(Executive Director Industrial Diamond Association of America)
Abstract Superabrasive is a term globally applied to any one of a category of superhard materials. The first "super" abrasive was natural diamond, which was found, due to its many properties, to be excellent for the removal shaping or cutting of less hard materials, especially carbide, glass and stone. Then in 1954 diamond could be manufactured in the laboratory and subsequently brought into fullscale production. This technology led to many other "superabrasive" materials being introduced including cubic boron nitride, polycrystalline diamond and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride. Of course these initial products were developed and refined to bring about various types and classifications of superabrasives to meet the needs of every application from grinding and sawing to wire drawing and drilling. In fact, today we find the term superabrasive to be rather limiting because these products are not just used as "abrasives" but as wear parts, laser windows, heat sinks, optic aids, prosthetic joints and electronic components. The global use of superabrasive materials has increased dramatically over the last 50 + years. Of course the introduction of synthetic materials was the greatest factor, but the introduction of new and exotic workpiece materials was also a major contributor. This paper will explore the types and quantity of superabrasives used worldwide, a few new applications, some workpiece materials and the economic and social contributors to the increased use of superabrasives.