WO2008143464A1

WO2008143464A1 - Abrasive material supplying apparatus for manufacturing segments of cutting/polishing tool and manufacturing method of segments using the same

Info

Publication number: WO2008143464A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/002840
Authority: WO
Inventors: Soo Kwang Kim; Jae Hyun Hong; Jang Hyuk Ahn; Jung Yun Seo
Original assignee: Ehwa Diamond Industrial Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ehwa Diamond Industrial Co Ltd
Priority date: 2007-05-22
Filing date: 2008-05-21
Publication date: 2008-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 2009-11-22
Also published as: KR100832580B1

Abstract

There is provided an abrasive material supplying apparatus for manufacturing segments of a cutting/polishing tool for stably supplying an abrasive material in a predetermined pattern to enhance a cutting efficiency of the segments of a cutting/polishing tool, maintain constant performances and reduce poor products, and a manufacturing method of segments of a cutting/polishing tool using the same. The abrasive material supplying apparatus includes a body communicating with an air intake apparatus and having a chamber formed thereinside, the chamber having a predetermined size; and an intake plate installed in the body and having a plurality of abrasive material intake ports formed in one surface thereof and guide grooves formed in the other surface thereof, the abrasive material intake ports communicating with the chamber and having a predetermined pattern so that an abrasive material is inhaled by a suction force of the air intake apparatus, and the guide grooves communicating with the respective abrasive material intake ports to guide the intake of the abrasive material. Therefore, the abrasive material supplying apparatus may be useful to improve the cutting performances, cutting efficiency and life span of the cutting/polishing tool by minimizing the difference in the performances between the segments.

Description

ABRASIVE MATERIAL SUPPLYING APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING SEGMENTS OF CUTTING/POLISHING TOOL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF SEGMENTS USING

THE SAME Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to an abrasive material supplying apparatus that is used to manufacture segments of a cutting/polishing tool for cutting, drilling and polishing a brittle workpiece such as stones, bricks, concrete and asphalt and a manufacturing method of segments of a cutting/polishing tool using the same, and more particularly, to an abrasive material supplying apparatus for manufacturing segments of a cutting/ polishing tool for stably supplying an abrasive material in a predetermined pattern to enhance a cutting efficiency of the segments of a cutting/polishing tool, maintain constant performances and reduce poor products, and a manufacturing method of segments of a cutting/polishing tool using the same. Background Art

[2] In general, particles, such as diamond particles, carbides, borides, nitrides, hard metal segments and ceramic segments, that have excellent abrasion resistance have been used in a cutting or polishing process. Among them, diamond has been known as a material having the highest hardness in all kinds of materials existing on the earth, and widely used for cutting or grinding tools due to the hardness characteristics.

[3] Synthetic diamond was invented in 1950s, and segment-type cutting tips in which these synthetic diamond particles are randomly distributed as an abrasive material have also been used since the same period.

[4] The synthetic diamond (hereinafter, referred to as a "diamond") has been widely used in a stone processing field of cutting or grinding stones such as granite and marble and a construction field of cutting or grinding concrete structures.

[5] Generally, each of the segment-type diamond tools includes segments (cutting tips) in which diamond particles are distributed; and a metal body (a core) to which the segments are anchored.

[6] FIG. 1 shows various examples of segment-type diamond tools. In FIG. 1, (a) shows a segment-type saw blade, (b) shows a segment-type core bit that is used for drilling in the stone processing and construction fields, and (c) shows a segment- type grinding wheel (segment) used in a polishing process.

[7] As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the segment-type saw blade 10 includes a disc-type metal body 11, and a plurality of segments (cutting tips) 12 anchored to the disc-type metal body 11, wherein diamond particles 1 are randomly distributed inside each of the segment 12.

[8] As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the segment- type core bit 20 includes a metal body 21, and a plurality of segments (cutting tips) 22 anchored to the metal body 21, wherein diamond particles 1 are randomly distributed inside each of the segment 22 [only one segment is shown briefly in FIG. 1 (b)].

[9] As shown in FIG. 1 (c), the segment-type grinding wheel 30 includes a metal body

31, and a plurality of segments (polishing tips) 32 anchored to the bottom of the metal body 31, wherein diamond particles 1 are randomly distributed inside each of the segment 32.

[10] When a workpiece is cut using the diamond tool as configured thus, diamond particles distributed in each of the segments of the diamond tool are used to cut the workpiece.

[11] Powder metallurgy has been widely used to manufacture these segments.

[12] FIG. 2 shows one example of a conventional method for manufacturing a cutting segment.

[13] As shown in FIG. 2 (b), a molded body 40 in which a large amount of diamond particles 1 are randomly distributed is prepared in the prior art by putting a powder, obtained by mixing diamond particles 1 and a metal powder 2, into a mold 41 and pressing an upper punch 52 and a lower punch 51 with a hydraulic press as shown in FIG. 2 (a), and the molded body is sintered to manufacture a cutting tip.

[14] The conventional method has an advantage that it is easy to manufacture segments of a cutting/polishing tool, but it has a problem that the segments have difference in their performances since diamond particles are randomly distributed even though the same metal powder and the same diamond particles are used to manufacture the segments, which leads to the difference in the performances of the segments.

[15] An alternative to solve the above problem, there is a technology of arranging diamond particles in metal powder with a constant pattern.

[16] As one example of the technology, there is an invention disclosed in Korean Patent

Application No. 2003-0015637 filed by the applicant of the present invention.

[17] FIG. 3 shows a diamond absorbing apparatus 60 disclosed in the patent application.

[18] A shown in FIG. 3, the absorbing apparatus 60 includes a needle anchoring part 61 to which needles 70 are anchored by an anchoring agent 63 such as polymer compounds; and an absorption chamber 62 to which the needle anchoring part 61 is connected.

[19] The absorption chamber 62 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) to maintain an inner space of the absorption chamber 62 under a vacuum state.

[20] Also, the bottom 64 of the needle anchoring part 61 is formed of a flat member, and needle throughholes 64a having the same diameter as an external diameter of a needle is formed in the bottom 64 at constant distance with predetermined patterns. In this case, the needle throughholes 64a may be processed using a laser or a drill.

[21] As described above, the segments manufactured using the absorbing apparatus 60 of

FIG. 3 have regular arrays, as shown in (a) to (c) of FIG. 4.

[22] That is to say, a segment-type saw blade 10a of FIG. 4 (a), a segment-type core bit

20a of FIG. 4 (b) and a segment-type grinding wheel 30a of FIG. 4 (c) has a plurality of segments 12a, 22a and 32a attached respectively to metal bodies 1 Ia, 21a and 31a, respectively, wherein diamond particles 1 are arranged in an inner part or a surface of each of the segments 12a, 22a and 32a while being distributed between metal powders 2 at constant distances.

[23] As described above, the segment-type diamond tools 10a, 20a and 30a having the segments 12a, 22a and 32a, respectively, as manufactured using the conventional absorbing apparatus 60 of FIG. 3 may have advantages that a workpiece may be uniformly cut or polished in each of the segments 12a, 22a and 32a, their life spans are extended and their cutting efficiencies may be improved, and the difference of performances between tools may be settled.

[24] However, the abrasive material adheres to ends of the conventional needles under a predetermined suction force or uniform pressure, but the abrasive material may not adhere to ends of some of the conventional needles when a suction force is maintained at a reduced level, or a pressured is ununiformly maintained in the chamber. When the suction force is excessively increased so as to solve the above-mentioned problem, a plurality of abrasive materials adhere to one needle, and therefore it is difficult to manufacture a cutting/polishing tool having uniform performances.

[25]

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[26] The present invention is designed to solve the problems of the prior art, and therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an abrasive material supplying apparatus for manufacturing segments of a cutting/polishing tool, the apparatus being able to stably arrange an abrasive material such as diamond particles in a metal powder at a uniform distance, and a manufacturing method of segments of a cutting/polishing tool using the same.

[27] Also, it is another object of the present invention to provide an abrasive material supplying apparatus for manufacturing segments of a cutting/polishing tool, the apparatus being able to minimize the difference in performances of the segments since the abrasive material may be supplied when a metal powder is in a uniform and stable state, and a manufacturing method of segments of a cutting/polishing tool using the same. [28]

Technical Solution

[29] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an abrasive material supplying apparatus including a body communicating with an air intake apparatus and having a chamber formed thereinside, the chamber having a predetermined size; and an intake plate installed in the body and having a plurality of abrasive material intake ports formed in one surface thereof and guide grooves formed in the other surface thereof, the abrasive material intake ports communicating with the chamber and having a predetermined pattern so that an abrasive material is inhaled by a suction force of the air intake apparatus, and the guide grooves communicating with the respective abrasive material intake ports to guide the intake of the abrasive material.

[30] In this case, the guide grooves may have a circular section or a polygonal section.

[31] Also, the intake plate may be detachably/attachably installed in the body.

[32] In addition, the guide grooves may have a height that is less than 1.4 times the shortest distance of mesh holes in a sieve through which the abrasive material is previously strained to supply the abrasive material having a predetermined size.

[33] On the contrary, the abrasive material intake ports may have an internal diameter of about 0.05 to 0.3 mm.

[34] Also, the abrasive material intake ports may have an internal diameter that is 10% or more of the diameter of the abrasive material having the maximum diameter, and 95% or less of the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter, among the abrasive material previously strained through a sieve having a predetermined mesh size.

[35] In addition, the guide groove may have a diameter that is more than 1.05 times the diameter of the abrasive material having the maximum diameter, and less than 2 times the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter, among the abrasive material previously strained through a sieve having a predetermined mesh size.

[36] Additionally, the centers of the guide groove may match with the centers of the abrasive material intake ports.

[37] Furthermore, the abrasive material may be at least one selected from the group consisting of diamond particles, carbides, borides, nitrides, hard metal segments and ceramic segments.

[38] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing segments of a cutting/polishing tool, the method including: (a) charging metal powder into a mold; (b) inhaling an abrasive material using the abrasive material supplying apparatus as defined in any one of claims 1 to 9, followed by arranging the abrasive material in an inner part or surface of the metal powder charged into the mold; and (c) manufacturing a molded body by molding the metal powder in which the abrasive material is arranged. [39] In this case, the operations (a) and (b) may be repeated several times to form multiple layers of the abrasive material. [40] On the contrary, the operations (a) and (b) may be repeated several times to form multiple layers of the abrasive material, followed by performing the operation (a) once more to cover the uppermost abrasive material layer with metal powder. [41] Also, the operation (b) may be performed using a plurality of abrasive material supplying apparatuses. [42] In this case, each of a plurality of the abrasive material supplying apparatuses may have a plurality of abrasive material intake ports formed in an intake plate thereof, the abrasive material intake ports having different patterns. [43] Also, the arranging the abrasive material in an inner part or surface of the metal powder (operation (b)) may be performed while the intake plates of the abrasive material supplying apparatus applies pressure to the surface of the stacked metal powder. [44] Furthermore, the abrasive material used herein may be at least one selected from the group consisting of diamond particles, carbides, borides, nitrides, hard metal segments and ceramic segments. [45]

Advantageous Effects

[46] As described above, the abrasive material supplying apparatus according to the present invention may be useful to stably absorb and arrange an abrasive material by providing guide grooves to guide the intake of the abrasive material. That is to say, the difference in performances between the segments may be minimized since there is no abrasive material intake port to which an abrasive material does not adhere and only one abrasive material adhere to each of the abrasive material intake ports, which leads to the improvement in the cutting performances, cutting efficiency and life span of the cutting/polishing tool.

[47] Also, the abrasive material supplying apparatus according to the present invention may be useful to improve the performances of the cutting/polishing tool and maintain its uniform performances since the charged metal powder is supplied to the abrasive material in a uniform and stable state when the intake plates press the charged metal powder.

[48] In particular, the method according to the present invention has the following advantageous effects, compared to the conventional absorption method using needles.

[49] In general, the abrasive materials such as diamond have a jagged shape other than a spherical shape. Therefore, adsorption rate of the abrasive material supplying apparatus may be relatively increased since the abrasive material supplying apparatus having guide grooves, as prepared according to the present invention, may effectively maintain a vacuum state under a relatively low vacuum pressure, compared to the conventional abrasive material supplying apparatus (an absorbing apparatus) that is free from the guide grooves such as needles. That is to say, the abrasive material supplying apparatus according to the present invention is not affected by the size of the abrasive material (diamond) since a vacuum pressure is uniformly maintained in a space between the guide grooves and a jagged abrasive material, and may maximize a vacuum efficiency by maintaining a stable vacuum pressure.

[50] Also, the conventional needles have difficulty to manufacture intake ports with various shapes according to the size of the abrasive material, but it is possible to manufacture intake plates having abrasive material supplying ports with various patterns and sizes since abrasive material intake ports and guide grooves may be formed in the intake plate in the present invention.

[51] In addition, the conventional absorbing apparatuses including needles have problems that the strength of the needles is low when the needles have a small thickness, whereas an internal diameter of the needles is too thin when the needles have a very high thickness. However, the abrasive material supplying apparatus according to the present invention may be useful to solve the above problems by directly installing abrasive material intake ports and guide grooves in the intake plate.

[52] Furthermore, it is difficult to manufacture a conventional absorbing apparatus (an abrasive material supplying apparatus) since the conventional absorbing apparatuses having needles is assembled by separately manufacturing needles with a fine internal diameter and fine needle throughholes, arranging a plurality of the needles (for example, 100 to 1000 needles) so that the needles can be disposed with a predetermined height in a vertical direction to a flat plate having needle throughholes formed therein using a fixing jig used in various methods, and anchoring the needles using an anchoring agent such as a polymer compound. However, the absorbing apparatuses according to the present invention have an advantage that it may be easily manufactured since abrasive material intake ports and guide grooves are directly formed in an intake plate.

[53] Brief Description of the Drawings

[54] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating various examples of conventional segment-type diamond tools. In FIG. 1, (a) shows a segment-type saw blade, (b) shows a segment- type core bit, and (c) shows a segment-type grinding wheel.

[55] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing segments as shown in

FIG. 1, and a molded body. In FIG. 2, (a) is a schematic view illustrating a method for manufacturing segments, and (b) is a perspective view illustrating the molded body as shown in FIG. 2 (a).

[56] FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a conventional diamond absorbing apparatus.

[57] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a molded body manufactured by the diamond absorbing apparatus as shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, (a) shows a segment-type saw blade, (b) shows a segment-type core bit, and (c) shows a segment-type grinding wheel.

[58] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an abrasive material supplying apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 5, (a) is a schematic view of the abrasive material supplying apparatus, (b) is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating an intake plate, and (c) is a bottom view illustrating the intake plate.

[59] FIGS. 6 to 10 are schematic views sequentially illustrating a method for manufacturing a segment of a cutting/polishing tool according to the present invention.

[60]

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[61] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[62] FIG. 5 shows an abrasive material supplying apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 5, (a) is a schematic view of the abrasive material supplying apparatus, (b) is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating an intake plate, and (c) is a bottom view illustrating the intake plate. Also, FIGS. 6 to 10 are schematic views sequentially illustrating a method for manufacturing a segment of a cutting/polishing tool according to the present invention.

[63] First, the abrasive material supplying apparatus for manufacturing segments of a cutting/polishing tool according to the present invention is described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

[64] As shown in FIG. 5, the abrasive material supplying apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a body 110 having a chamber 111 formed thereinside, the chamber 111 having a predetermined size; and an intake plate 120 having a plurality of abrasive material intake ports 121 and guide grooves 122 formed therein.

[65] The body 110 has a chamber 111 formed therein and having a predetermined size. In this case, the chamber 111 communicates with an air intake apparatus 210. That is to say, a connection opening 112 is formed in one side of the body 110 to communicate with the air intake apparatus 210, and a connection unit 211 such as a hose is mounted in the connection opening 112 to connect the air intake apparatus 210 with the chamber 111.

[66] An intake plate 120 including an intake plate body 123 is installed in the bottom of the body 110. A plurality of abrasive material intake ports 121 communicating with the chamber 111 are formed in one side of the intake plate body 123, and guide grooves 122 communicating with the abrasive material intake port 121 and having a higher diameter than the abrasive material intake port 121 are formed in the other side of the intake plate body 123.

[67] Therefore, when a suction force is generated by the driving of the air intake apparatus

210, the suction force is transmitted to the abrasive material through the abrasive material intake ports 121 communicating with the chamber 111, and the abrasive material is absorbed into the abrasive material intake port 121. In this case, each of the guide grooves 122 having a higher diameter than the abrasive material intake ports 121 guides the abrasive material so that only one abrasive material can be absorbed into each of the abrasive material intake ports 121, and also prevents the abrasive material from not being absorbed into the abrasive material intake ports 121 due to the ununiform suction force and low suction force of the air intake apparatus 210, and other external factors or the abrasive material that is already absorbed into the abrasive material intake ports 121 from being detached from the abrasive material intake ports 121.

[68] In particular, since a constant vacuum pressure is maintained in spaces between the guide grooves 122 and the jagged abrasive material when the abrasive material is introduced into the guide grooves, a stable vacuum pressure may be maintained while being hardly affected by the size of the abrasive material, which leads to the maximized vacuum efficiency.

[69] As described above, the abrasive material may be stably supplied to a mold as described later since only one abrasive material may be absorbed into each of the abrasive material intake ports 121 and its absorption may be maintained stably according to the present invention.

[70] In this case, the centers of the guide grooves 122 preferably match with the centers of the abrasive material intake ports 121 to guide the abrasive material into central regions of the abrasive material intake ports 121.

[71] Also, the guide grooves 122 preferably have a circular section in consideration of the efficient absorption and workability of the abrasive material, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto. Also, the guide grooves 122 may have a polygonal section.

[72] In addition, the intake plate 120 is preferably detachably/attachably installed in the body 110 so as to substitute the intake plate 120 with new one, absorb the abrasive material into the new intake plate 120 with various patterns. FIG. 5 (a) shows that the intake plate 120 is installed in the body 110 using a screw 131. However, there is no limitation on the connection method when the intake plate 120 is detachably/attachably installed in the body 110. According to the above-mentioned configuration, the intake plate 120 may be substituted with a new intake plate 120 having abrasive material intake ports formed therein, the abrasive material intake ports having a pattern corresponding to a desired abrasive material pattern. Reference numeral 132 represents a sealing member installed to hermetically seal the body 110 and the intake plate 120.

[73] Meanwhile, referring to FIGS. 5 (b) and 7, in order to prevent a plurality of abrasive material particles from being introduced into the guide grooves 122, the guide grooves 122 preferably have a height (H) that is less than 1.4 times the shortest distance of mesh holes in a sieve (not shown) through which the abrasive material is previously strained to provide the abrasive material having a predetermined size.

[74] That is, an average particle size of the abrasive material is generally determined by straining the abrasive material through a sieve having a plurality of mesh holes with a predetermined mesh size. The average particle size of the abrasive material is different according to the manufacturing specifications, but generally has a deviation of about 20% in the case of a single mesh size. For example, when a 40/45-mesh abrasive material (diamond) is sieved, a diameter of the abrasive material strained through the sieve is in a range from about minimum 0.36mm to maximum 0.455mm. As described above, the diameter of the abrasive material strained through the sieve may be varied according to the given size of the mesh. On the contrary, an 18 to 20-mesh sieve may be used to provide an abrasive material having an average diameter of 1.0mm. As described above, the size of the abrasive material used to manufacture the segments of a cutting/polishing tool has a constant deviation.

[75] Therefore, the guide grooves 122 preferably have a height (H) that is less than 1.4 times the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter among the abrasive material previously strained through the sieve having a predetermined mesh size in consideration of the size deviation of the used abrasive material. When the height (H) of the guide grooves 122 exceeds 1.4 times the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter, two or more abrasive material particles may be introduced into each of the guide grooves 122, which leads to the ununiform performances of the segments for the cutting/polishing tool.

[76] The internal diameter (d) of the abrasive material intake ports 121 may be varied according to the actual size of the used abrasive material, but is generally in a range from about 0.05 to 0.3mm, considering that the size of the abrasive material, such as diamond, used in the cutting/polishing tool is in a range from approximately 0.15 to 2.5mm.

[77] When the internal diameter (d) of the abrasive material intake ports 121 is less than

0.05mm, it is very difficult to process the abrasive material intake ports 121, which makes it difficult to manufacture the intake plate 120. However, when the internal diameter (d) of the abrasive material intake ports 121 exceeds 0.3mm, the abrasive material with smaller size may be introduced into the chamber 111 in consideration that the abrasive material has a size deviation, resulting in the troubles of the air intake apparatus 210.

[78] As another aspect, in order to provide the abrasive material having a predetermined size, the abrasive material intake ports 121 preferably have an internal diameter (d) that is 10% or more of the diameter of the abrasive material having the maximum diameter, and 95% or less of the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter, among the abrasive material previously strained through the sieve having a predetermined mesh size.

[79] When the internal diameter (d) of the abrasive material intake ports 121 exceeds 95% of the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter, some of the abrasive material with smaller size may be introduced into the chamber 111, resulting in the troubles of the air intake apparatus 210. When the internal diameter (d) of the abrasive material intake ports 121 is less than 10% of the diameter of the abrasive material having the maximum diameter, an area of the abrasive material that is in contact with the abrasive material intake ports 121 is too small due to the very small size of the abrasive material intake ports 121, which makes it difficult to stably absorb the abrasive material into the abrasive material intake ports 121.

[80] The internal diameter (d) of the abrasive material intake ports 121 may be varied according to the design/process factors such as the size and size deviation of the used abrasive material, the suction force of the air intake apparatus 210, the uniformity of pressure in the chamber 111, etc. Therefore, it is possible to set the internal diameter (d) of the abrasive material intake ports 121 to a suitable internal diameter value within the range.

[81] Also, in order to ensure that the abrasive material is exactly absorbed into each of the abrasive material intake ports 121, the guide grooves 122 preferably have a diameter (D) that is more than 1.05 times the diameter of the abrasive material having the maximum diameter so as to ensure that the abrasive material is exactly absorbed into each of the guide grooves 122, and less than 2 times the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter so as to prevent a plurality of the abrasive materials from being absorbed into each of the guide grooves 122, among the abrasive material previously strained through the sieve having a predetermined mesh size.

[82] Meanwhile, the abrasive material used herein may be selected from the group consisting of diamond particles, carbides, borides, nitrides, hard metal segments and ceramic segments, and diamond particles with the most excellent hardness may be, for example, used as the abrasive material.

[83] Also, the diameter (d) of the abrasive material intake ports 121, and the diameter (D) and height (H) of the guide grooves 122 may be determined as described above, in consideration of the particle size and size deviation of the abrasive material, the suction force of the air intake apparatus 210, the uniformity of pressure in the chamber 111, etc.

[84] Next, the method for manufacturing segments of a cutting/polishing tool according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10.

[85] The method for manufacturing segments of a cutting/polishing tool according to the present invention includes: charging metal powder into a mold; inhaling an abrasive material using the above-mentioned abrasive material supplying apparatus 100, followed by arranging the abrasive material in an inner part or a surface of the metal powder charged into the mold; and manufacturing a molded body by molding the metal powder in which the abrasive material is arranged. Hereinafter, each of the operations will be described in more detail, as follows.

[86]

[87] a) Charging metal powder into a mold

[88] First, a metal powder 102 is charged into a mold 140 having a predetermined space

(see FIG. 6).

[89] Since one of known apparatuses may be used as a metal powder supplying machine to charge the metal powder 102, the description of the metal powder supplying machine is omitted for clarity.

[90] In this case, the supplied metal powder 102 may include conventional metal powders, for example at least one metal selected from the group consisting of ferrous and non- ferrous metals such as Fe, Cu, Co, Ni, W, WC, Sn, CuSn, Ag and P.

[91]

[92] b) Inhaling an abrasive material using an abrasive material supplying apparatus, followed by arranging the abrasive material in an inner part or surface of the metal powder charged into the mold

[93] Next, the abrasive material 101 is inhaled using the abrasive material supplying apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. 5 (see FIG. 7). For this purpose, the air intake apparatus 210 is driven to generate a suction force in the chamber 111 and the abrasive material intake port 121, and the abrasive material 101 is then absorbed into the abrasive material intake ports 121 and the guide grooves 122 from a storage bin (not shown) storing the abrasive material 101.

[94] As described above, the abrasive material supplying apparatus 100 into which the abrasive material 101 is absorbed moves to an abrasive material supplying position of the mold 140. In this case, when the driving of the air intake apparatus 210 is stopped, a suction force is removed from the abrasive material intake ports 121, and the abrasive material 101 is then arranged in a surface or inner part of the metal powder 102 charged into the mold 140 (see FIG. 8).

[95] FIG. 8 shows that the abrasive material 101 is arranged in the surface of the metal powder 102. Here, the abrasive material 101 may be arranged in an inner part of the metal powder 102 by further lowering the intake plate 120.

[96] Also, the abrasive material 101 may be arranged with various shapes/patterns in view of the desired characteristics and shapes of the segments. For example, the abrasive material 101 may be arranged inside the segments (molded bodies) with constant height, arranged with constant inclinations, and arranged with a mixed array of various patterns having a constant distance. For this purpose, the bottom of the intake plate 120 may be formed with an inclined structure.

[97] As described above, the intake plate 120 of the abrasive material supplying apparatus

100 may be exchanged with new one so as to arrange the abrasive material 101 in various manners, and a plurality of the abrasive material supplying apparatus 100 may be used to facilitate the convenience of the manufacturing process.

[98] A plurality of the abrasive material supplying apparatuses 100 used herein is configured so that a plurality of the abrasive material intake ports 121 formed in each of the intake plates 120 can have different patterns.

[99] Meanwhile, the arranging the abrasive material 101 in an inner part or surface of the metal powder 102 may be performed while the intake plates 120 of the abrasive material supplying apparatus 100 applies pressure to the surface of the stacked metal powder 102. As described above, when the metal powder 102 charged into the mold 140 is in a uniform and stable state, the abrasive material 101 may be supplied by pressing the metal powder 102 charged with the intake plate 120. Therefore, it is possible for the segments to have improved performances and constant performances.

[100] The abrasive material 101 supplied through the abrasive material supplying apparatus 100 may be selected from the group consisting of diamond particles, carbides, borides, nitrides, hard metal segments and ceramic segments, and diamond particles with the most excellent hardness may be, for example, used as the abrasive material.

[101] Meanwhile, the charging the metal powder 102 into the mold 140 and the arranging the abrasive material 101 may be repeated several times so as to form multiple layers of the abrasive material 101.

[102] That is, the multiple layers of the abrasive material 101 may be formed by repeating the charging the metal powder 102 into the mold 140 and the arranging the abrasive material 101 several times. Also, after the multiple layers of the abrasive material 101 is formed, the uppermost abrasive material layer may be covered with the metal powder by performing the charging of the metal powder 102 once more, as shown in FIG. 9.

[103] That is, the abrasive material 101 that is finally arranged as shown in FIG. 9 may be covered with the metal powder 102 according to the characteristics of the segments. On the contrary, it is possible to expose the abrasive material 101 to a surface of the metal powder.

[104]

[105] c) Manufacturing a molded body by molding the metal powder in which the abrasive material is arranged

[106] The metal powder in which the multiple layers of the abrasive material 101 are arranged as described above is subject to a high-pressure pressing process and a sintering process to form a molded body segment (see FIG. 10).

[107] As described above, the molded segment has a constant abrasive material pattern, as shown in (a) to (c) of FIG. 4.

[108] While the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

[1] An abrasive material supplying apparatus, comprising: a body communicating with an air intake apparatus and having a chamber formed thereinside, the chamber having a predetermined size; and an intake plate installed in the body and having a plurality of abrasive material intake ports formed in one surface thereof and guide grooves formed in the other surface thereof, the abrasive material intake ports communicating with the chamber and having a predetermined pattern so that an abrasive material is inhaled by a suction force of the air intake apparatus, and the guide grooves communicating with the respective abrasive material intake ports to guide the intake of the abrasive material.

[2] The abrasive material supplying apparatus of claim 1, wherein the guide grooves have a circular section or a polygonal section.

[3] The abrasive material supplying apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the intake plate is detachably/attachably installed in the body.

[4] The abrasive material supplying apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide grooves have a height that is less than 1.4 times the shortest distance of mesh holes in a sieve through which the abrasive material is previously strained to supply the abrasive material having a predetermined size.

[5] The abrasive material supplying apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the abrasive material intake ports have an internal diameter of about 0.05 to 0.3 mm.

[6] The abrasive material supplying apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the abrasive material intake ports have an internal diameter that is 10% or more of the diameter of the abrasive material having the maximum diameter, and 95% or less of the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter, among the abrasive material previously strained through a sieve having a predetermined mesh size.

[7] The abrasive material supplying apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide grooves have a diameter that is more than 1.05 times the diameter of the abrasive material having the maximum diameter, and less than 2 times the diameter of the abrasive material having the minimum diameter, among the abrasive material previously strained through a sieve having a predetermined mesh size.

[8] The abrasive material supplying apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the centers of the guide groove matches with the centers of the abrasive material intake ports.

[9] The abrasive material supplying apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the abrasive material is at least one selected from the group consisting of diamond particles, carbides, borides, nitrides, hard metal segments and ceramic segments.

[10] A method for manufacturing segments of a cutting/polishing tool, the method comprising:

(a) charging metal powder into a mold;

(b) inhaling an abrasive material using the abrasive material supplying apparatus as defined in any one of claims 1 to 9, followed by arranging the abrasive material in an inner part or surface of the metal powder charged into the mold; and

(c) manufacturing a molded body by molding the metal powder in which the abrasive material is arranged.

[11] The method of claim 10, wherein the operations (a) and (b) are repeated several times to form multiple layers of the abrasive material.

[12] The method of claim 10, wherein the operations (a) and (b) are repeated several times to form multiple layers of the abrasive material, followed by performing the operation (a) once more to cover the uppermost abrasive material layer with metal powder.

[13] The method of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the operation (b) is performed using a plurality of abrasive material supplying apparatuses.

[14] The method of claim 13, wherein each of a plurality of the abrasive material supplying apparatuses has a plurality of abrasive material intake ports formed in an intake plate thereof, the abrasive material intake ports having different patterns.

[15] The method of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the arranging the abrasive material in an inner part or surface of the metal powder (operation (b)) is performed while the intake plates of the abrasive material supplying apparatus applies pressure to the surface of the stacked metal powder.

[16] The method of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the abrasive material is at least one selected from the group consisting of diamond particles, carbides, borides, nitrides, hard metal segments and ceramic segments.