Aquabond Knowledge Base

Selecting the proper blade size to use in an application or process is a sometimes-complicated series of compromises such as, machining system restrictions, throughput requirement and quality concerns. There will doubtless have to be some concessions, and ultimately the owner of the process will likely have to establish an appropriate balance of these concessions in order to build a stable and robust process. 

The bullets that follow accentuate the importance of selecting the optimum blade thickness, however, by using the ITI recommended aspect ratio (thickness to exposure ratio) to establish the blade thickness some of these negative effects will be tempered or eliminated. Use the aspect ratio to ascertain the minimum blade thickness, and still achieve an acceptable balance of the required process parameters, such as, cut depth, cut accuracy, blade life etc. 

THICKNESS

Here are some basic “rules of thumb” concerning deviations from the optimal thickness of a diamond blade for a particular application.

Some advantages of using a greater than optimum thickness are:

Robust and repeatable process due to it’s greater resistance to external forces

Wide array of abrasive sizes, bond and blade types available.

Less chance of damage to the blade through mishandling.

Some disadvantages of using a greater than optimum thickness are:

More force and heat will be applied/generated in the material being cut.

Less usable material will be available for your actual product (more waste).

More power is required to drive the blade.

Adhesive strength and/or fixturing rigidity can become an issue.

Some advantages of using a less than optimum thickness are:

 Less force and heat will be applied/generated in the material being cut.

More usable material will be available for your actual product (less waste).

Less power is required to drive the blade.

An expanded array of fixturing methods/options may be utilized.

Some disadvantages of using a less than optimum thickness are:

Blade strength will be less, usually facilitating a highly engineered cutting/grinding process to achieve comparable results.

Greater the likelihood of damage caused through mishandling.

OUTSIDE DIAMETER

It is suggested to always use the largest possible outside diameter (OD) that will fit into the machining system and/or is required to achieve the process parameters. 

Listed below are basic guidelines, to assist in the selection of an appropriate blade OD.

• The steeper the angle of contact (small OD) is at the point of entry of the material being cut the more likely the material will chip, fracture or burr on the top surface.
• The flatter this angle of contact (large OD) is the more likely the material will have bottom chips or fractures.
• The smaller the OD. The less the total blade life will be.
• The larger the blade the more the surface area will be, hence more diamond particles along the face = more life.

Along with optimizing the blade OD, adjusting the cutting depth (on through cuts) will have an influence on the achieved results.

• To reduce bottom edge chipping/fractures, increase the depth of cut.
• To reduce top edge chipping, decrease the depth of cut.
• To reduce/eliminate heat cracks, increase the depth of cut.

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