We offer cut pieces
"to finish to" your requirements at no charge when you purchase our materials
and strongly suggested taking advantage of these services. The following recommendations
are provided should you choose to saw yourself. BLADE BRAND
A high quality carbide tipped blade, like Lenox Tri-Master or equivalent
must be used on all our MoldStar® alloys. Bi-Metal or
non-carbide tipped blades should never be used as they will
typically dull immediately.
TOOTH/PlTCH FORM
A blade with a staggered 2-3 or 3-4 teeth per inch works best. Non-staggered pitch blades
should not be used and will lead to "work hardening" of the workpiece and the
blade will cease cutting and dull quickly.
BLADE SPEED
This style of blade is used for cutting from 1/2" to 3-1/2" thick plates, with
band speed at:
- 150 fpm for 1/2"
- 120 fpm for 1"
- 100 fpm for 2"
- 60 fpm for over 2-1/2"
on a vertical band saw with a hydraulic table feed.
This same style of blade is recommended for horizontal, gravity or hydraulic fed machines
as well.
FEED RATE
On hydraulic fed machines, feed rates of:
- 4" to 6" per minute on thin plates (less than 1/2" thick)
- 1/2" to 1" plates: feed rates vary from 2" to 4" per minute
- plates over 1" thick : feed rates vary from 1/2" to 2 inches per minute
Feed rates are critical in that too light of feed rate will allow the cutting surface
to dwell and "work harden" the area to be cut. Common sense
and experience provide the best results when it comes to blade speed and feed rates.
COOLANT
Recommended coolant or lubricant is a light mist of soluble oil/air combination. For
the ultimate blade life and saw speeds, Accu-Lube, a premium oil is suggested.
WORKPIECE SETUP
Always cut MoldStar® Copper Alloys with the blade in
contact with the "thinnest" cross section of material. This means in a
horizontal band saw, the plate is verticle or standing, not laying down. On a verticle saw
the plate would be laying flat. Make sure that on thinner plates (less than 1 1/2"),
the plate is supported adequately as to prevent flexing or bounce. |