering of titanium and carbon or ultra-hard alloy based metal particles produced through sintering of tungsten and carbon may be used as the ultra-hard sintered body of the grinding part 510.
The profiling tool 500 according to the present invention is a tool that is used for grinding a workpiece having a specific surface, such as a curved surface, which is difficult to grind. Thus, to efficiently grind such a workpiece, the profiling tool 500 is configured such that both the metal body 110 and the grinding part 510 thereof have respective curved shapes. Particularly, because the diamond sintered bodies 520 are embedded in the curved surface of the grinding part 510 to form a specific unit pattern, it is difficult to produce the grinding part 510 through a conventional method of producing a profiling tool.
Thus, to solve the problem, the present invention is characterized in that the grinding part 510 is produced using a molding flask having a specific shape. The technique of producing the grinding part 510 of the present invention will be described later herein. In the present invention, the device used in the process of producing the grinding part 510 is not limited to the molding flask. For example, the grinding part 510 may be produced using a mold.
The method of producing the profiling tool 500 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinbelow.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the method of producing the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 8, at first, the metal body 110 used as a part of the profiling tool 500 according to the present invention is produced at step S800. The metal body 110 is preferably produced through a power metallurgy process. However, in the present invention, the technique of producing the metal body 110 is not limited to the power metallurgy process. For example, the metal body 110 may be produced through casting. Further, the metal body 110 may be produced through cutting.
After the metal body 110 is produced, the diamond sintered bodies 520 are produced by mixing diamond particles with metal or resin at S802. Here, if the diamond sintered bodies 520 having a predetermined size suitable for being distributed on the grinding part 510 are produced one by one, the process must be repeated several times and results in inconvenience to workers. Thus, it is preferred that a large-sized diamond sintered body be primarily produced and divided into segments suitable for being arranged on the grinding part 510. Of course, the sintered diamond segments of the present invention may be produced in commercial quantity using respective molds.
When the metal body 110 and the diamond sintered bodies 520 are completely produced, the grinding part 510 is produced using a molding flask specifically designed to produce the grinding part 510. Hereinbelow, the method of producing the profiling tool 500 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a molding flask used for forming the grinding part of the profiling tool according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 9, the molding flask 900 comprises a first body part 910 and a second body part 920. The first body part 910 and the second body part 920 of the molding flask 900 are characterized in that they have respective cavities, which are a first cavity 912 and a second cavity 922 configured to be engaged with the metal body 110 when the metal body 110 is set in the molding flask 900.
Thereafter, to produce the grinding part 510, the diamond sintered bodies 520 are primarily arranged on respective inner surfaces of the first and second cavities 912 and 922 of the divided first and second body parts 910 and 920 according to a desired arrangement of the diamond sintered bodies 520 at step S804.
After the step S804, the metal body 110 is placed between the divided first and second body parts 910 and 920 of the molding flask 900 and the two body parts 910 and 920 of the molding flask 900 are combined with each other at step S806.
Thereafter, a molten elastic material is injected into the molding flask 900 and the molding flask 900 is heated and pressurized at step S808. Thus, in the molding flask 900, the diamond sintered bodies 520 are embedded in the elastic material 530, thereby producing the grinding part 510 of the present invention. Further, the grinding part 510 is attached to the curved circumferential surface of the metal body 110 at the same time.
However, it should be understood that the method of producing the grinding part 510 while attaching it to the metal body 110 is not limited to the above-mentioned method.
After the grinding part 510 is completely produced and attached to the metal body 110, a plurality of water outlet holes 140 is formed in the grinding tool 500 at step S810 such that the water outlet holes 140 are radiated from the grinding part 510 to the shaft hole 112 of the metal body 110. In the present invention, the water outlet holes 140 may be formed in the grinding tool 500 such that the water outlet holes 140 are radiated from the grinding part 510 to the outer surface of the metal body 110. In the present invention, the method of producing the profiling tool 500 is not limited to the above-mentioned method.
As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides advantages in that ultra-hard sintered bodies are regularly distributed in a grinding part such that they are oriented at predetermined angles relative to the rotating direction or the cutting direction of the profiling tool, thus resulting in elastic movement of the ultra-hard sintered bodies due to both the frictional force generated between the diamond sintered bodies and a workpiece and the elasticity of the elastic material during a grinding process, and causing the profiling tool to be evenly abraded, thereby solving the problem experience in the prior art tool, such as lines remaining on the workpiece.
Further, the present invention provides advantages in that the ultra-hard sintered bodies are embedded in the elastic material, so that the workpiece can be brought into complete contact with the grinding part of the profiling tool due to the shock absorbing effect generated during a grinding process. Thus, the present invention prevents uneven or excessive abrasion or breakage of parts of the grinding part and gives even luster to the surface of the workpiece.
Another advantage of the present invention resides in that the grinding part of the profiling tool has a predetermined thickness, thus lengthening the expected life span of the profiling tool and removing the inconvenience to a user, attributable to frequent change of the profiling tool with a new one.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, although the diamond sintered bodies are provided in the grinding part through plating or applying a diamond mixture paste, the profiling tool of the present invention lengthens the expected life span thereof and leaves no line on the workpiece due to the above-mentioned effects, unlike the prior art grinding tool having the integrated tape.
Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A profiling tool for grinding a brittle workpiece, comprising:

a metal body, which is a rotary body configured to have a symmetric shape based on a rotating axis thereof; and

a grinding part provided on an outer surface of the metal body and used for grinding the workpiece, the grinding part comprising a plurality of ultra-hard sintered bodies embedded in an elastic material such that the ultra-hard sintered bodies form predetermined unit patterns and maintain a predetermined angle relative to a rotating direction of the profiling tool, wherein

the metal body is provided with both a shaft hole formed through a central part thereof and a water outlet hole passing through the metal body outwards from the shaft hole.

2. The profiling tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the ultra-hard sintered bodies are produced by integrating diamond particles, aluminum oxide based metal particles, titanium carbide based metal particles or ultra-hard alloy based metal particles with metal, resin or ceramic.

3. The profiling tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the ultra-hard sintered bodies are embedded in the elastic material such that a first surface of each of the ultra-hard sintered bodies is exposed outside the grinding part and a second surface thereof is held by the elastic material.

4. The profiling tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the ultra-hard sintered bodies are embedded in the elastic material such that the ultra-hard sintered bodies are oriented at the predetermined angle relative to the rotating direction or a cutting direction of the profiling tool.

5. The profiling tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein, when the ultra-hard sintered bodies are embedded in the elastic material, the ultra-hard sintered bodies are distributed in a block unit pattern, a row unit pattern or a column unit pattern.

6. The profiling tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the elastic material is a urethane or rubber material.

7. A method of producing a profiling tool used for grinding a brittle workpiece, comprising:

producing a metal body and a plurality of ultra-hard sintered bodies;

arranging the ultra-hard sintered bodies on an inner surface of an opened molding flask;

locating the metal body in the opened molding flask and closing the opened molding flask such that the metal body is placed in the closed molding flask;

injecting an elastic material into the closed molding flask and heating and pressurizing the molding flask, thus producing a grinding part; and

forming a water outlet hole such that the water outlet hole passes through both the grinding part and the metal body.