Influence of diamond wire pretension on process behaviour

Abstract

Wire sawing with diamond tools is a highly flexible cut-off grinding process with regard to machinable
component structure and composition. Therefore, it is nowadays not only used in the processing of
natural stone, but also increasingly deployed on dismantling of nuclear or industrial plants. In this
field of application, concrete, reinforced concrete and steel have to be cut. In particular, the
processing of reinforcements and steel structures results in higher process forces compared to the
machining of natural stone or concrete. Consequently, the diamond wire is deflected leading to
decreased cutting performance in terms of the material removal rate. To overcome these challenges,
the diamond wire can be pretensioned which directly affects the stiffness of the tool. Thereby, the
deflection of the diamond wire can be reduced and the material removal rate can be increased.
This paper presents initial results concerning the influence of the wire pretension on the process
behaviour of a diamond wire when cutting steel S355JR. For these investigations, the wire
pretension was varied in a range of 300 N up to 2000 N. For the evaluation of the process behaviour,
resulting process forces, cutting power, wire deflection and surface removal rate were analysed.