Summary of PCD Tool Application

Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD for short) is a composite material composed of diamond and cemented carbide, usually by assembling diamond powder with a certain amount of binder and cemented carbide matrix, and then under ultra-high temperature and high pressure conditions. produced by sintering.

PCD has the characteristics of extremely high wear resistance and hardness, low friction coefficient, high thermal conductivity, etc., which enables PCD tools to achieve high-speed, high-efficiency and high-precision machining. application prospects.

1. Performance characteristics of PCD

(1) High hardness and wear resistance

PCD has the characteristics of high hardness, high compressive strength, good thermal conductivity and wear resistance, and can obtain high machining accuracy and machining efficiency in high-speed cutting. This characteristic of PCD tools is determined by the crystal state of diamond, which has strong bonding force and directionality, which makes diamond extremely hard.

(2) Isotropic, non-cleavage surface

PCD is a polymer synthesized from micron or submicron small diamond particles by a certain method. The disorder of the particles' disordered accumulation leads to its isotropy, which can exert the best performance when cutting workpieces without the need to choose a direction. At the same time, it is not easy to crack along a single cleavage plane, which optimizes the mechanical properties.

(3) High machining accuracy

PCD tools have low thermal expansion coefficient and high elastic modulus, so the tool is not easy to deform during cutting, and can reduce cutting force and cutting temperature, improve tool durability and cutting rate, so as to obtain a good machined surface .

(4) Low friction coefficient

PCD has a low friction coefficient and has a small affinity with non-ferrous metals and non-metallic materials. It can not only reduce deformation and cutting force, but also does not generate built-up edge during cutting, which greatly reduces the roughness of the workpiece surface.

(5) High thermal conductivity

The thermal conductivity of PCD is very high, which is better than that of silver and copper, and much higher than that of ordinary cemented carbide. Therefore, it is easy to dissipate heat during the cutting process and the cutting temperature is low.

2. Application of PCD

(1) Application of PCD in the field of automobile and aerospace

PCD tools are mainly used in the automotive field to machine the skirts, pin holes, cylinder blocks, gearboxes, etc. of engine pistons. Due to the high silicon content of these components (more than 10%), the service life of the tool is high, and the durability of the PCD tool is 1-50 times that of the carbide tool, which can ensure the dimensional stability of the components and can Greatly improve the cutting speed, processing efficiency and surface quality of the workpiece.

In the aerospace field, the use of PCD tools to process aluminum alloy (AlSi2) cylinder heads has a high cutting rate, and the tool life is about 20 times higher than that of cemented carbide, and the surface quality of the workpiece is also greatly improved.

(2) Application of PCD in wood processing industry

Wood processing is also an important area of ​​PCD tool application. With the rapid development of artificial synthetic boards (medium density fiberboard, particleboard and composite flooring, etc.), the demand for superhard knives has accelerated, and PCD knives have gradually replaced the traditional woodworking knives in the market.

The Al2O3 in the outermost layer of the laminate floor has great wear on the cemented carbide cutting tools, and the use of PCD cutting tools can effectively solve this problem. Therefore, the main market for PCD in the woodworking industry is the processing of laminate flooring and high-hardness fiberboard.

(3) Application of PCD in electronic processing industry

In the electronic industry, the requirements for the production of electrical printed boards are getting higher and higher. Generally, the cutting tools will have burrs in use, which will affect the installation and positioning of electrical components, and the entire printed board will not be beautiful. Carbide cutting tools have a short life during processing. , The processing speed is slow, the efficiency is low, and the processing accuracy is poor. The use of PCD tools has high processing efficiency, low processing costs, and is widely used.

(4) Application of PCD in glass cutting and processing industry

The cutter wheel made of PCD is mainly used for high-precision and high-quality cutting of LCD screens of electronic products, and can also cut architectural and automotive glass. Both the mandrel and the cutter wheel are PCD materials, which have the advantages of high machining accuracy, wear resistance, good consistency, and high service life. They are ideal substitutes for ordinary glass cutters and carbide glass cutter wheels.

(5) Application of PCD in composite material industry

Using PCD tools to process glass fiber reinforced composites, the tool life is about 60 times that of carbide tools, the single-piece processing cost is 1/20 that of carbide tools, and the machining accuracy is higher than that of carbide.

PCD shows unique advantages in non-metallic materials, non-ferrous metals and alloys, composite materials and other fields because of its good processing quality and processing economy. If the double replacement of high-speed steel and cemented carbide tools is realized, the market space for PCD tools will be even greater.