Characteristics and Application Fields of PCD Cutting Tools

Characteristics of PCD cutting tools

Diamond PCD cutting tools are mainly used for:

The precision processing of difficult-to-machine non-ferrous metals and their alloys, unsintered cemented carbide, graphite, ceramics, fiberglass reinforced plastics, silicon carbide, hard plastics, rubber, various fibers and particle reinforced composite materials, as well as high hardness and wear-resistant wood.

They have the characteristics of long service life, high production efficiency, high surface finish, and high machining accuracy. Compared with hard alloys and natural diamond cutting tools, PCD cutting tools have high processing efficiency and low cost. They are widely used in industries such as automobiles, diesel engines, motorcycles, aerospace, home appliances, and precision machinery.

Cutting fields mainly applied by PCD cutting tools

High-speed cutting of light metals, alloys, and non-metallic materials

When cutting aluminum alloy materials, PCD cutting tools can achieve very high speed. When using PCD cutting tools to process non-ferrous metals, due to the high hardness of diamond and the small affinity between the surface and the metal, and the fact that the tools are generally polished into a mirror surface, it is not easy to produce chip lumps. The machining size stability and surface quality are good, and tool life can reach several thousand to tens of thousands of pieces. PCD cutting tools are particularly suitable for large-scale production of automobile and motorcycle parts and high-speed large-volume cutting of aircraft parts.

Precision and ultra-precision high-speed cutting

Because of the high bond strength of diamond materials, mirror machining of non-ferrous metals can be achieved when performing micro-cutting, and this process can be used for precision, ultra-precision, and optical component precision machining.

On ultra-precision lathes, single crystal diamond cutting tools can be used to achieve spherical mirror machining. The machine tool adopts an ultra-precision gas bearing spindle and a rotating worktable, with a radial circular runout error of ≤0.3μm. The workpiece is fixed with high-precision pneumatic chucks, which can achieve rapid and high-precision positioning. When processing aluminum parts, the surface roughness can reach Ra≤0.025μm.

Used for processing new ceramics and difficult-to-machine materials

Especially when processing difficult-to-machine non-ferrous metals and non-metallic materials with high hardness and wear resistance, such as high-silicon aluminum alloys, reinforced fiber plastics, heat-resistant alloys, etc., PCD cutting tools have obvious superiority.

PCD cutting tools have high hardness and long tool life, and are suitable for mass production and special requirements, such as precision cutting of high hardness materials. Nowadays, many tool manufacturers have introduced superhard cutting tools, which provide the usage environment and applicable cutting parameters of the tools.

When using superhard cutting tools, on one hand, it is necessary to carefully study the usage parameters provided by the manufacturer, and on the other hand, it is also necessary to fully consider the actual cutting conditions.