Metal Cutting Circular Saw: A Comprehensive Guide

What Is a Metal Cutting Circular Saw Machine?

A metal cutting circular saw machine is designed to shear various metals at a high speed with the toothed cold blade. Also known as cold saw machine, the metal cutting circular saw allows both the saw blade and the raw materials being cut to remain cool during the operations. To achieve that, the saw blade conveys the generated heat to the metal chips, which are formed during the high-speed metal cutting process.

In the high-speed cold sawing process, the metal materials are released in the cutting motion by the blade teeth as the feeding system rotates the saw forward to the workpieces. The advantages of the metal-cutting circular saw machine include the elimination of burrs during the sawing process and also the reduction of sparks, discoloration as well as hazardous dust.

Basic Structure of a Metal Cutting Circular Saw

Metal cutting circular saw machine consists of a circular saw blade, electric motor, and gear system. The electric motor, AC vector drive, and gears allow the saw machine to reduce and control the turning rate of the circular saw blade. At the same time, keeping a consistently high torque during the high-speed metal cutting process.

When it comes to the circular saw blade used in the metal cutting circular saw, the blade is generally constructed from solid high-speed steels (HSS), some of them are tungsten carbide-tipped, making the saw blade powerful and reliable. The circular saw blades should be sharpened regularly to ensure the high-performance cutting at a consistently high speed, offering high loads of chips per blade tooth. 

The workpieces being cut in the metal cutting circular saws are clamped firmly, preventing any movement affecting the cold saw cutting motion. When selecting the right metal-cutting circular saw machine for your jobs, it is important to understand the type of the saw blades as well as the number of the blade teeth, and also the variable speed of the feeding and cutting system. More features of saw blades of metal-cutting circular saws will be discussed later.

Why Do You Need a Metal Cutting Circular Saw Machine?

The metal-cutting circular saw machines are reliable and flexible in usage, which is available for both ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. This means that the cold saw machine can be used to shear the metal with high carbon content like the ferrous metals including steels, cast irons, and wrought irons and also the non-ferrous materials like aluminum, copper, lead, tin, zinc, and so on.

In addition to versatility, the metal cutting circular saw machine, which has the coolant system can ensure the high-performance cold sawing process with the consistent cooling process for the blade teeth. The energy and the heat are therefore transferred to the metal chips, lengthening the tool life and intervals of maintenance. The lubrication in the system can eliminate the discoloration and sparks while cold sawing, offering high-quality cut and metal products.

In contrast, some abrasive sawing blades may cause potential binding issues or excessive heat through friction during the metal cutting process in abrasive saws. This not only increases the cost and effort to complete the sawing operations but also increases the wear and energy consumption significantly. The lower cost, efficiency and reliability of the metal cutting circular saw machine make the models popular for mass production applications.

Features and Types of Circular Saw Blade

Typically, the cold saw blades in the metal-cutting circular saw machines cut the workpieces with a relatively slow rotational rate with a great chip load capacity ranging from 0.025 to 0.08 mm per tooth. The SFM (surface feet per minute) of the saw blade can be up to 5000 today, which means 25 meters per second. When it comes to the circular saw blade types, there are 2 basic types including the HSS type and the TCT type. Both of them require regular sharpening treatment.

● HSS Type: 

The HSS type cool saw blades are made from solid high-speed steel, which is the most common type used in the metal-cutting circular saw machines. They are typically constructed from either M2 or M35 tool alloy steels with cobalt content. 

When cutting carbon steel or other ferrous materials, the ideal hardness of the cold saw blades can offer the machine high resistance to heat, reducing the equipment wear. However, the HSS type cold saw blades are more brittle, having less resistance to impact.

● TCT Type: 

TCT type cold saw blades are another popular and demanding saw blade type used in the metal cutting circular saws. The blade consists of a rigid steel alloy body and tungsten carbide inserts teeth tips, which creates reliable cut and clearance angles on the blade teeth. The steel alloy body of the TCT saw blade is typically made from hardened steel that is wear-resistant.

The TCT type of cold saw blades can work at higher temperatures when compared to the HSS type. Also, they can turn under a higher surface speed. The features permit the carbide-tipped cold saw blades to shear at a greater rate but keep an acceptable chip load. Widely used for sawing non-ferrous materials, the TCT type blades also obtain considerable popularity rapidly for ferrous metal sawing jobs today.