Wide Application Range of Diamond Tool

1. Brief introduction of the development of diamond tools

In the course of tool development, from the end of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, high-speed steel was the main representative of tool materials; in 1927, Germany first developed cemented carbide tool materials, which were widely used; in the 1950s, Sweden and The United States separately synthesized synthetic diamonds, and the cutting tools entered a period represented by superhard materials. In the 1970s, people synthesized polycrystalline diamond (PCD) using high-pressure synthesis technology, which solved the scarcity and high price of natural diamonds, and expanded the application range of diamond tools to aviation, aerospace, automobiles, electronics, stone and many other fields.

2. Application of diamond tools

Industrial developed countries have carried out research on diamond tools earlier, and their applications have become more mature.

Diamond tools are widely used in difficult-to-machine non-ferrous metals and non-ferrous materials, especially aluminum, copper and their alloys, with a proportion of over 80%. Diamond has a strong affinity with iron, and chemical reactions are prone to occur at high temperature. At the same time, the carbon atoms in diamond will diffuse into iron, affecting its cutting performance. Therefore, diamond tools are not suitable for processing ferrous metals and other iron-based materials.

The application of diamond tools in the field of metal cutting is mainly in automobiles (including key parts of engines) and aerospace, in addition to high-precision medical equipment, precision electronic components, etc.; in non-metal processing, there are engineering ceramics, stone, wood, carbon fiber plastics, synthetic wire, etc.

According to the processing objects, diamond tools are divided into diamond metal cutting tools and diamond woodworking tools. From the structure, there are mainly indexable and welded types. At present, the application range of diamond tools has expanded from traditional turning processing to drilling, milling, and high-speed cutting, and has been widely used at home and abroad. The rapid development of electric vehicles has not only brought an impact to the traditional automobile industry, but also brought unprecedented challenges to the tool industry.