Due to its excellent physical and chemical properties, graphite is increasingly used in high-end fields such as electrical discharge machining (EDM), semiconductors, photovoltaics, and aerospace. However, graphite cutting faces three core challenges: high abrasiveness, brittleness, and dust pollution. Traditional cutting tools struggle to balance efficiency and precision. Electroplated diamond band saws, with their unique structural design and cutting performance, are gradually becoming the preferred solution for graphite processing, effectively addressing the industry's processing pain points.

 Core Technical Challenges in Graphite Cutting

The material characteristics of graphite make its cutting process prone to defects and low efficiency, becoming a key bottleneck limiting processing quality.

1.1 Brittle Structure Easily Causes Chipping Defects

Graphite is a typical brittle material with a loose internal structure.  During cutting, the force on the cutting edge easily leads to chipping, corner breakage, and microcracks. For high-precision products such as EDM electrodes and semiconductor graphite components, these defects directly affect workpiece performance and can even lead to scrapping.

1.2 High Abrasiveness Accelerates Tool Wear

Graphite contains a large number of hard particles, making it extremely abrasive. When cutting with traditional steel saw blades and carbide band saw blades, the cutting edge quickly dulls and wears out, requiring frequent tool replacement. This not only increases consumable costs but also leads to more processing defects due to tool aging.

1.3 Dust Problems Affect Processing Stability

The ultra-fine graphite dust generated during cutting easily adheres to the cutting edge and equipment components, exacerbating wear and clogging, leading to fluctuations in cutting force and reduced cutting accuracy.  At the same time, the dust poses safety and environmental hazards, increasing the difficulty of production management.

1.4 Inherent Limitations of Traditional Cutting Tools

Conventional steel saw blades have low cutting accuracy and short lifespan; although carbide tools have higher hardness, their lifespan is limited in the highly abrasive graphite environment, and the high cutting force easily causes workpiece damage.  Neither is suitable for large-scale, high-precision graphite processing needs.

Core Definition and Characteristics of Electroplated Diamond Bandsaws

Electroplated diamond bandsaws are high-efficiency cutting tools that combine electroplating technology with diamond abrasives.  They differ fundamentally from traditional bandsaws and are suitable for processing various hard and brittle materials.

The diamond bandsaw is mounted on a dedicated bandsaw machine, which is usually horizontal. The diamond bandsaw blade wraps around two large-diameter flywheels, one acting as the driving wheel and the other as the driven wheel. After the diamond bandsaw blade is installed, the distance between the two wheels is adjusted to tighten the blade. An electric motor drives the driving wheel, and the bandsaw blade is driven by the driving wheel and transmitted to the driven wheel, causing the saw blade to rotate rapidly in a single direction. The material to be cut undergoes reciprocating linear motion to achieve the cutting purpose.

 Definition

An electroplated diamond bandsaw is a tool that uses a high-strength steel band as the base, with diamond abrasives fixed to the surface of the band through an electroplating process, forming a continuous cutting edge. Its core advantage lies in the synergistic effect of the "rigid base + high-efficiency abrasive," differing from the toothed cutting of traditional bandsaws, and achieving material removal through abrasive grinding.

Advantages of Diamond Bandsaws

Diamond bandsaws can cut hard alloys at speeds up to 300 mm/min, marble at up to 100 mm/min, and granite at up to 40 mm/min, which is dozens of times more efficient than traditional reciprocating saws or wire cutting.  The cut is narrow (only 1.2mm-2mm), saving 6 to 10 times the material compared to traditional reciprocating saws and circular saw blades. Therefore, it consumes less material, produces less dust, and has lower noise. For cutting valuable materials, it has significant economic advantages. These advantages are unmatched by traditional reciprocating saws and circular saw blades.

Typical Processing Material Range

Besides graphite, electroplated diamond bandsaws can also cutting ceramics, GRP, fiberglass, carbon fiber and plastic composite materials, quartz, single-crystal silicon, and other hard and brittle materials. They are widely used in high-end manufacturing, electronics, new materials, and other fields, demonstrating extremely strong versatility. 

 Electroplating Bonding Process 

Using the principle of electrochemical deposition, a nickel-based coating and diamond abrasive particles are simultaneously deposited onto the steel strip surface, forming a metallurgical bonding layer. The bonding strength can reach over 50 MPa, firmly fixing the abrasive particles and preventing them from falling off during high-abrasion cutting. The nickel-based coating possesses excellent wear resistance and toughness, making it suitable for high-speed cutting applications.

Tooth Profile

-Continuous(straight) teeth 

-Segmented(half-moon) teeth

For cutting thin materials (less than 6mm): straight teeth bandsaws should be selected;

For cutting thick materials (more than 6mm): half-moon teeth bandsaws can be selected.

Straight teeth bandsaw blade should be used for curved cutting and small workpieces.

The thicker the material to be cut, the larger the saw blade should be.

BandSaw Blade Structure and Design Key Points

The base material uses a high-strength tensile steel strip with excellent fatigue resistance, preventing deformation or fracture during high-speed cutting;

 The cutting edge uses a continuous or localized diamond coating. Continuous coating is suitable for large-area cutting, while localized coating is suitable for precision machining; the abrasive exposure height is controlled at 30%-50% of the abrasive particle size, balancing cutting efficiency and chip removal performance.

Core Advantages of Electroplated Diamond Band Saws for Graphite Cutting

Addressing the pain points of graphite processing, electroplated diamond band saws demonstrate multi-dimensional advantages, achieving a balance of efficiency, precision, and stability.

High Sharpness, No Break-in Required

The single-layer diamond abrasive is fully exposed, achieving optimal sharpness from the factory, eliminating the need for a break-in period like traditional tools.  Efficient cutting begins immediately upon startup, reducing production preparation time.

High Cutting Efficiency, Significant Productivity Advantages

With low cutting resistance, high cutting speeds of 30-50 m/s and feed rates of 0.1-0.5 mm/r are possible. Efficiency is 3-5 times higher than carbide band saws, allowing for rough machining of graphite blocks in a single pass, significantly shortening production cycles.

Low Cutting Force, Reduced Damage Risk

Diamond grinding reduces cutting force by more than 40% compared to traditional tools, minimizing pressure on the graphite substrate and effectively controlling chipping and cracking.  Yield rates increase to over 95%, ensuring surface integrity.

Excellent Precision, Meeting Straightness Standards

The steel band base has high rigidity and low deformation, combined with uniform grinding, resulting in a cutting surface straightness of ≤0.02 mm/m and dimensional tolerances controlled within ±0.05 mm, providing a precise baseline for subsequent finishing.

Stable Performance, Predictable Lifespan

The electroplated abrasive wears evenly, resulting in a lifespan 8-12 times longer than carbide band saws.  Performance degradation is predictable, facilitating planning of tool replacement cycles and reducing unplanned downtime.

Selection of diamond grit size

1. Coarse-grit size (30/40, 40/50)

Characteristic: cutting speed and chip removal ability.

Applicable: first cutting, rough machining, large graphite blocks to surface roughness requirement is not high.

2. Medium grit size (60/80, 80/100)

Characteristic: balance the efficiency and quality, is the most commonly used specifications.

Applicable: conventional graphite mold processing.

3. Fine- grit size (120/140 or fine other grit size)

Characteristic: cut surface is very smooth, reduce the risk of collapse edge.

Applicable: wafer cutting or high brittleness of the high accuracy requirement of graphite.

----EDITOR:Doris Hu,Sarah Shi

---POST: Doris Hu