Diamond Blade Is a Saw Blade

Diamond blade is a saw blade which has diamonds fixed on the blade's base to use the diamonds to cut hard or abrasive materials. There are many types of diamond blades, and they have been applied in many industries, for example, construction industry to cut stone, concrete, asphalt, bricks, coal balls, glass and ceramics, IT industry to cut semiconductor materials, and gem industry to cut gem stones including diamonds. Types of diamond blade Diamond blades can be categorized by their shape, use, and manufacturing method. Types by shape If categorized by their style, diamond blades are available in different types: circular saw blades, gang saw blades and band saw blades. Circular diamond saw blades are commonly sighted and the most widely used. Most diamond blades are of this style. A diamond gang saw blade is a long steel plate with diamond segments welded on it. Normally, a group (tens or even hundreds) of diamond gang saw blades are used together to saw raw stone blocks. A diamond band saw blade is a flexible closed steel band with diamonds fixed (often via the electroplating method) on the teeth of one side of the band. Types by use If categorized by use, there are marble diamond blades, granite diamond blades, concrete diamond blades, asphalt diamond blades, general purpose diamond blades, masonry diamond blades, gem cutting diamond blades, etc. Types by manufacturing method There are many methods to attach diamonds onto the saw blade's base . A common method is sintering the mixture of diamonds and metal powders are formed to the blade's cutting edges—diamond segments, and the produced diamond blades can be called sintered metal-bonded diamond blades. Other methods include electroplating, vacuum brazing, extruding and so on. Electroplated diamond blade Diamonds are electroplated onto the metal blade base. Electroplated diamond blades can be made to be very thin. The thickness of the blade can be tens of microns and can be used in precise cuttings. Vacuum Brazed diamond blade Synthetic diamond particles are welded to the outside edge of the circular saw blade via a vacuum brazing furnace. All of the diamond particles are on the exterior cutting edge of the blade, with no metal/diamond mixture. When using a vacuum brazed diamond blade you need not match the type of blade with the material being cut. Depending on the manufacturers recommended blade application, vacuum brazed blades will cut a wide variety of material ranging from concrete to masonry, materials like stone and brick, to steel, various irons, even plastic, tile, wood & glass. Always consult your blade manufacturer for a full list of cutting applications. Smaller finer synthetic diamond grits will provide a smoother finish with no chipping on tile or burring on steel. Larger diamond grits will provide a faster cutting speed, but will likely cause chipping, burring or cracking of your material. Fire departments require blades to be made with a very large diamond grit, to tear through material fast, while a happy medium is required for the production industry. Sintered Metal-bonded diamond blade Sintered metal-bonded diamond blades are the most common type. A blade of this type is composed of a steel core (the blade's base is steel plate, unlike diamond wire) and diamond segments which are made by combining synthetic diamond crystals with powder metal and then sintering them. The diamond segments are also known as the "cutting teeth" of the blade. The steel core can vary in design. Some of them have spaces (known as gullets) between each segment to provide cooling and slurry removal, while others have a single continuous rim for smoother chip-free cutting. The type of core that can be used depends on the type of materials that the diamond blade is designed to cut. Generally, there are three types of sintered metal-bonded diamond blades according to their manufacturing methods: wholly sintered diamond blades, silver brazed diamond blades and laser welded diamond blades. A wholly sintered diamond blade is made by putting the steel core together with the diamonds and the metal bond materials into a mold and then sintering them in a sintering machine. So the diameter of wholly sintered diamond blades is not very big and normally is not bigger than 400 millimetres (16 in). Also because its participating in the sintering process, the steel core cannot be quenched, so the hardness and strength of the core is not very high, these types of diamond blades may deform in high-load and high-intensity cutting processes. Therefore, in some cases wholly sinter diamond blades' cutting efficiency cannot be very high. Silver brazed diamond blades and laser welded diamond blades, however, do not have this problem. Because their diamond segments and steel core are treated separately. The steel core can be quenched and processed with other heat treatments, so its hardness and strength can be high, therefore the blade can be used in high-load and high-intensity cutting processes without deformation and high cutting efficiency can be gained. Silver brazed diamond blades' diamond segments are brazed to the steel core using a silver solder. Silver brazed diamond blades can only be used in wet cuttings. Because if they are used in dry cuttings, the silver solder may melt under the high temperature generated in the dry cutting and the segments can break from the steel core and be extremely dangerous. While the laser melts and combines the metal of the diamond segment and the steel core creating a stronger weld, which can hold the segments even in high temperatures, so laser welded diamond blades can be used to cut many types of stone without water cooling. However, when cutting very hard or abrasive materials, e.g., concrete containing reinforcing rebar, laser welded diamond blades should also be used with adequate water. Otherwise, it is fairly possible that the diamond segment itself breaks or the steel core below the segment wears and breaks, and then causes serious security issues. Source: en.wikipedia.org