CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS 

on SMART CUT Diamond Wafering Blades. Below are accounts of a few users. Explaining how the diamond wafering blade was used, materials cut, and overall comments on blade performance.

I am writing to tell you how pleased I am with the SMART CUT diamond wafering blade I recently purchased from you. You may remember the blade was made with a larger custom arbor hole to fit our surface grinder. I installed the blade with no problems and put it to the ultimate test, sectioning a client part consisting of a thick stainless steel disk bonded by a proprietary process to an alumina ceramic insulator. I had previously mounted this combo in epoxy and attempted to cut it on another manufacturer's low speed wafering saw using both their diamond blade and a wafering blade they had recommended for cutting metal. Both blades did well on the ceramic but even with constant dressing the cutting rate in the metal portion of the sample was infinitesimal and I gave up the effort after a whole day of effort.

Your blade cut the same sample in approximately 15 minutes on the surface grinder and rates in the stainless steel portion were only slightly slower than in the ceramic. I was very pleasantly surprised and impressed. Thank you for a wonderful product.

Date: September 12, 2001

From: Paul Engle

Lab support Mgr.

Geller MicroAnalytical Laboratory

426e Boston Street

Topsfield, MA 01983

Brian, here is a list of materials we cut over the life of your 4" diamond blade on our low speed metallographic preparation saw. The size of the material varies (up to about 2 inches in diameter), so it is hard to compare directly with other manufacturers blades.

SiC  (Silicon Carbide)

Mgo (Magnesium Oxide)

WC  (Tungsten Carbide)

Y2O3  (Yittrium oxide)

Fe3O4  (Magnetite)

Cr  (Chromium)

TaC  (Tantalum Carbide)

ZrB2  (Zirconium Boride)

HfC  (Hafnium Carbide)

Tio2  (Rutile)

Al2O3  (Saphire)

B  (Boron)

I hope this is useful data for you.

-Paul Engie

Date: May 3, 2002

Company: Wah Chang

An Alleghany Technologies Company

1600 NE Old Salem Rd.

P.O. Box 460

Albany, OR 97321

From: Bill Coffman

Subject: Diamond Blade Evaluation

We recently evaluated on of your 10" diamond saw blades. We cut Zr, Nb, Ti, Hf, and their alloys. These are very tough, ductile metals. We used a Struers Discotom 5 abrasive cut-off saw. First of all, The price of your blades was the best I've seen. It was almost 1/5 the cost of one of your competitors blades. We found that it worked well for cutting all of alloys and pure metals. It worked extremely well for sectioning carbide inclusions in Zircaloy. Before using your blade, we have had little success sectioning these types of samples. 

We found your blade to last about four months when used for cutting these metals. This still makes SiC blades more cost effective for the majority of the work we do. Even though they don't last as long, because of their lower initial price the cost per cut is lower. However, we will definitely keep one of your diamond blades in stock for specialized applications such as carbide sectioning. The low cost of your diamond blades compared to your competitors allows our lab to have a capability that in the past was cost prohibitive.

                                    Regards,

                                                Bill Coffman

Date: April 26, 2001

Pacific Testing Laboratories, Inc.

24950 Avenue Tibbetts

Valencia, CA 91355

Subject: Diamond Blade

The following is a list of materials that were cut using the diamond blade that UKAM Industrial Superhard Tools has provided:

• Hardened Tool Steels (Rockwell B 65)

• Carbon composites

• Ceramic

• Aluminum Brass

All these materials were cut using the same diamond blade. The results were very satisfactory. No sign of significant wear was observed on the diamond blade. Out of all the diamond blades PTL has used, the one provided by UKAM appears to be of better quality. Also, the diamond belt (cutting edge) of the blade is wider than other diamond blades.

Sincerely,

PACIFIC TESTING LABORATORIES, INC.

Michael Shin

Laboratory Director

Date: August 13, 2001

From: Roger Devaney

Company: Hi-Rel Labs

6116 North Freya

Spokane, WA 99207

Memo: Re: Diamond saw blade

Thank you for following up with us on the performance of your diamond wafering saw blade. At present I have use the blade to cut 93% and 96% Alumina ceramic, Silicon-Nitride ceramic, glass, Kovar, copper, and iron. We use only water with our saw at an RPM of 3000. The UKAM blades cuts all types of ceramic very cleanly, with no visible chipping of the edges. This blade also cuts the metals very cleanly. For precision smooth cutting this blade is superior to others we have. In terms of blade life; I can not really comment yet as we have only been using it for sever weeks with 5-10 cuts per week.

Respectfully,

Roger Devaney