Metal fabrication industry is filled with challenges. Whether it is stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication or steel fabrication, metal fabricators always find themselves at a situation where they need to use their knowledge and wit to overcome the obstacle and get the workpiece done perfectly.
For laser cutting machines, welding equipment, metal rolling and metal bending press brakes, the difficulties and challenges are somewhat limited. Some technical help from the maintenance crew can get the things done for you. However, after sawing, the challenges are less like challenges and more like irritating incidents. To be honest, there’s not much technical stuff that can go wrong while the process. But still, the sawing is one of the most annoying and time-consuming metal fabrication processes out there. This is simply because unlike laser cutting, metal bending, welding, and metal rolling, sawing challenges are not limited. If I was asked to put together a list of things that can go wrong in the sawing process, I’d be up all night. Fortunately, no one has asked me that.
So today I’m only going to address the issues regarding broken teeth and blade breakage in the sawing process.
Broken Teeth
- The break-in procedure of the blade you took for sawing may not be right for it. In such cases, the teeth are certain to break. So use a break-in method that is recommended by the manufacturer.
2. Each blade has its breaking point. If you don’t follow the recommendations for speed and use the blade at a lower speed than recommended, you might lose their teeth.
3. No following the optimal pressure for the saw can be a good excuse to get the teeth out. So, don’t use more pressure than you are told to.
4. When you put too much pressure with a slow momentum, the teeth get ripped up from the blade because they cannot sustain such pressure at such low speed. This is called teeth jump cut.
5. If the lubricant isn’t sufficient, accidents can happen. Besides, only ensuring its presence is not enough. You need to make sure the ratio is right and you are using the right lubricants for the application.
6. It might not be a shock to you that a hard workpiece can cause your blade to spill out its teeth.
7. Sometimes choosing the right blade can make a heavy impact on the sawing process. You need to guarantee that the blade you are going to use can cut the material in your table.
8. Sometimes if the workpiece is not clamped with the workstation properly, it can spin while sawing. In such case, there’s a high possibility for your blade to lose some of its teeth.
Blade Breakage
- If you don’t set the blade tension to the right value, you saw blade might break. That’s why remember to check the manufacturer’s instructions before setting the parameters.
2. The feed pressure can also break the blade besides breaking the teeth. That’s why never set the pressure too high.
3. Insufficient lubrication can as well lead to blade breakage.
4. Inadequate blade support is another reason why most of the sawing failures occur. So make sure it is tightened and aligned properly
- Adjust the wheel alignment to prevent the blade from rubbing on the wheel flange.
