About Saw Blades
Dry cutting blades
Dry cutting blades can be used wet, giving a longer blade life. Wet cutting blades can be used dry, but the life of the blade will be shortened.
Laser Welded SEGMENTED BLADES
These blades are top of the line for dry cutting, no brazed used. Segments are fused directly to the steel blank using a high energy laser beam.
Segmented diamond blades were used with a coolant until the mid 1980's, such as water. The purpose of the coolant was to stop the saw from overheating which caused joint failure between the steel blank and its segments. The introduction of laser technology to the diamond tool industry allowed segmented diamond blades to be used safely without a coolant for the first time.
The primary method used for many years to affix the segments to a steel blank was brazing. Brazing required the placement of a piece of braze between the steel blank and the segment. Heat was then supplied by induction heaters to melt the braze which welded the segments to the steel blank.
The laser method does not require an additional material such as braze to join the two components because it actually fuses them together. The laser uses a high energy beam to fuse the segments directly to the steel blank. This technology is allowing the diamond tool industry to manufacture more durable tools which can be used dry.
Brazed Segmented Diamond Blades
A brazed segmented saw blade requires the placement of a piece of braze between the steel blank and the segment.
Heat is then applied by induction heaters to melt the braze which bonds the segment to the steel blank. Silver, approximately 50%, braze is used as a catalyst to join a segment to the steel blank.
The melting point of braze is approximately 1375 degrees Fahrenheit. This can cause a problem if the end-user is operating the blade on a gas powered saw or concrete cutting machine due to the high RPM's and the heat generated. If the blade reaches temperatures above 1375 degrees Fahrenheit, the segments could begin to fly off.
Sintered Segmented Diamond Blades
Sintered is defined as a mass of metal particles heated and pressed together without melting. A sintered segmented blade is a finished continuous rim blade or turbo saw blade further processed to produce a segmented appearance.
Metal is the toughest bonding material used in the manufacture of diamond saws. This toughness makes these saws very effective in applications where form accuracy is required and the amount of stock to be removed is high. However, the material removal rates are lower than other bond systems.
This type of diamond saw blade is not manufactured using separate segments brazed or laser welded to the steel blank and is often safer to use than the brazed segmented blade when cutting dry applications.
Sintered segmented blade can be identified by the uniformity in the segments and the joint between the segment and the steel blank. This is not true with laser welded segmented blades or brazed segmented blades because each segment is individually joined to the steel blank and will have some irregularities.
Sintered saws are designed to ensure that the cutting surface is optimally sharp at all times. Sintered saws sharpen themselves during cutting by continuously exposing new layers of diamond.
Continuous Rim Diamond Blades
A continuous rim diamond saw blade is mainly used in wet cutting tile operations; however, they may be used in dry cutting conditions providing the bond and the diamond type & size if combined to suit the specific application. A continuous rim blade has a totally plain continuous diamond cutting outer edge. The outer edge of this blade is sintered to the steel blank. A sintered blade is a finished continuous rim blade or turbo saw blade.
The continuous rim design is the most popular of all the designs for ceramic tile saw blades. This design of saw blade offers a non-interrupted cut which should give less chipping and faster cutting.
Turbo Diamond Blades
The Turbo design saw blade is manufactured using the same process as the continuous rim; however, the diamond cutting outer edge carries a unique spiral staggered design.
If a turbo blade is manufactured technically to suit specific applications, it can give a smoother, cleaner, and faster cut compared to a non-turbo blade.
The professional users prefer the laser welded segmented blades over the turbo style when using blades larger than 7".