How to Avoid Overheating in Diamond Blades
Blog | June 17th, 2019The situation is grim, a diamond blade is overheating. Thermally overtaxed, premature wear sets in, cracks spread, the core turns a bluish colour, and the rim sections break away. The steel core and blade bonding matrix hold firm at first, but the frictional heat ramps up quickly. Without a cooling medium, the fiery heat literally tears the blade apart. Clearly, the abrasive tool operator needs to implement an effective overheating control mechanism.
Using the Integrated Cooling System
Water is used to reduce frictionally produced thermal energy. As a diamond blade gets up to speed, the fast-moving stream is channelled so that it follows the cut path. The slotted gullets on the blade rim further channel the cooling liquid so that the heat reduction effect reaches deep down into the hottest core and rim surfaces. Now, what happens if that watery discharge is obstructed? Without enough heat quenching water, a diamond blade will overheat and begin its inevitable path towards premature destruction. The first job, therefore, is to check the coolant system, to make sure the liquid flow rate is fast and unobstructed.
Spotting Overheating Identifiers
More diamonds are exposed because the brazed bonding material breaks away in strips. The gems hold firm, but the steel core turns dark blue. Those are all signs of blade overheating. Worse still, little grains of concrete or road asphalt are still trapped in the cut. They’re exacerbating the situation and bringing more heat to bear on the abrasive cutter. This is another dead giveaway. Basically, the water isn’t hitting the cut zone hard enough, so ejected debris isn’t being cleared from the incision. That’s a bad enough problem on a project that doesn’t require deep cuts. On penetrating, deep-depth channels, the trapped dirt will eventually attenuate a diamond blade’s performance. And, because energy can only be transformed and not destroyed, the attenuated tool velocity will be transformed into yet more cut resistance heat.
Back to basics; do make sure a high-capacity water supply is available. Test that supply to make sure it’s not obstructed. If the problem persists, inspect the water pump. In addition, select an appropriate wet cut diamond blade. Designed for this kind of abrasive work, the wet blade should also come outfitted with superior side clearance architecture. Finally, leaving wet cutting in our rearview mirror, let’s address dry cutting applications. Not intended as a deep cutting tool, only use this blade type when making shallower incisions. Work intelligently, don’t apply pressure to that dry blade, and do let it run freely for a minute so that it can cool down between cut strokes.
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