Solving Grinding Challenges in Advanced Ceramics with Superabrasive Solutions
Working with advanced ceramics? Then you know the challenges: parts that chip under pressure, tools that wear out fast, and long cycle times that slow you down.
Whether you’re machining zirconia for aerospace, silicon carbide for electronics, alumina for medical components, or glass for food and beverage applications, the goal is the same—hit tight tolerances without sacrificing efficiency.
At Continental Diamond Tool (CDT), we understand the pressure—balancing precision and productivity, maintaining a competitive edge, and ensuring employee safety and customer satisfaction through an unwavering commitment to quality and best practices.
That’s why our superabrasive grinding wheels are engineered not just to meet specs, but to solve real manufacturing challenges. Our role is to support you with tools that cut downtime, reduce scrap, and maximize productivity—because in your business, reliability is everything.
The Problem: Time, Tool Life, and Surface Integrity
Ceramic materials are notoriously hard and brittle. With the wrong grinding setup, you risk:
Microcracks and subsurface damage
Excessive wheel wear
Long grinding cycles that reduce throughput
If your process isn’t delivering the results you need, there are many variables to check out—feeds and speeds, coolant delivery, dressing frequency. But among these, one of the most powerful levers is your grinding wheel.
Not all grinding wheels are created equal. Traditional wheels that were designed for grinding metal—even some diamond and CBN options—often fall short when used on ceramics.
Metals have distinct properties that react to heat and stress very differently than ceramics, so designing a grinding wheel that is optimized specifically for the ceramic material you are grinding will set you up for the best results.
The Solution: Tackling Challenges with Advanced Bond Technologies
That’s why CDT develops advanced vitrified and hybrid bonds—engineered specifically for ceramics—to handle extreme hardness, reduce power consumption, and maintain consistent performance over time. Our engineering team has worked with leading global industries to:
Reduce grinding forces by up to 30%—less heat, less damage
Cut cycle times in half—to exceed production targets
Increase tool life up to 20x—because every wheel change costs time and money
Whether you're grinding alumina, zirconia, silicon nitride, or another ceramic, our custom bond systems help you maintain surface integrity while keeping production moving
Purpose-Built Tools for Your Machines
There are countless combinations of wheel types and machine settings that can technically get the job done—but only a wheel engineered for your application and material in mind will truly maximize output, consistency, and profitability.
CDT product engineers design custom wheels for the leading machines in your facility, including:
Round Tool grinding (e.g., Anca, Rollomatic, Star)
Surface and Blanchard grinding (e.g., Okamoto, ELB, DCM)
Cylindrical & ID grinding (e.g., Studer, Toyoda, Landis)
Double disk and fine grinding (e.g., SpeedFam, Supfina)
Need unique geometries? We engineer wheels with fluting, coolant holes, cross-cutters, and flat-bottom drills to meet your exact requirements. We’re here to help you move beyond trial-and-error to get dialed-in results from the first part to the last
Tools Built for High-Performance Lines
Your production line is fast, automated, and precise—your tooling should be too. CDT supports modern machining environments with:
Multi-axis CNC compatibility
Rotary dressers for automated operations
Through-spindle and high-pressure coolant systems
High-speed spindle compatibility for ID grinding
We don’t just supply grinding wheels—we engineer solutions that integrate seamlessly into your process. Our application engineers can work with you—on-site or remotely—using data-driven analysis to fine-tune your settings for improved performance. Click here to learn more about our portable grinding lab, designed to collect real-time data directly from your machine—right at your facility.
Risk-Free Innovation: Partner with CDT
Switching tooling vendors is a big decision—and we don’t take that lightly. That’s why CDT makes the process transparent, collaborative, and low-risk. Our engineers work closely with your team to define clear success metrics and test parameters up front, so you know exactly what to expect before making any changes.
With over 50 years of experience and more than 70,000 unique tools engineered for over 5,000 customers, we’ve seen—and solved—a wide range of grinding challenges. Whether you're facing issues with surface finish, throughput, or wheel wear, our team brings proven expertise to help you move forward with confidence.
Let’s talk about your process—and how we can help you get more from it.
Call us at 800-443-6629 or visit cdtusa.net to get started.