Why we use Diamond Technology to Cut through Reinforced Concrete
Cutting of reinforced concrete is globally becoming more popular in the Civil Engineering and Construction industry. The cutting of concrete not only has quality and time benefits, but also safety benefits.
To cut reinforced concrete, diamond blades are most commonly used. These blades, with diamond segments which are laser welded to the blades, are supplied in various sizes to cut to various depths.
A mineral’s hardness is a measure of its relative resistance to scratching. The Mohs Hardness Scale is used to identify minerals, when scratching the mineral against another substance of known hardness on the Mohs Hardness Scale.
The Mohs Hardness Scale is rated from 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest on the scale. Diamonds have a rating of 10 and therefore the hardest mineral available. The diamonds used for cutting blades are synthetic diamonds made in a laboratory, where the element carbon is placed under high-pressure and high-temperature to form a diamond. These synthetic diamonds are more easily sorted and graded, so that the shape and hardness of the diamond for each application can be controlled. Diamond grit used for grinding or polishing blades, is not the same as that used for cutting blades. Cutting blades typically use harder diamond.
Concrete is a very tough material and therefore using diamonds blades, due to the hardness, is the best viable option to cut through concrete.
The segments contain a mixture of diamonds and metal bond powders, which are pressed and heated to specific requirements for the cutting application. The segments are capable of dispersing and transferring heat, which means they can withstand high temperatures generated by continuous friction.
Using diamond blades has the following benefits:
Durable
Because of the hardness of the diamonds, the blades have increased durability, which increases the longevity of the blades.
Speed
In todays fast-paced projects, speed is essential to meet completion dates for projects. Using diamond cutting blades assists with creating openings, removing certain portions of structures; often unplanned mistakes on a project can quickly be rectified using diamond cutting blades. Cutting speeds can also be increased by using a continuous outer rim, which can withstand high speeds.
Safety
When larger sections of concrete must be cut, a track is mounted to the adjacent concrete using a drop-in anchor to secure the track. The cutting equipment is then fixed to the track and can be operated remotely from a distance. The sections of concrete can then be removed using controlled lifting and rigging techniques.
Quality
Compared to conventional techniques for the breaking of concrete such as concrete breakers, diamond concrete cutting provides a smooth, neat finish without feather edging of the concrete. When using concrete breakers micro-cracks are introduced into the substrate of the remaining section of concrete, which can cause further durability issues.
