Performance of segmented diamond discs in concrete cutting

ABSTRACT Segmented diamond discs are used in cutting abrasive and fragile materials, such as masonry, concrete and marble. Their constant evolution over the past 15 years has allowed increasing the effectiveness of these operations. However, despite being widely used, there is still no standard test to assess their performance in representative conditions of a normal service. In this work a complete procedure to evaluate the disc performance is presented. To that end it was necessary to develop: a Computer Numeric Control (CNC) cutting machine, a test material, the operating conditions, the stopping criterion, and the evaluation methods (wear and depth of cut). Four brands of segmented diamond discs of 115 mm of diameter, nominated A, B, C and D respectively, were tested three times. . The tests were made cutting 45 prismatic blocks of concrete, 290 x 260 x 75 mm in size. As for the wear, the discs in groups A and D showed similar performance, while group B scored last , and group C scored best. As regards to the aptitude to cut major depths, groups A and B showed better performance. When the behavior of the discs was evaluated by the depth of cut to wear ratio, the best performance was achieved with group C. In accordance with the obtained results, it is possible to affirm that, the methods of diametral change and weight loss used to quantify the wear of the discs, can be considered equivalent. Finally, the observation of the cut surfaces of this type of discs, using Scanning Electron Microscopy, allows justifying the cutting capability observed during the tests.