Normally used to cut hard or abrasive materials, a diamond blade is proven to be a useful tool in the construction industry. Its common use include cutting stone, concrete, asphalt, bricks, coal balls, glass, and ceramics. It has repurposed the use of diamonds from being a symbol of beauty and elegance into an efficient and economical power tool that can be used in more ways than one.
However, it is important to identify the right kind of diamond blade for the job. As such, there are two things to consider in choosing which type is more appropriate to serve your needs – bond and style.
Bond
The diamonds present in the blade are bonded using variety of methods. Two of the most common types of bonds are the soft and hard bond. Both bonds have a specific wear rate to match the material being cut. A soft bond wears out easily than a hard bond. However, the hardness of the bond is inversely proportional to the hardness of the material being cut. This means that the harder the material, the softer the bond. To further understand this, take a certain material for example. Porcelain which is a hard material must use a soft bond. As the bond wears out, it then exposes the diamonds in order to produce a clean cut. Consequently, hard bond is used for softer materials to vastly increase the lifetime of the diamond blade.
Style
In order to further know which diamond blade to use, below are the styles of the blade and their respective uses.
Segmented Blades
Segmented blades are durable and have a longer blade life. They are generally medium to hard bond. They provide the roughest cut and are used for concrete, marble and granite slabs; asphalt, brick, concrete pavers, masonry or block; hard or reinforced concrete and limestone.
They are available in a wide selection of diameters from small to large and particularly dominate the 12” diameter and larger market. These blades are commonly used with masonry saws, concrete saws, and circular saws. Segmented blades are the best option when water is not available; however, if a person tries to use a segmented blade on, for example, a tile, more often than not that blade is going to chip the tile, leaving an awful finish.
Continuous Rim Blades
Continuous rim blades are soft bond diamond blades commonly used in cutting hard materials such as tile, porcelain, granite, stone, and glass.
These blades are most commonly available in 4” to 14” diameters. The smaller, 4” to 5” diameter blades are often used in hand-held grinders while the larger sizes are often used with circular saws and tile saws. Continuous rim blades cuts the slowest as compared to the different styles of diamond saw blades; however, among them it produces the best cut.
Turbo Blades
Turbo blades typically have soft to medium bonds for a variety of general purpose to specific cutting applications.
These blades are typically available in sizes that range from 4” to 12” diameters. This blade cuts faster due to the design of the turbo segments pushing the material out. This blade effectively cuts concrete, brick, and limestone materials.
We at Tooltec will help you with your diamond blade needs. With our 30 years of experience, our professional service team we can repair, re-tip, replace and manufacture any custom-made diamond tools to suit your application.
