DD57 Ruby Alumina Superfinishing Tools

Superfinishing abrasives are made of pure alumina doped with chromium. The addition of chromium gives them even better dimensional stability and very high hardness. The standard range offers several grain finishes and different types of tools: files, grinding wheels and sharpening stones. These abrasives allow high precision finishes to be achieved, both in terms of workmanship and polishing quality. This can be useful in certain fields such as precision tooling, the development of plastics moulds, optics, watchmaking and jewellery, or more generally the fine working of hard materials (carbides, porcelain, glass).

Features and benefits of ceramic superfinishing abrasives

The superfinishing tools we offer are made from pure Kyocera alumina to which chrome is added. The addition of chromium gives a characteristic red colour. This polycrystalline structure is known in nature as ruby. In addition to a recognisable colour, chromium also gives the tools a number of interesting properties compared to traditional bonded abrasives. 

Indeed, alumina is already a material with many advantages. In particular, aluminium oxide has excellent wear and abrasion resistance. Its dimensional stability is remarkable. 

The chromium doping in the structure of this ceramic makes the material even stronger. It allows it to have an extreme hardness, only diamond is harder. It also offers high wear resistance, exceptional product edge and profile life and a high operational life, which is a real economic advantage. In addition, the material has very good shape stability, which is particularly important for precision finishing to ensure the finest possible surface and geometric roughness.

The various ceramic files, grinding stones and wheels

From this chromium-doped ceramic, we offer a wide range of standard catalogue products: sharpening stones with a square, triangular, rectangular, circular or elliptical base. There are also files in cylindrical, conical, blade and pencil shapes. We also have grinding wheels which, depending on their type, can be used for grinding or polishing. Our products are made from Kyocera DEGUSSIT DD57 alumina.

Within the same product range, sizes can vary and different grain finishes are possible. We offer fine (from 0.1 μm), medium and coarse (up to 100 μm) grit finishes that allow for different roughnesses or polishes.

The fine-grained finish is obtained by diamond grinding and is used for extremely precise tasks. A medium finish grips the material a little better and can be used for slightly less precise work on harder materials. Coarse grit finishes offer a rougher finish and can be used to remove material quickly.

You can view our standard products here: Superfinishing Files and Wheels Catalogue

Areas of application for ceramic superfinishing tools

Kyocera DEGUSSIT^® ceramic superfinishing tools can be used in a wide range of applications where precision finishing is difficult to achieve with other conventional abrasive materials. They are mainly used for grinding, sharpening or roughening of hard materials. They are used in particular in the precision engineering, watchmaking and jewellery industries, where small parts are required and high demands are placed on the quality of appearance and precision. The glass and optical industries are also good examples of applications for these machining tools: they can help shape the form and surface quality of glass or glass-ceramic parts. These abrasives are also used for plastic moulds, mainly to manage the finishing and adjustment of the moulds. They are also used for finishing and adjusting cutting and stamping tools.

More generally, these superfinishing tools are useful for reworking, sharpening and manufacturing high-performance parts made of hard materials such as carbide steels, glass and porcelain.