When were diamond tipped tools invented?

A diamond tool is a cutting tool with diamond grains fixed on the functional parts of the tool using a bonding material or another method. Given that diamond is a superhard material, diamond tools boast numerous advantages compared to tools made with common abrasives such as corundum and silicon carbide.

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History

In Natural History, Pliny wrote, "When an adamas is successfully broken, it disintegrates into splinters so small as to be scarcely visible. These are much sought after by engravers of gems and are inserted by them into iron tools because they make hollows in the hardest materials without difficulty."

Advantages

Diamond, being one of the hardest natural materials on earth, is much tougher than corundum and silicon carbide. It also has high strength, good wear resistance, and a low friction coefficient. Thus, when used as an abrasive, it offers many superior advantages over other common abrasives.

Diamond can be used to make grinding tools with the following benefits:

• High grinding efficiency, Low grinding force: Less heat generation during the grinding process can prevent burns and cracks on the surface, reducing equipment wear and energy consumption.
• High wear resistance: Diamond grinding tools exhibit minimal dimension changes, leading to excellent grinding quality and high precision.
• Long lifespan, Long dressing period: Increased efficiency, improved labor environment, and reduced product labor intensity.
• Low comprehensive cost: Lower processing cost per workpiece.

Categories

There are thousands of kinds of diamond tools. They can be categorized by their manufacturing methods and their uses.

Categories by manufacturing method

According to their manufacturing methods or bond types, diamond tools can be categorized in the following ways:

• Metal-bonded diamond tools: The bonding material is sintered metal containing diamond grit. Common tools include metal-bonded diamond saw blades, grinding cup wheels, and core drill bits.
• Resin-bonded diamond tools: These use resin powder as the bonding material, like resin-bonded diamond polishing pads used in construction.
• Plated diamond tools: Diamonds are fixed onto the tool's base via electroplating or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). They usually achieve good processing precision.
• Ceramic-bonded diamond tools: Bonding material is often glass or ceramic powder, characterized by good chemical stability but high brittleness.
• Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD): Made by sintering multiple micro-size diamond crystals at high temperature and pressure, PCD offers good fracture toughness and thermal stability.
• Polycrystalline Diamond Composite (PDC): A combination of PCD layers with a cemented carbide liner, PDC combines diamond's wear resistance with carbide's toughness.
• High-temperature brazed diamond tools: These involve brazing diamonds onto the tool with solder at over 900°C, allowing for firmly held diamonds and high exposed heights.

Categories by use

By use, diamond tools include grinding tools, cutting tools (e.g., diamond-coated twist drill bits), drilling tools, sawing tools (e.g., diamond saw blades), and drawing dies.

Applications

Applicable materials

Diamond tools are suitable for processing the following materials:

• Carbide alloy
• Hard or abrasive non-metallic materials like stone, concrete, asphalt, glass, ceramics, gemstone, and semiconductor materials.
• Non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, copper, and alloys, as well as some soft but tough materials like rubber and resin.

As diamonds can react with Fe, Co, Ni, Cr, and V at high temperatures during grinding processes, diamond tools are not usually suitable for processing steels. For steels, cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools or common abrasive tools like corundum and silicon carbide are more appropriate.

Applied domains

Diamond tools are used in the following domains:

• Geological or project exploration: Diamond geological and oil drill bits, and thin-wall drill bits are frequently used. PCD drilling bits mainly serve the oil, natural gas, and mining industries.
• Stone processing: Various diamond saw blades and wire saws are employed to cut and shape marble, granite, and other stones. Resin-bonded diamond polishing pads are used to finish stone surfaces.
• Construction: Medium or small diamond saw blades, core drill bits, and grinding or polishing tools are used for road repairs, building renovations, and material processing.
• Woodworking: PCD circular saw blades, profiling cutters, and twist drill bits are used in processing durable composite laminate flooring.
• Auto spare parts processing: PCD and PCBN cutting tools meet high-efficiency and low-deviation processing requirements.
• IT and home appliance products processing: High-precision diamond cutting wheels and resin-bonded diamond grinding wheels handle materials in the optics and optical fiber industries.
• Engineering ceramics processing: Durable diamond grinding wheels are used for high-toughness engineering ceramics.
• Carbide tools and mechanical tools processing: Diamond tools provide high precision and efficiency.

Beyond these applications, diamond tools are also used in medical fields, such as for delicate surgeries, due to diamond's multiple properties like high heat conductivity, low friction, high chemical stability, and more.

Diamond dressers consist of single-point or multipoint tools brazed to a steel shank, used for trueing and dressing grinding wheels. They come in various types, including grit impregnated, blade type, crown type, and disc type. The advantages of multipoint tools over single-point tools include:

1. Greater usability of the entire diamond; single-point tools need resetting when blunt.
2. Higher accuracy in form grinding, especially using blade types.
3. Durability for bench grinders with tough-grade grit-type tools.
4. Natural points of multipoint tools provide better cutting edges compared to brutted points in single-point tools.
5. Lower overall cost due to the use of smaller, less expensive diamonds.

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