Diamond drill bits are available in a wide range of shapes and sizes. As a matter of fact, those cutting profiles don’t stick to the well-known helical shapes, as seen in conventional drilling applications. There are knurled and knobby rods with no screw-like geometry included. More commonly, however, those blunt nose bits aren’t quite as popular as their core drilling counterparts. Nevertheless, those blunted, diamond-encrusted tools deserve some consideration.
There Are Two Diamond Drilling Bit Classes
First and foremost, rounded core bits are found in different sizes. It’s the circumference of these tools that have the specially bonded diamond coating. By selecting one of these tools, any number of wide or small diameter apertures can be drilled into hard concrete or granite, plus any number of super-hard or refractive stones. Blunt drills look a little more like regular drills, although they still lack that fluted, spiralling bit profile. The diamonds are sintered or electroplated and bonded to the knurled tip of the drill rod. Used on glass and softer materials, blunt diamond bits create smaller, precision-cut openings. Soft stones, glass ornamentation, even seashells, they’re all cut using a blunt diamond bit. Expect to see jewellers shopping for these tools.
All about the Drill Mechanisms
Like any other powered drill, there’s a power source driving the drill bit. Sometimes the operator will set up an air supply, which safely generates spark-less rotational torque. Electrical power rules here, though. Expect to see diamond drill operators using long power cables to connect their tools to a mains electricity supply. Regardless of the source of drive energy, the power couplings and drive system must provide plenty of torque. While a blur of fast-cutting turning velocity is desirable in most drilling applications, diamond drill mechanisms prefer torque over speed. Try watching an operator cutting a hole through a solid chunk of granite to see how slow the drill bit spins. To facilitate the presence of additional torque, special drive motors are fitted. They used larger motor windings and additional magnetic poles to generate more turning muscle. Similarly, torque-capable power transmission systems are used on air compressors when the drive power is pneumatically generated.
Upon rifling through a diamond drill operator’s toolkit, there’ll be a pack of hollowed-out core cutting tools, with their rims shining, loaded up with sintered diamonds. This person is going to be cutting roads and bathroom tiles, or they’ll be working on tool-fatiguing refractive materials next to some kind of super-heated furnace. For a second operator, his diamond drill bits are small and rod-shaped. They’re tipped with blunted crowns, which are electroplated to the hardened metal. Used by glaziers, by jewellers and detail-oriented craftsmen, the bits cut smaller, precision-cut holes.
