The diamond compound is generally used for the polishing of metals. It is employed regularly to mold tools and die-polishing. The diamond paste is accessible in a range of micron grades. The 90 microns being the stiffest grade, is utilized for cutting back metal, right down to (1/10micron, which is extremely fine for mirror finishing. Other most popular grades are:
- For pre-polishing, it starts with 45 or 25 microns.
- For slowing lap or grind the surface flat, 16,10,6 micron is used.
- 3 microns will produce a mirror finish, but 2 or 1 micron will provide an optically reflective surface.
- Other grades like 45, 60, 90, and 1, 1/4, and 1/10 are not very common grades.
Different Types of Diamond Compounds
Mostly Diamond Slurries and Diamond Powders are the common types of Diamond compounds for proper and apt finishing.
Diamond Slurries
Diamond slurries perform the lubrication. Lubrication is essential for a smooth-running condition between the conditioning rings and lap plate and to aid evenly scatter the diamond product on the lap plate. Lubricants employed with any diamond compound or slurry should be well-suited with the carrier in order to render the best cutting action possible, sustain even scattering of diamond throughout the lapping surface, and make uniform finishing. The right lubricant, in conjunction with an apt compound or slurry/slurries, will decrease lapping time and lessen the amount of compound or slurry/slurries required to complete the job.
Diamond Powder
The diamond abrasive powder is the stiffest abrasive object used for polishing and lapping a wide variety of materials. Micron diamond is of three types, and that is natural, mono synthetic, and polysynthetic. The natural diamond’s structure is mono-crystalline in nature and is off-white in color. The natural diamond is used for harder materials, gemstones, glass, ceramics, and glass, as it has excellent thermal stability. The mono-crystalline synthetic diamond has two molecular bonds, one with high friability and others with low-friability. This multifaceted sphere-cuboid shape is known for its strength and efficiency. Polycrystalline is the most perfect material and shows greater performance with harder materials like ceramic, sapphire, ferrite, etc.
