In general, a diamond blade's performance is measured in two ways. The first is how proficiently the blade grinds through the material; the second is the life of the blade or total footage yielded by the blade. There are a variety of diamond blade models and designs from which to choose. Each blade is meticulously engineered to provide cutability, longevity and safety. When you select the best-suited diamond blade for the job / application / material, you will ensure peak performance and maximum investment return.
How the Diamond Blade Works
Diamond blades do not really cut, instead they grind material through an action of friction with the synthetic diamond-bonding matrix. The diamond crystals, often visible at the leading edge and sides of the rim / segment, remove material by scratching out particles of hard, dense materials, or by knocking out larger particles of loosely bonded abrasive material. This process eventually cracks or fractures the diamond particle, breaking it down into smaller pieces. As a result of this phenomenon, a diamond blade for cutting soft, abrasive material must have a hard metal matrix composition to resist this erosion long enough for the exposed diamonds to be properly utilized. Conversely, a blade for cutting a hard, non-abrasive material must have a soft bond to ensure that it will erode and expose the diamonds embedded in the matrix. These simple principles are the foundation of “controlled bond erosion.”
Types of Diamond Blade Cutting
There are two basic types of cutting – dry or wet. The best choice of blade depends upon:
In the case of DRY cutting, the overwhelming popularity and quantity of hand-held saws and the flexible nature of Diamond blades to professionally handle most ceramic, masonry, stone and concrete materials, make the DRY cutting blade a very attractive tool.
When using a DRY blade, the user must be aware of distinct operating practices to ensure optimum performance. DRY cutting blades require sufficient airflow about the blade to prevent overheating of the steel core. This is best accomplished by shallow, intermittent cuts of the material along with periods of “free-spinning” for several seconds to maximize the cooling process.
For WET cutting applications, there has the exact blade to complement both the material to be cut and the wet-cutting machine to be used. During cutting operations, liberal amounts of water act as a coolant to support the cutting effectiveness and longevity of the WET blade. Additionally, using water adds to the overall safety of cutting operations by keeping the dust signature down.
Article reprinted from MK Diamond Products, Inc.
