Poly-crystalline Diamond Bits

Poly-crystalline diamond bits (PCD) offer hardness, strength and abrasion resistance of natural diamond without its susceptibility to fracturing. It is manufactured using man-made diamond particles that are grown together in a high pressure, high temperature process. At the same time, these particles are integrally bonded to a cemented tungsten carbide substrate for mechanical strength and impact resistance.

Poly-crystalline diamond bits are well suited to high speed cutting of aluminum, particularly when good surface finishes are mandatory. It also excels in machining highly abrasive workpieces. Often, poly-crystalline diamond bits are recommended for cutting high content silicon aluminum alloys. These diamond bits are also used on brass, copper, carbide and bronze in applications including turning, boring, profiling, grooving, milling and holemaking.

Because of a chemical interaction between diamond and iron, poly-crystalline diamond bits are not typically used to cut ferrous materials. However, diamond bits can be used to tackle bimetal applications involving aluminum and cast iron.

Poly-crystalline diamond bits offers a number of advantages to manufacturing operations in terms of application range and productivity. Even though diamond is the hardest material known, there is also a material property, toughness, which must be considered.

A factor that improves the toughness of poly-crystalline diamond is the presence of cobalt in the microstructure along with the random orientation of the diamond particles. The tungsten carbide substrate also provides mechanical support for the diamond abrasive layer, increasing impact resistance and making it easier for braze attachment in tool fabrication.

Another benefit of poly-crystalline diamond bits is the range of diamond grades available to fit any nonferrous application. Typically, fine-grain diamond is used for less abrasive applications requiring an excellent surface finish. Medium-grain diamond is considered a general-purpose machining grade. Coarse-grain diamond is used in rough machining and in extremely abrasive materials where surface finish may not be as important.

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