Original Paper(Vol.56 No.11 pp.1081-1086)

The Influence of Carbonization Temperature of Woodceramics on Crack Generation in Cutting with a Grinding Wheel

Kazuhiko OGAWA,Toshihiro OKABE and Makoto OGAWA

Abstract:The term woodceramics is the generic name for carbon materials made of plant originated materials impregnated with phenol and carbonized under reduced pressure of 200 to 2,000Ž. The inside of woodceramics is porous and they exhibit various properties when the carbonaization temperature is changed. Currently, woodceramics are attracting attention as materials used for humidity sensors, electromagnetic shielding materials, far-infrared heaters and various gas sensors. As such, woodceramics have many characteristics. However, they are stiff, brittle, difficult to process and they tend to crack or chip during processing. Moreover, woodceramics have a tendency to increase in hardness as the carbonaization temperature@rises and their processing characteristics differ according to the carbonaization temperature. In our experiment, we used woodceramics, which were made from MDF produced at carbonaization temperatures between 500 and 1,200Ž, to study the processing characteristics when a blade is used at different carbonaization temperatures. The following are the results. (1) The cutting force is proportional to the carbonaization temperature. (2) Woodceramics carbonized at high temperatures above 1,000Ž have a tendency to chip more than WCS fired at low temperatures between 500 and 650Ž. (3) The continuous-type #300 wheel is best for cutting woodceramics.(4) The surface roughness of woodceramics does not depend on the processing speed at carbonaization temperatures above 1,000Ž. However, the surface roughness of woodceramics carbonized at temperatures below 800Ž greatly depends on the processing speed.

Key Words:Woodceramics, Cutting, Chipping surface, Surface roughness