Diamond plated grinding endmill for advanced hardend ceramics machining

A rotary grinding tool for reducing damage to the tool during a milling operation, comprising:

• a generally cylindrical body comprising a first end and a second end, a grinding portion adjacent to the first end and a shank portion adjacent to the second end;
• an outer surface of the tool comprising a diamond coating disposed on at least a grinding portion thereof;
• two or more flutes formed in the grinding portion of the body, said flutes disposed along a longitudinal axis of the tool;
• and
• at least one grinding element formed in the grinding portion of the body along a longitudinal axis of the tool, said at least one grinding element disposed between said two or more flutes, said grinding element comprising a grinding surface, a leading edge between a flute and a portion of the grinding surface that first contacts a surface to be ground adjacent to the leading edge and a trailing edge between the next consecutive flute and a portion of the grinding surface that last contacts the surface to be ground adjacent to the trailing edge;
• wherein a first radius of the tool at the leading edge of the at least one grinding element is smaller than a second radius of the tool at the trailing edge of the at least one grinding element.

A rotary grinding tool comprising:

• a generally cylindrically shaped body comprising a first end and second end, a grinding portion adjacent to the first end and a shank portion adjacent to the second end;
• a plurality of flutes formed in the body, said flutes extending from the first end toward the shank portion of the body;
• a plurality of grinding elements formed in the body, said grinding elements extending from the first end toward the shank portion of the body, wherein each of said grinding elements are disposed between consecutive flutes along the body, and wherein each of said grinding elements comprise a grinding surface, wherein each grinding surface comprises a leading edge between a flute and a portion of the grinding surface that first contacts a surface to be ground adjacent to the leading edge and a trailing edge between the next consecutive flute and a portion of grinding surface that last contacts the surface to be ground adjacent to the trailing edge;
• and
• wherein a thickness of the surface to be ground increases as at least one of the plurality of grinding elements rotate past a cutting plane of the tool.