Engraving with Diamond Drill Bits

The engraving industry is a modestly-sized market in America. There are engravers who prefer working on classic firearms and even etch artworks into objects such as swords and knives. The federal government prints currency using engraved metal plates. Others are more challenging, such as engraving glass items. Nowadays, some glass objects are often etched by laser imagery but there are people who take the classic route and use diamond burrs. Since there’s a danger of chipping for the item being engraved, there are some pointers to consider:

Start by researching on diamond burrs with finer grades. The higher the grade number, the finer the grit. Some experts say a bit with 120 grit will work well in general engraving and higher grits help produce darker areas in the engraving. Consider reducing the rotary tool’s speed to allow for more defined edges.

Take note of the handpiece’s maintenance condition when engraving. Check the collet and bearings for signs of wear as they can contribute to chipping as a result of wobbles. Make sure that the bur itself is not locked too tight or the handpiece will be stripped. Apply water, or a sponge soaked in water and soap on the surface area to help lubricate the bit. Precaution is everything when you’re engraving.

Feeling the Whirr When the Dental Drill Hits

Ever sat down on the chair at your dental practice and saw a small handheld device that had a number of attachments in a nearby box? The device is a dental rotary drill and the attachments are simply known as dental burs, rotary file bits that are made for various purposes in a specific field. When you feeling something that hits your teeth when the dentist uses the drill, that’s the burr doing the work.

Each burr, which may be no longer than the front third of any of your fingers, has three parts – the head, the neck, and shank. The head contains the main parts that come into contact with the subject surface. The neck is the support arm while the shank is the main “driveshaft” linking the entire burr to the drill. The item is fundamentally the same as those used in household rotary drill tool sets. When a dentist needs to replace one bur with another, a small clamp or the bur changer is used to lock it in.  

Burrs come in multiple shapes and sizes, all based on various preferences set by the dentist himself. They include pointed heads, which come in coarse or extra coarse. However, the vast number of drill bits is so mind-boggling, that the International Organization for Standardization has stepped in to properly catalog them by number and design. 

Diamond Burs are a Dentist's Best Friend

Although burs can be seen in workshops, they're more common close to the dentist's chair. The burs are abrasive enough to gently file the teeth to prepare for certain dental procedures such as fitting the crown or preparing the cavity for filling. Traditionally, the dentist's arsenal includes carbide dental burs; however, there's a growing market for the harder and more cutting-edge diamond-tipped burs. As burs keep the process of getting rid of harmful deposits from the teeth short, the job is even shorter with diamonds.

With proper care, teeth are actually harder to cut through than you think. The full set of chompers have evolved to resist chewing after chewing, making them among the hardest bones in the human body. The job of cutting through teeth gets even more difficult with amalgams and composite resins present in patients that had their teeth filled in the past. Diamond-tipped burs, for all their hardness, can cut through enamel and dentin, as well as artificial fillings, with ease.

While more expensive than traditional burs, diamond burs last longer, especially with proper care and use. This makes replacements less frequent, making diamond burs a more economical choice for a number of dentists. Plating burs with diamonds also enables burs to be smaller, allowing for precision cutting and filing. 

Behind the Luster, the Hard Side of Diamonds

When you want to drill holes into the glass without making the entire sheet crack, there are two kinds of drill bits that can do the job: a tungsten carbide and the harder diamond-tipped bit. As diamond is among the hardest minerals on Earth, many workshops choose to work with diamond-tipped bits, especially in precision glass cutting and drilling. With a Knoop hardness rating of 7,000, it's 3.5 times harder than tungsten carbide and can cut through glass, which falls between 400 and 550 in the hardness scale, with relative ease.

One material cutting into another material is a testament to the former's hardness. This is because the first material can resist changes in shape better than the second, which cuts or breaks under the first, when force is applied. However, experts say the cutting ability of diamond depends on how you use it. Using the edge or girdle of a diamond, for instance, may put stress on the diamond. It's one of a few instances where the glass actually wins over the diamond.

Fortunately, you don't have to worry about that with drill bits because the diamonds used here aren't the jewelry quality ones, but rather the ones meant for industrial use. Cutting glass with the tip on the surface ensures the longevity of the bit. No wonder diamond-tipped drill bits are very common in workshops.