| Developing electroplated diamond grinding tools is necessary to process hard-to-cut materials to fulfill modern industry demands. The electroplated diamond tools used AISI 440C martensitic stainless-steel rod with a diameter of 3 mm as the tool substrate. The surface was electroplated using seven step electroplating processes: Electroplating 1st Ni undercoat, 1st Cr-C strengthening deposit, 2nd Ni undercoat, 2nd Cr-C strengthening deposit, 3rd Ni undercoat, Ni-diamond coelectrodeposit, and Ni-B strengthening deposit. The tools underwent heat treatment at 500°C for 1 h to increase the hardness values of Cr-C and Ni-B deposits after electroplating. Prior to the grinding test, the tool end is trimmed with electrical discharge machining. The grinding performances of the diamond tools are evaluated by the highest ground lengths from the results of slot-grinding on alumina plates. Effects of different deposit thicknesses and diamond-coverage rates on grinding performances were clarified through experimental results of grinding tests with prepared tools. The multi-layered Ni and Cr-C with its 2nd Ni deposit thickness of 5 µm shows the longest ground length of 1920 mm, which is 200 mm longer compared to the longest ground length by reference tool. |