Before choosing the right diamond blade for your application, it's helpful to know how they are made and how they work.
Having this knowledge will ensure a successful experience on your jobsite.
How are diamond blades made?
Diamond blades are made up of two components: the steel core and the segment.
1. Steel Core: Support Part
The core is typically a round flat metal disc used to support the outer segments. The diamond can be attached to the core using the technique of vacuum brazing, sintering, or laser welding.
2. The techniques
Vacuum Brazed or Sintered Attachment
The manufacturing process level of the core is directly related to the methods of attachment. In terms of lower-cost, higher-volume blades, the choice of either vacuum brazed or sintered attachment processes is made. These vacuum brazed and sintered blades are specifically designed for dry cutting of soft materials on low horsepower equipment. Notably, the cores utilized for these blades tend to be rather simplistic in nature and do not undergo the extensive processing required for more aggressive applications.
Laser Welded Attachment
Of the three primary methods of attaching segments to the core, laser welding stands out as the most effective technique, delivering a significantly robust bond to the core. In particularly, rigorous applications that demand wet cutting of hard materials at greater depths using high-horsepower equipment, diamond blades are employed.
For such demanding applications, the steel cores are fabricated with increased thickness, heat-treated, precision-ground, and tensioned.
This combination of increased thickness and heat treatment enables the cores to withstand the flexing stress associated with heavier equipment and higher horsepower. The precision grinding on the surface minimizes drag, while the tensioning ensures the flatness of the blade within a specific rpm range.
For these demanding applications, the steel cores are fabricated thicker, undergo heat treatment, are precision ground, and are under tension. This combination of increased thickness and heat treatment enables the cores to withstand the bending stress associated with heavier equipment and higher horsepower. The precision grinding on the surface minimizes drag, while the tensioning maintains the flatness of the blade within a specific rpm range.
Reference 1:
The process level used to manufacture the core is related to the attachment methods. Lower cost, higher volume blades use either a vacuum brazed or sintered attachment process. Vacuum brazed and sintered blades are intended for dry cutting soft material on low horsepower equipment. The cores used for these blades are typically very simple and do not undergo many of the steps of the blades for more aggressive applications.
Reference 2:
Of the three most common forms of attaching the segments to the core, and by far the method that yields the strongest bond to the core, is laser welding. The more aggressive applications for diamond blades involve the use of higher horsepower equipment wet cutting harder materials to much greater cut depths. The steel cores for these aggressive applications are thicker, heat-treated, precision-ground, and tensioned. The additional thickness and heat treatment allows the core to withstand the flexing stress of the heavier equipment and higher horsepower. The precision grind on the surface minimizes the drag while the tensioning establishes the flatness of the blade at a specific rpm range.
Reference 3:
In terms of the three most common methods of attaching segments to the core, laser welding is, by far, the most effective technique in achieving a robust bond to the core. When it comes to more rigorous applications for diamond blades, the use of higher horsepower equipment for cutting harder materials to greater depths is essential. For such demanding applications, the steel cores are fabricated with increased thickness, heat-treated, precision-ground, and tensioned. This additional thickness and heat treatment enable the cores to withstand the flexing stress associated with heavier equipment and higher horsepower. The precision grinding on the surface minimizes drag, while the tensioning ensures the flatness of the blade within a specific rpm range.
