TFd Thick-Film Diamond Cutting Tools

Thick-film diamond tools constitute a major breakthrough in the science of cutting tools. sp3 has been developing thick-film diamond technology for several years, and now offers a new product line of “TFd” cutting tools.

How TFd tools are made
A stand-alone sheet of thick film diamond is grown in a chemical vapor deposition reactor. Typical films are 500 microns thick. The diamond sheets are laser cut into tips, which are fabricated into finished tools using a process similar to that used to make polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools. sp3 manufactures its TFd tools at its facility in Calgary, Canada.

Performance
TFd provides three distinct advantages over PCD tools:
First, it is intrinsically harder and more wear resistant than PCD because it is solid diamond with no binder material.
Second, when machining abrasive metals with TFd, the tool wears primarily on the flank. This causes the cutting edge to remain sharper than PCD as the tool wears. This is particularly important in applications where burr control is crucial to producing good parts. The life of TFd tools is dependent on edge recession and is not limited by premature failure related to edge sharpness.
Third, there is no possibility of chemical interaction with the coolant or by-products of the workpiece material because there is no binder in TFd. The life of TFd tools can be substantially longer than PCD in applications that are prone to etch the binder.
Thick film diamond tools have demonstrated tool life two to three times that of PCD tools in tests conducted by an independent test laboratory. Thick film diamond tools are the first tools to evidence performance exceeding that of PCD in 25 years.
 
  TFd tools are offered by sp3 as:

• Tipped inserts

• Brazed cartridges

• Inserted cartridges

• Milling cutter bodies
 
 

 

For sales and technical assistance

call 888-547-4156