Wear and failure modes in the bandsawing operation when cutting ball-bearing steel

Bandsawing is an important operation in a variety of industries particularly steel suppliers, which need to cut-off raw material for secondary processes. Bandsawing is becoming a more competitive and preferred method of cutting-off to size as compared to circular sawing as the former achieves a lower kerf width, high metal removal rates and good surface finish. One specific feature of the bandsaw metal-cutting operation is that the depth of cut per cutting edge is small (5–50 μm). Under these conditions of low depth of cut compared to the edge sharpness, metal removal takes place by a complex combination of chip formation mechanisms. In order to have a better understanding of the fundamental nature of the chip formation mechanisms, full blade samples have been examined and the characteristic features associated with wear and failure modes are reported. This information will be useful for the future development of bandsaw materials enhancing the performance and life in a very important manufacturing industry. The work presented here is a combination of industrial interest and a scientific study by academia.