How elastic bonded diamond tools optimize precision machiningWhen
the hardest material in the world and soft plastic come together, the
result is tools with very special grinding properties. We are talking
about elastic bonded diamond grinding wheels. These show their strengths
during finishing and ensure the perfect finish. Innovative processes
such as these are necessary because the manufacturing industry faces the
challenge of producing increasingly complex and precise components from
resistant materials. Conventional production methods often reach their
limits here, especially when the surfaces are so fine that they require
particularly sensitive processing. At the GrindingHub trade fair,
organized by the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association) in
Stuttgart from May 5 to 8, 2026, visitors will learn more about
innovative grinding techniques for achieving the highest surface
qualities.
For demanding finishing and polishing processes
Elastic
grinding and polishing tools are used in a wide variety of industries.
In metalworking, they refine surfaces ranging from the finest surgical
instruments to heavy-duty turbine blades. These tools can be used to
accelerate manufacturing processes and increase cost-effectiveness and
sustainability in production. "Our
elastic bonded diamond tools demonstrate their strengths wherever
extremely hard materials such as carbide need to be machined with
precision," says Jens Meiberg, Head of Technology Development at
GrindingHub exhibitor Artifex Dr. Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG, a
specialist in elastic grinding and polishing tools based in
Kaltenkirchen near Hamburg. "They
achieve their maximum effect particularly in applications where
extremely fine surfaces, even mirror finishes, are required,"
says Meiberg. This makes them ideal for demanding finishing and
polishing processes. According to Meiberg, Artifex is currently focusing
on the machining of carbide drilling and milling tools to improve
cutting edges and achieve more efficient chip removal from cutting
tools.
Greater efficiency and reduced overall costs
Technically
optimal surfaces are one thing, cost-effectiveness is another. In
industrial practice, it ultimately comes down to the cost-benefit
analysis for the user. In other words: When does the improved surface
quality justify the higher cost? "Studies show service life improvements of more than 50 per cent compared to unprepared tools," says Artifex manager Meiberg. Combined
with faster chip flow and greater chip volume, users achieve
significant cost and service life advantages. Machining with elastic
bonded diamond tools significantly improves the surface quality of the
machined workpieces. In practice, this optimization leads to noticeably
longer service life for subsequent tools and more stable and reliable
process behavior. Users benefit from greater efficiency and reduced
overall costs," says Meiberg.
Delicate machining for delicate surfaces
Some
surfaces are so delicate that they must be machined with extreme care.
As the Head of Technology Development at Artifex explains, flexibly
mounted diamond particles achieve "non-contour-changing glossy surfaces"
by cutting topological material peaks. The homogeneously distributed
abrasive medium bounces back and forth in the bonding matrix. Put simply
and in layman's terms: the soft mass gives way slightly, so that the
grains wobble slightly when rubbed instead of scratching firmly.
Therefore, the surface is only gently smoothed and polished, rather than
aggressively removing material or changing the shape. In other words:
the smarter grinding wheel gives way. "The
pressure and speed parameters of the process pose the greatest
challenge in preventing grain break-outs from this newly developed soft
bond," says Meiberg. The surface quality can be achieved
reproducibly throughout the entire life cycle of the disks. Thanks to
the tool change options in the machine, machining is carried out in a
single clamping and not through downstream processes. According to
Meiberg, Artifex's in-house Research and Development Department ensures
the continuous advancement of diamond tools – particularly with regard
to new carbide alloys and modern carbide tools.Scope for basic research down to the nanometer range
There
is still plenty of scope for basic research at universities in the
micro- and nanometer range. This also applies when using flexible
precision machining tools in the finishing of structured surfaces. Dr.
Monika Kipp, who heads the Grinding Technology Department at the
Institute of Machining Technology at the Technical University Dortmund,
is intensively involved in this topic. "One example of the use of flexible precision machining tools is the finishing of structured surfaces,"
says Kipp. If these are produced by milling, for example, micro-burrs
may occur. In order to remove these without significantly altering the
structure and at the same time improving the surface finish, the tools
must be highly adaptable and only a very small amount of material should
be removed. "To achieve this goal, our research focuses on the fundamental process behavior of flexible diamond tools,"
says the scientist, who was recently awarded the Otto Kienzle
Commemorative Medal by the WGP (Scientific Society for Production
Engineering).
Perfect choreography
When
machining highly sensitive surfaces with flexible tools, it is
essential to know exactly how the tools and material interact. "In
order to avoid unwanted contour changes in precision machining with
elastic bonded diamond grinding wheels or other flexible grinding tools,
it is essential to understand the basic process interactions,"
says Kipp, summarizing the key challenge. This includes, for example,
coordinating the process parameters and the bonding strength or
flexibility of the tools and thus the local contact situation. In
addition, according to the scientist, targeted adjustments to the
process control with regard to the kinematics of the procedure could
also be effective. In layman's terms, you can imagine it as
choreography. How fast does the grinding tool move? How fast is the
workpiece moving? At what angle or pattern do the grains strike the
surface? How often does a single grain engage with the material? For
optimal results, perfect coordination is essential.
Three factors: contact pressure, contact time, grain sizeThe surface quality in precision machining depends, among other things, on the local contact situation, says Kipp. "When
it comes to process design, a distinction must be made in terms of the
objective: whether the aim is to achieve the lowest possible roughness
or whether functional surfaces with structural or contour elements need
to be reworked," explains the researcher. Flexible abrasive tools
can be used for corresponding applications. Material removal and thus
the surface finish can be controlled by adjusting the contact pressure,
contact time, and grain size, among other factors.The grinding gap is a mystery
Applications
at the limits of what is technically possible and economically viable
therefore open up a wide field for industrial and academic research.
Because the saying among experts still holds true: "The grinding gap is a
mystery." This phrase suggests that practitioners and researchers still
need to shed light on the deepest physical and process engineering
secrets of grinding in order to technically optimize industrial
production processes and make them more efficient and sustainable.
After a truly challenging 2024, 2025 proved rather sluggish for Italian machine tool, robot, and automation manufacturers, who saw little growth in production, held back by declining exports that were not offset by a sufficient recovery in activity on the domestic market. 2026 will be better, but forecasts are cautious due to the highly unstable context. This, in summary, is what emerges from the preliminary 2025 and 2026 forecast data just released by the UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE Study & Business Culture Center.In particular, in 2025, production stood at 6,420 million euros, marking a 1.5% increase compared to the previous year. The year was characterised by a sharp contraction in exports, which fell to 3,710 million, 13.2% less than in 2024.Almost all the main destination markets for Made in Italy products in the sector recorded a negative sign, confirming the difficult international situation.According to UCIMU processing of ISTAT data, in the period January-September 2025 (latest available data), the main outlet markets for the Italian supply of machine tools alone were: United States (423 million euros, -8.1%), Germany (196 million euros, -29.7%); France (145 million, -0.5%), India (135 million -4.2%), Poland (135 million, +13.3%).On the domestic front, the recovery in consumption, which rose 20.5% to €4,465 million, drove growth in deliveries by Italian manufacturers to the domestic market, which reached €2,710 million, 32% more than the previous year. Although the increases in these two indicators are significant, the results are unsatisfactory as they are still far below the values achieved in previous years.The export/production ratio fell again, stopping at 57.8%.For 2026, the forecasts developed by the UCIMU Research Centre indicate (still) moderate growth in the main economic indicators. In particular, in 2026, production will grow, reaching 6,590 million euros (+2.6% compared to 2025).This result will be determined both by the return to positive territory of exports (+0.7%) compared to the value of 2025, reaching 3,735 million euros, and by the increase in deliveries by Italian manufacturers, which will grow to 2,855 million euros (+5.4% compared to 2025), supported by the increase in domestic demand.Italian consumption of machine tools, robots and automation will grow to 4,730 million euros, equal to 5.9% more than in 2025. Imports will also benefit from the recovery in domestic demand, as demonstrated by the forecast data indicating growth of 6.8%, to 1,875 million euros. The export/production ratio will drop further, stopping at 56.7%.Riccardo Rosa, president of UCIMU, commented as follows: "After a 2024 was truly complicated, 2025 confirmed itself as the year of trend reversal with the transition from a negative sign to growth, albeit very timid, recorded by production data. In reality, we did not expect exports to weigh down the final result as they did."International geopolitical instability, open conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, President Trump's tariff war and the resulting new (dis)order in world trade have put our exports to the test"."The performance that Italian machine tool manufacturers achieved on the domestic market was better than expected, however, where they only recovered a small portion of the ground lost in the previous two years due to the critical issues related to Transition 5.0 which, after starting with an unforgivable delay, underwent several adjustments, becoming easily usable only in the last months of operation, only to then suddenly close more than a month ahead of the deadline set for December 31"."Despite the numerous difficulties encountered - continued President Rosa - the results However, the results obtained have demonstrated the usefulness of Industry 5.0, in addition to Industry 4.0, as a measure to support investments in new production technologies in Italy. "The hope is that the incentive measures envisaged by the government bodies under discussion in these weeks of finalizing the 2026 Budget Law will be truly easy to use and quickly operational. We Italian machine tool manufacturers," continued the president of UCIMU, "simply ask for clarity and immediacy. To work, the measure must involve little bureaucracy and must be released and made available from the first weeks of the new year. Only in this way will the measure—which on paper, as we have seen it, seems overall valid—be able to bring real benefits to the country's manufacturing industry.""That said," added Riccardo Rosa, "we greatly appreciate the government's very recent announcement that it intends to focus on the multi-year nature of the measure. Having a measure available from the beginning of 2026 to 2028 is certainly a wise choice, allowing client companies to plan their purchases and manufacturers to organize production, thus best distributing work within their production capacity."On the international front, the weakening of some markets, starting with Germany, which is reeling from the automotive crisis; the difficulty of sales in the USA, our primary market, due to tariffs; and the closure of some particularly opportunity-rich areas such as Russia, require even more intense work to develop trade relations with traditional and "alternative" areas, including the Mercosur countries. For this reason," continued Riccardo Rosa, "it is disheartening to read in the newspapers that Italy is among the countries questioning the continuation of the process for the conclusion of the EU-Mercosur Agreement, which has effectively reached its final stage. Retracing our steps now, at a particularly delicate time for international trade, would be a grave mistake."Also on the basis of this agreement, over the last two years, the association has strengthened its initiatives dedicated to Latin American countries. In addition to the exploratory missions carried out in Brazil, designed to strengthen partnerships with the local system of institutions, businesses, and representative organizations, UCIMU has initiated interesting discussions with industrial representative organizations in Argentina, preparatory to new collaborations between the industries of the two countries. Furthermore," added President Rosa, "we have not neglected the so-called "associated" and "observer" countries linked to the agreement, certain that they too will be able to offer interesting opportunities to our companies. Among the Mercosur members, we have turned our attention to Chile where, following a reconnaissance mission, a project for the development of a Technology Center with the participation of local universities has been under consideration. Among the observers, however, our focus is on Mexico, where the Oficina Italiana de Promotiòn Mexico has been operating since the beginning of 2025, a desk that works to support Italian companies in understanding and penetrating the relevant market, including in Central and North America."With reference to Asia, India and the countries of Southeast Asia are of particular interest to us because they are characterized by very strong growth and a good predisposition towards us, as demonstrated by the dynamism of the activities supported by the association: from the India Desk to the ITC India Network and the IMT Vietnam Network, both recently renewed.""Turning our gaze to Europe, while waiting to see how the German economy and manufacturing industry will respond to the measures implemented by the Merz government, the hope is that the EU will intervene to correct the timing and methods of the transition towards green mobility, thus avoiding the risk of industrial desertification in the Old Continent. The principle of technological neutrality is, in our opinion, the only correct response to this situation.”