A study of the use of encapsulated diamond in saw-blades for the cutting of stone

Encapsulation of diamond is a process where all of the metal matrix material used to pro-duce the tool is built up as a layer surrounding individual diamond particles before forming and sintering. Tools manufactured with encapsulated diamond exhibit excellent diamond dis-tribution. This eliminates clustering therefore reducing unnecessary loss of diamond parti-cles. The technology also offers the freedom to precisely control the composition of discrete layers within the encapsulated pellet. This work investigates how novel segment designs, manufactured using encapsulated diamond, influence the performance of the saw-blade. A comparison of standard encapsulated diamond saw-blades to those incorporating an inner-zone of higher wear resistance is made. Also, a blade with a novel layered segment struc-ture manufactured using standard encapsulated diamond was tested. While testing, the wear on the blade and the power drawn were monitored. It was shown that the hard-zone concept resulted in an increase in blade-life and that using the layered segments produced a much more free-cutting blade.