2010 Volume 17 Issue 2 Pages 182-185
The cutting performance of the saw wires that are bonded with diamond grains using active metal solder has been studied. Based on this study, a new type of diamond grains bonded micro cutting saw wire which is capable of cutting Si crystals has been developed.
In conventional cutting of a Si crystal or hard material, a slurry containing diamond grains is poured into the cutting region. The slurry with diamond grains is consumed and contaminates drain. In order to prevent pollution, we have developed an environmentally friendly micro cutting wire to which the diamond grains are bonded directly by using metal solder. We call it AD wire, and the wire is capable of cutting the work pieces without any slurry. We also demonstrate that the diamond grained saw wire performs superior compared to other commercial cutting wires which are the electro plated and the resin bonded types.
In our AD process, diamond grains are bonded strongly to a tungsten wire, by the use of a specially developed bronze solder. These grains do not detach from the wire during cutting. We demonstrate using an application example that the new wire can cut Si crystals and can be widely used as a cutting wire with a long life.
