Agar Scientific has announced the availability of the Labcut 150 low-speed diamond saw for sample preparation.
Agar's sample-preparation instrumentation enables the investigation of the structure of metals, alloys, bone, composites, ceramics and soft materials.
The low-speed diamond saw can be used in materials laboratories for cutting and sectioning a variety of small and delicate samples, particularly when the material structure is not homogeneous.
It gives a high-quality cut surface without serious deformation and with minimum burr.
The universal design uses thin diamond/CBN bonded wafering blades to cut fragile and soft samples that cannot be handled by high-speed abrasive/diamond cutting machines.
A range of sample holders have also been designed for this purpose, including a rotating holder for round materials.
The speed of the wafering blades can be varied between 0 and 1,000rpm for optimum cutting conditions.
The Labcut 150 is ruggedly constructed but is said to be attractively styled with an aluminium frame, and uses stainless-steel components for stability and corrosion resistance.
An inverter controls a 1/10HP motor driving the 0.5in/12.7mm-diameter spindle using a toothed belt.
The sample holders are held on a pivoting arm, which is counterbalanced to give low loading conditions on the specimen.
The arm is moved 25mm/1in with a micrometer adjustment so that the sample can be positioned for cutting.
A number of weights are provided to give the required specimen loading on the rotating blade.
Wafering blades of 3in/75mm, 4in/100mm, 5in/125mm and 6in/150mm in diameter are available for the Labcut 150.
Blades come in three types: resin-bonded diamond in two different concentrations; CBN bonded wheels; and abrasive blades with aluminium-oxide or silicon-carbide abrasives.
