Buehler, an ITW Company, Lake Bluff, Ill., premiered the AbrasiMet XL Pro large abrasive cutter and the AbrasiMet M medium sectioning saw at Heat Treat 2019 in Detroit. Buehler selected ASM International’s Heat Treat 2019 for the official release of the abrasive cutters because the show attracts the aerospace and automotive OEMs and their suppliers, which include heat treat facilities. The types of samples cut by these new saws vary from the metallic, such as automotive drive trains, gears, crankshafts, and engine components, to assorted aircraft parts, to nonmetallics such as polymers and composites.
The floor-standing AbrasiMet XL Pro has intuitive capabilities with a programmable user interface to reduce the time for setup. It provides accuracy of alignment through laser and joystick control of xyz axes. Other key features minimize deformation reproducibly, day in, day out. These include sectioning modes that minimize the area of contact (MAC) during the cut, such as “Planar Mode,” capability of pulsing the cut to reduce potential for thermal damage, and “Smart Cut,” which optimizes feed rate to ensure high quality cut surfaces when cutting materials of varying geometry and abrasion-resistance.
AbrasiMet XL Pro allows the sectioning of high-quality cut samples with a diameter up to 7 inches [178mm], which is best in class for an 18-inch cutter. It also has a 10kW motor, the most powerful motor on the market for this size abrasive cutter, and utilizes 14 inch [355mm] to 18 inch [457mm] blades. Its durable design, intuitive user interface, and optimized chamber will make it the ideal cutter for customers using Chop, Y-feed, or Planar cutting types.
The compact AbrasiMet M is a manual saw with a powerful 5.5 hp (4kW) motor that can accommodate 10 inch [254mm] to 12 inch [305mm] blades with a maximized cutter chamber space and sliding hood design to provide a quick, clean, and simple cutting solution for sample preparation in any work environment. Buehler designed the casting to be durable with a corrosion resistant stainless steel T-slot table. In addition, the hood design is reinforced for repeated opening/closing, and the enclosed motor-cutting arm system keeps debris and coolant out to maximize the life of the motor.
The AbrasiMet M tabletop saw is designed for heavy use and for labs that rely on sample cutting for production quality control and inspection of parts up to 25 inches (635mm) in the chamber. Lab technicians will be able to change blades easily without tools. In addition, cleaning of the 30-gallon recirculation tank will be less tedious due to the new dual tank design made of tougher materials and metal frame. This will save time in busy production environments and keep the momentum for sample analysis.
