Wire saw

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It has been suggested that Diamond wire cutting be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

A wire saw can refer to the following

A metal wire or cable used for cutting.
A machine using such a wire or cable. There are two types of wire saw machines:
- Continuous (or endless or loop)
- Oscillating (or reciprocating).

Sometimes the wire itself is referred to a "blade".

1 Description
2 Applications
3 Operation
4 Examples
5 External links

[edit] Description

The wire can have one strand or many strands braided together. The wire saw uses abrasion to cut. Depending on the application, diamond material may or may not be used as an abrasive. A single-strand saw can be roughened to be abrasive, abrasive compounds can be bonded to the cable, or diamond-impregnated beads (and spacers) can be threaded on the cable. Wire saws are often cooled and lubricated by water or other liquid.

[edit] Applications

Outdoors type: The simplest type of wire saw is the inexpensive "survivalist" (emergency) type sold in hunting and climbing shops. These are intended for sawing branches.

Granite, quarry, and mining industries: These wire saws are large machines that use diamond-impregnated beads on a cable. The saws allow the bottom of a quarry slab to be cut free (after the cable is passed through access drill holes); with the bottom cut, back and side charges (explosives) can cleanly cleave the slab.

Construction: Continuous type wire saws are used to cut walls and other large constructions.

Semiconductor industry: Continuous type saws are used to cut silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry.

Machine shops: Diamond-impregrated wire saws are used in machine shops to cut metal parts.

Research and engineering: Wire saws are used in laboratories to cut fragile crystals, substrates, and other materials.

Foam rubber: Oscillating type saws are used to cut foam rubber.

Stained glass: Both continuous and oscillating type saws are used to cut intricate shapes in stained glass.

[edit] Operation

An advantage of wire saws is that they can make a cut much thinner than a blade-based saw is capable of. The width of the cut is called the "kerf".

Wire saws are much slower than circular saws and jig saws, but they can produce very precise cuts if used properly. In the semiconductor industry, it is possible to cut silicon wafers as thin as (tbd).

Generally, wire saws are intended to cut perpendicular to the surface of the work piece; tiny surface imperfections can cause major deflection of the cut. They also have greater risk of damage due to the working surface (wire) breaking than do blade-based saws.