More about Diamond Tools

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Diamonds are the hardest known materials, and are used in a variety of tooling applications, including cutting, drilling and abrasive machining. They have considerable advantages over carbides, which are also used in high-speed machining applications, although diamond tools wear quickly when used on certain steels and can be much more costly than carbide tools.

The majority of diamond tools use synthetically produced diamonds or, in some cases, diamonds unsuitable for use in jewelry. Referred to as bort, industrial-grade diamonds account for most of the diamonds mined each year. Nonetheless, approximately four times as many synthetic diamonds are used in industrial applications; these diamonds have existed since the mid-1950s, when they were first synthesized from graphite by General Electric. A variety of diamond production techniques now exist, with new methods and applications just on the horizon.

Diamond tools also include polycrystalline diamond tools, which consist of a carbide base covered with a layer of sintered diamond powder. The diamonds provide a superior cutting edge, while the carbide offers added flexibility and support. Although the manufacture of these tools is fairly expensive, the diamond layer lends enhanced performance, control and life to the tool, and may therefore provide a more economical solution over an extended period.

Diamond tools are regularly used in the manufacture of optics, such as mirrors and lenses, as well as other glass drilling applications. In abrasive machining processes, diamond abrasive wheels are used in the sharpening of various other cutting tools and in the dressing of other grinding wheels. Other uses for diamond tools include production of precision tooling, cutting and polishing of various metals, and specialized micromachining processes. Diamond tools are also highly effective in numerous plastic machining processes, especially when dealing with filled polymers.