What Exactly is Diamond? Diamond is made of carbon atoms arranged in a cubic crystal structure and is a naturally ocurring solid (a mineral).
Apart from the properties that make it so popular with the ladies, diamond is
On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, diamond has a hardness of 10. It‘s cutting resistance is 140 times greater than that of corundum (ruby & sapphire). However, the hardness of a diamond varies in its different crystal directions. This makes it possible to cut a diamond with another diamond.
The symbol ”C“ describes diamond concentration in the cutting segment.
C 200 is only a theoretical value. A bonding matrix with a diamond concentration of 50% would actually fail to hold the diamonds in place.
When comparing the hardness of different materials it becomes obvious that diamond is by far the hardest.
To compensate for diamond‘s limited toughness various bonding agents are mixed together with the diamond crystals to form the bonding matrix of the cutting segments. The actual composition of the bond will
depend on the intended application.
The bonding matrix is designed to offer optimum cutting performance.
Synthetic vs. Natural Diamond
Despite high costs (due to a highly sophisticated manufacturing process) synthetic diamond is the preferred choice for use in cutting tools.
Which advantages does synthetic diamond offer?