Agar Scientific,
a leading supplier of microscopy accessories and consumables, announce the availability
of the new Labcut 150 low speed diamond saw for sample preparation.
Agar Scientific offers a comprehensive range of sample preparation instrumentation
in the knowledge that this is a vital step to produce exceptionally high quality
sample specimens to enable investigations of the structure of metals, alloys,
bone, composites, ceramics and soft materials. The latest of these is the new
Labcut 150 low speed diamond saw.
The Labcut 150 sample preparation system
The low speed diamond saw is well established in materials laboratories for
cutting and sectioning a wide 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 1000rpm for optimum cutting conditions.
The Labcut 150 is ruggedly constructed but 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 1/2in/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. The choice of a cutting blade depends on the
application. Blades come in three types: resin bonded diamond in 2 different
concentrations, CBN bonded wheels and abrasive blades with aluminium oxide or
silicon carbide abrasives.