Li Zhihong, Zhao Bo, Yi Yunlei, Wang Qin,Hua Shujie,Zhang Hui
(Zhengzhou Research Institute for Abrasives and Grinding,Zhengzhou 450013,China)
Abstract The development of China as the world's manufacturing house is best exemplified in the industry of diamond superabrasives. Diamond is indispensable in the creation of industrial infrastructure, including the construction of roads and building of houses. The world's diamond was provided mainly by countries outside China in last century. However, a "great leap forward" has taken shape with rapid expansion in Chinese diamond-making capabilities from the enlargement of the equipment (cubic presses) and improvements in diamond yield and product quality in the end of last century. At the turn of this century, China outpaced the rest world combined in the total diamond output, became the largest producer in the world indubitably. In 2007, China produced nearly 4.4 billion carats, 80% of the world's diamond total output. The Chinese diamond well accepted in the world can be seen in the export statistics of China & import statistics of developed countries in this paper. For example, 59% of USA imported diamonds were from China in 2007; in Japan, 40%.
This report contains a survey of some main industrial sectors that use diamond superabrasives. Overall, 22 tables and figures are used to portray the many facets of superabrasives, including cubic boron nitride. The report also discusses several challenges facing Chinese diamonds, such as the vast price difference between imported diamond grit produced outside China and domestic supply. This paper also presents an outlook of the future development of the Chinese superabrasives industry basing on the Chinese macroeconomics and the recent data of the end-users as well as their future development trend. The paper concludes by proposing that although remarkable achievements have been made in the past 45 years, given the fact that Chinese superabrasives industry still lags behind that from the advanced countries on a multitude of variables, further endeavor should be made to make China a super country in the superabrasives industry in the world.