OVERVIEW

Our range of products addresses the requirements of multiple industries, from cutting tools to electronics manufacturing, all of which benefit from diamond's inherent characteristics, such as strength, durability, stiffness, chemical inertness, thermal conductivity and electrical isolation properties.

sp3 is unique in its ability to manufacture and market diamond solutions, whether you need to strengthen a cutting tool, or cool the junction temperature of a high heat flux device, based on its wafer scale and thick-film manufacturing processes. A demonstrated market leader, sp3 sells both the equipment to manufacture diamond and a broad range of products that allow you to take advantage of the properties of diamond.

DiaBide™ - CARBIDE CUTTING TOOL DIAMOND COATINGS

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sp3 Diamond Technologies' DiaBide™ thin-film CVD diamond coating enables super-hard diamond-coated carbide cutting tools and wear parts.

The DiaBide™ coating process produces cutting tools with a significantly longer wear life, and considerably less friction than traditional cutting tools, so much so that DiaBide™ coated tools quickly pay for themselves.

The proliferation of super-hard composite materials across many industries has created a huge demand for diamond coated cutting tools. sp3 Diamond Technologies' CVD diamond reactors are optimally suited to cutting tool applications. Coatings can be applied to tungsten carbide inserts, drills, endmills and a wide variety of specialized tools. The diamond coated tools are ideal for machining graphite, green ceramic, fiber reinforced plastics, carbon fiber composites, metal matrix composites and aluminum die castings with high silicon content.

sp3 specializes in depositing CVD diamond on flat and round cutting tools of many configurations, using thin-film diamond. Diamond tools provide exceptional performance in machining abrasive, non-metallic materials such as metal matrix composites and non-ferrous metals.

Because diamond tools last much longer (10 to 50 times the life of carbide) they:

  • Improve the dimensional accuracy and consistency of the machined parts
  • Greatly reduce the number of tool changes, increasing productivity
  • Increase machine utilization
  • Allow much longer periods of unattended machining, e.g., overnight

Because diamond tools offer extremely low friction and consistently sharp edges, they:

  • Permit using speeds two to three times higher than carbide, again contributing to productivity, with no degradation of surface quality
  • Allow delicate, thin-wall sections to be machined quickly and precisely at high rpm settings with reduced feed rates

sp3 Diamond Technologies' patented DiaBide™ hot-filament CVD deposition process allows uniform coating of substrates of almost any configuration. With its considerable expertise, sp3 has developed a method that maximizes the number of tools that are coated in every reactor run to make its DiaBide™ coating as cost-effective as possible. With its economical operation and low power consumption, sp3's hot filament reactors can produce the lowest cost diamond coatings on the market.

The Type System
sp3 Diamond Technologies knows diamond coatings and their impact on overall tool performance. sp3 will work with its coating service clients to define a coating/substrate system that will best address the needs of the end-user application. Selecting the proper tungsten carbide substrate is extremely important to achieving good coating adhesion and therefore tool integrity and reliability. The proper selection of coating options enables the end user to achieve the optimum combination of cutting performance and tool life.

sp3 Diamond Technologies' thin-film CVD diamond coating types address different work piece material needs as follows:

Round/Rotary Tool Coatings
  		  Flat Tool Coatings
 
Type 3 is a thin diamond coating approximately 6 microns thick. It is typically used in applications where edge sharpness is required to optimize finish or reduce the possibility of tear-out. Because the coating is thinner, tool life will be somewhat less than with the Type 5 coating. The Type 3 is also used on those carbide grades that are not well suited for thicker coatings because of high Cobalt content (10% or greater) or small grain size (0.8 micron or less).
  		  Type 10 is a thin diamond coating approximately 12 microns thick. It is typically used in applications where edge sharpness is required to optimize finish or reduce the possibility of tear-out. Because the coating is thinner, tool life will be somewhat less than with the Type 15 or Type 18 coating. The Type 10 is also used on those carbide grades that are not well suited for thicker coatings because of high Cobalt content (10% or greater) or small grain size (0.8 micron or less).
 
Type 5 is the general-purpose coating, nominally 12 microns thick. It is recommended for moderately abrasive applications and provides excellent tool life. A proprietary process guarantees adhesion of the diamond coating on selected carbides, even in the most demanding applications. This coating provides excellent tool life when machining graphite, green ceramic, some fiber-reinforced composites and Aluminum alloys with <10% Silicon.
  		  Type 15 is a thicker coating, nominally 20 microns thick. It is recommended for mild to moderately abrasive applications and provides good tool life. A proprietary preparation process guarantees adhesion of the diamond coating on selected carbides, even in the most demanding applications. This coating provides good tool life when machining carbon, graphite, green ceramics, some fiber-reinforced plastics, copper and brass, free machining Aluminum alloys and cast Aluminum alloys with <10% silicon.
 
Type 7 is the most robust and thickest coating offered by sp3 Diamond Technologies. Typically this coating will be 20 microns thick and because of this will have reduced edge sharpness. sp3 is the only supplier of diamond coatings to produce a coating this thick. This product performs well in fiber and glass filled composite materials, carbon fiber reinforced plastics, Aluminum alloys with >10% Silicon and Metal Matrix Composites (MMC). The demands that the Type 7 coating places on the diamond/carbide interface require some special attention to the choice and specifications of carbide grades.
  		  Type 18 is the most general–purpose diamond coating offered by sp3 Diamond Technologies. It is recommended for moderate to highly abrasive applications and provides excellent tool life. Typically this coating will be 30 microns thick, and because of this will have slightly reduced edge sharpness. This product provides excellent tool life in fiber and glass filled composite materials, carbon fiber reinforced plastics, cast Aluminum alloys with >10% Silicon and metal matrix composites (MMC). The demands that the Type 18 coating places on the diamond/carbide interface require some special attention to the choice and specifications of carbide grades. sp3's proprietary substrate preparation process assures coating integrity and reliable cutting performance. sp3 can provide diamond coatings up to 50um thick on inserts for more demanding applications. Consult sp3 if you have an application that may require a thicker coating.
 
Notes: Endmills are coated down the entire flute length (up to 3 inches maximum). Drills are coated from two to five diameters down the flute. sp3 does not coat both ends of double-ended tools. Maximum overall length of tools to be coated is 8 inches. sp3's CVD diamond coating can be applied to virtually any round tool geometry including tools with steps. Tools from .010” diameter to 2.50” diameter can be coated. Consult sp3 Diamond Technologies for coating endmills with a larger shank diameter than the cutting diameter or other special tools. Brazed tools cannot be coated.
  		  Notes: Diamond coatings can be applied to virtually any insert style, size or geometry. Rounds, squares, triangles, trapezoids and diamond-patterned tungsten carbide inserts can all be coated. The diamond coating is highly conformal and very uniform in thickness and therefore suitable for coating chip breaker style inserts. Grooving and parting tools of any size or shape can be coated as can single point engraving tools. Tungsten carbide saw blades can also be coated. These can be up to 3-inches in diameter and as thick as ¼-inch. Saws 1 mm thick and thicker will not warp or distort. Saw blades less than 1mm thick may distort as much as .005 inches. sp3 only coats one side of each tool. This avoids potential damage to the cutting edge on double-sided tools when the tool is clamped into a tool holder. Some grooving tools with the cutting edges on the same side can have the coating applied to both cutting tips. Contact sp3 for more information on specific geometries.
 
Carbide Substrate:
Tools to be coated must be fabricated from a carbide grade that is compatible with sp3's CVD diamond coating processes. This is necessary to assure reliable adhesion of the coating to the carbide substrate, which in turn assures tool reliability. A list of approved grades for which sp3 has developed compatible processes appears in our "Downloads" section. Please consult with sp3 before sending tools made from other grades for service coating.

 

 

CVD Diamond Frequently Asked Questions

What is diamond?
  		  Diamond is composed of pure carbon atoms, arranged in a very special crystal orientation that gives it its unique physical properties. The key element that allows for the special crystal structure is the “sp3” bonding of the carbon atoms—this is where the “sp3” in our company name comes from.
 
What materials are best suited to machining with diamond?
  		  Abrasive non-metallic materials, non-ferrous metals, and abrasive non-ferrous metals.
 
Why can’t you machine ferrous metals with diamond?
  		  Diamond is unaffected by almost every other chemical or compound in nature. One exception is hot iron. The carbon atoms in diamond will dissolve into the iron, quickly eroding the diamond surface. Iron wheels are actually used to polish natural diamond. However, under certain conditions and with certain cooling substances, it’s possible and even desirable to machine ferrous materials using diamond. Contact sp3 Diamond Technologies, Inc. for more details.
 
How thick is the CVD diamond film on sp3 DiaBide™ tools?
  		  Thickness is tailored to the application, and can range from 5 to 50 microns.
 
How do coating thicknesses in microns relate to inches?
  		  1 micron is 1 millionth of a meter, or 0.00004 inch. Thus, a coating thickness of 10 microns is 0.0004 inch; 40 microns is 0.0016 inch.
 
How does sp3 grow CVD diamond?
  		  The diamond coating is grown in a vacuum chamber using feed gases of hydrogen and methane. Usually the gases are fed into the chamber in a 50:1 mix, predominantly hydrogen. A very high temperature element in the chamber causes the deposition process to take place. sp3 uses fine filaments energized to a temperature of approximately 2200°C. The high temperature breaks down the methane into carbon and hydrogen. The carbon atoms will nucleate and grow tiny crystals of diamond. In time these tiny diamond crystallites will grow into a continuous diamond film.
 
How long does it take to coat a tool with CVD diamond?
  		  Diamond grows slowly, about 0.5 to 1.0 micron per hour. A typical reactor run to grow 40 micron films on cutting inserts can take almost two days; most round/rotary tools are coated overnight. Because of the slow diamond growth rate, sp3 finds ways to maximize the number of tools that are coated in every reactor run.
 
How many tools can be coated in a reactor?
  		  Our reactors provide a uniform diamond coating over an area of about a square foot. This enables coating 200 to 300 inserts at a time, or 65 to 100 round tools.
 
How do you make the CVD diamond coating stick?
  		  Left to itself, diamond has almost no chemical bond to cemented carbides. The trick is to pretreat the carbide surface, roughening it so the diamond can grow into the surface and attach itself through the mechanical interlocking of the carbide and the diamond.
 
How sharp is the cutting edge on a diamond-coated tool?
  		  The coating will naturally tend to round the edge somewhat. Sharpness is a function of the sharpness of the uncoated tool and the thickness of the film. Thin (10 micron) films over a dead sharp edge are still quite sharp. Thicker films, e.g., 40 microns, will approach an “A” hone in sharpness.
 

Custom Coating

What carbide grades can be coated with CVD diamond?
  		  This can’t be answered in just a few words! In general, typical C-2, medium grain (1-3um) carbides with a 6% cobalt binder amount are the best candidates. For complete lists, please refer to our “Downloads” section at www.sp3diamondtech.com
 
Can sp3 coat micro-grain carbides?
  		  We can coat select micro-grain (0.5-1um) carbides with a 10% cobalt binder amount, but only on round tools with diameters < or = .093”. If the carbide is too fine it does not respond to the preparation, which requires a rough surface for good adhesion.
 
If I send sp3 a tool, can they coat it?
  		  If the tool is in an approved carbide grade and the geometry is within our limits, sp3 can coat it! Please contact Customer Service at 877-773-9940 with specific questions.
 
If I send sp3 a tool in an acceptable grade for coating, how long will it take?
  		  We can typically turn around custom coating requests in about 10 working days.
 
Can tools coated with other coatings such as TiC and TiN be coated with CVD diamond?
  		  Unfortunately not. sp3 needs a bare carbide tool of an approved grade to insure a successful bond between the diamond and the carbide.
 
Can tools be diamond coated a second time?
  		  sp3 does not coat tools that have already had a diamond coating for two reasons. The first is that the diamond deposition process alters the carbide at the surface, and the required surface preparation will be less predictable a second time.
 
Can high speed steel tools be coated?
  		  The substrate temperature is about 850°C during the deposition. High speed steel will not survive these high temperatures.
 
Can tools with brazed carbide tips be coated?
  		  The normal deposition temperature is 850°C. Typical brazing will not survive these high temperatures.
 
Can you braze diamond-coated tools?
  		  This is feasible if the braze is done in a non-oxidizing atmosphere such as argon, and temperatures are kept as low as possible. However, one consideration is that the tool cannot be touched up or ground to size after brazing. You would be grinding a thin diamond film, and it would be very difficult to grind accurately without the possibility of breaking through the film.
 

Machining with CVD Diamond Tools

Can I expect longer tool life with CVD diamond than carbide and, if so, how much longer?
  		  Yes, you can. How much longer depends a great deal on the application. In very abrasive metals such as 390 aluminum, a 10x life increase in not uncommon. In graphite, lifetime increases between 30x and 50x are common. In glass fiber-filled materials 30x is common.
 
What are some other advantages of CVD diamond?
  		  Accuracy: The diamond coating is very thin, but very hard, and tools don’t change significantly in size during their life. For instance, the radius on an endmill will change by about 10 microns (0.0004″) from when new to the point that it is worn out. Speed: Diamond tools can typically be run at two to three times the surface speed of carbide tools. Dry cutting: Diamond tools can often convert an operation from wet to dry machining, providing a significant saving in overall machining costs.
 
Should you use coolant with CVD diamond tools?
  		  Diamond tools can often be run dry. In some cases coolant can shorten tool life due to thermal shock. If coolant is used for chip removal, it can provide a better finish in some applications. Coolant also contributes some lubricity which can be helpful in some applications. In general, we recommend to try running dry or with mist coolant. Use flood coolant only when chip removal or finish demands it.
 
How do CVD diamond-coated tools perform with respect to surface finish?
  		  The application of a diamond film to a tool has the effect of making the tool less sharp. What is the consequent effect on surface finish? First, the question must be asked—what do we mean by finish? Is it an Ra reading using a profilometer, or is it surface sheen or brilliance that is important? In terms of an Ra reading, CVD diamond tools often provide a finish similar to carbide or PCD tools. With respect to visual finish, diamond films are composed of millions of tiny crystals, which will cause micro scratches on the surface of some materials, leaving a matte finish rather than a mirror finish. If a particular finish is required, we usually suggest PCD or TFd tools, which are available from sp3 Cutting Tools in Decatur, IN (www.sp3cuttingtools.com).
 

“Thick” Film, “Thin” Film and DLC

What is the difference between DLC and CVD diamond coatings?
  		  DLC is an amorphous carbon film called Diamond Like Carbon. It is not diamond because it is not crystalline. DLC films are typically 1 to 2 microns thick, and do not hold up in very abrasive materials such as silicon aluminum. In graphite they will typically last about 10 to 15% of the life of a diamond tool.
 
What is the difference between sp3’s freestanding (“thick-film”) diamond and sp3’s CVD (“thin- film”) diamond coating?
  		  sp3’s freestanding diamond is grown at our facility in Calgary, Canada using DC torch reactors. It’s referred to as “thick-film” because the thickness can range from 300um to 500um. sp3’s thin-film CVD diamond is grown at our headquarters in Santa Clara, CA in our proprietary hot filament CVD diamond deposition systems. It’s referred to as “thin-film” because the thickness can range from .5um to 50um.
 
What substrates can you grow sp3’s thin-film CVD diamond coating on?
  		  sp3 Diamond Technologies, Inc. has experience coating tungsten carbide, silicon, silicon carbide, titanium, and graphite.
 

For additional information, Contact us.