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Single-point diamond milling is like conventional milling but the main difference is the cutting tool and processing parameters. The tool is a mill with diamond-tipped inserts. Mounted on a 5-axis machining center this mill is perfect for processing complex surfaces made of glass, PMMA, and polycarbonate. An extremely fast revolving diamond mill with a minimum cutting feed and an abundance of lubricant can create the best surface finish for automotive lamp lenses, light guides, and customized window panes. However, it is important to always remember about vibration as it will ruin all the surface quality at once. In order to improve the quality of the piece, some SPDM techniques involve machining only in one direction ( the mill processes a path and then returns to the initial side of the workpiece for a stepover movement, that way,  the force of the cutting is always in one direction.

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When machining, the hardness of the cutting tool is one of the most important parameters for machining techniques and as far as we all know there is nothing harder than diamond.  Artificial diamonds can withstand very high temperatures and cutting regimes. They are considerably cheap and their cutting edge is so fine that you can get a mirror-like surface with a single-tip diamond cutter and that is the only way to achieve such fine surface finish without purchasing the extremely expensive grinding and polishing machines. The diamonds can be mounted on simple CNC machine tools and you can get outstanding results if you tweak the technological system for maximum rigidity. You can machine the hardest metals and obtain mirror-like surface finishes. Diamond turning and diamond milling are among the most widespread technologies that are available now for commercial use.

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It is always best to discuss where diamond machining shines based on actual case studies. Therefore, a list of examples was formed

One very important notice is that diamond tools cannot be used to cut steel or iron alloys. The reason for that is that all of them contain a considerable amount of carbon atoms. Machining is always carried out at high temperatures and since both diamond and steel contain carbon, the atoms can sinter when heated. That way, the tool can stick to the part material and both components are wasted.

CNC machining is traditionally considered a high precision method. But cutting methods have their limitations. You just can’t make a cutting edge perfect enough to compete with a grinding wheel in terms of tolerance and surface finish. However, new techniques and equipment are being developed incessantly. So, we have a considerably new solution that allows the CNC machine tools to come closer to the precision of abrasive methods. This solution is called Diamond machining.

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The majority of machining methods that utilize diamonds to some degree are considered to be grinding and polishing techniques but there are two methods that can be implemented for the CNC equipment and are closer to cutting rather than abrasive processing.

A diamond tool for machining is basically the same as any other cutting tool but for its insert. The insert has a base material made of tungsten or carbide and on its tip a thin diamond film is visible. This film is extremely hard and can last up to 50 times longer compared to conventional tools. It is very sharp and provides a very clear cut resulting in supreme surface finishes.

Diamond tools can process a lot of different materials among which are ceramics, silicone, polycarbonate, plexiglass ( PMMA), non-ferrous alloys such as aluminum, copper, bronze, titanium, glass, different polymers such as ABS, polyethylene and so on, highly abrasive materials such as concrete, granite, stone. As you can see, the material range is very wide starting from hard and brittle and ending with soft and transparent materials.

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SPDT is a method that is extremely similar to simple turning but the tool used is a diamond-tipped cutter. In addition, the rigidity of the manufacturing system must be much bigger. That means short lengths between fixtures, shorter tool supports and bringing vibration to a minimum. SPDT is especially useful for manufacturing optical lens because they are revolution parts mostly and it is very convenient to fix them on a lathe and use single-tip diamond inserts to obtain clear transparent surfaces.