SEM-based imaging and analysis of surface morphology of the Trizact™ advanced structured abrasives

This paper shows that imaging and analysis of morphological features of the surface of modern structured abrasives in the pre-machining state can be carried out by means of electron microscopy supported by image processing and analysis techniques. The acquisition of SEM micrographs for active surfaces of the four (A6, A30, A65, A160 grades) monolayer abrasive discs 237AA (3M) with Trizact™ abrasive grains was carried out by the use of Quanta 200 Mark II (FEI Company) high-resolution scanning electron microscope. Visual analysis allowed for the observation of abrasive grains mainly in terms of the occurrence on their surface of various defects resulting from the technology of their production. For a parametric analysis, the authors used the Fiji 1.51s software (J. Schindelin et al.) which, in turn, made it possible to determine the values of the basic geometrical parameters characterizing the abrasive grains in the selected area of the active surface of assessed abrasive tool. The observation and measurement instruments used in the experimental studies described in this work and the proposed methodology may present an interesting alternative approach to the assessment of the surface morphology of advanced structured abrasives.