Development of an extremely thin grinding-tool for grinding microgrooves in optical glass

This study presents a novel and economical method for precisely developing an extremely thin diamond grinding wheel-tool and using the finished tool to fabricate crisscross microgrooves on optical glass in situ. The wheel-blank is made of diamond grain of 0-2 μm via a developed micro co-deposition process. Micro w-EDM is employed for truing and dressing to thin the wheel-tool, which is mounted on a high-speed spindle. The finished grinding wheel is not unloaded; it is directly utilized to grind the micro crisscross grooves on optical glass. The experimental results show that desirable geometric and dimensional accuracy, as well as microgroove surface roughness can be achieved. In addition, the paper considers life expectancy for the designed wheel-tool and grinding-edge designs for cutting different shaped grooves.