Current status of diamond tool development in China

Diamond tools are widely used in various fields such as geological exploration, stone materials, machinery, automobiles and defense industries. The manufacturing process level of abrasive tools, geological drill bits and stone sawing tools for mechanical processing has been greatly improved. The products have been serialized and standardized, with complete varieties and specifications, and stable product quality. Some products have certain competitiveness in the international market.

The vast majority of diamond single crystals are used to make various diamond tools, of which there are many types. The diamond sawing tools produced in my country have complete varieties and specifications and stable quality. According to statistics, the market demand for diamond drilling tools in recent years is about 120,000 to 150,000 pieces, which can basically meet the market demand; with the development of the construction industry and the popularization of household air conditioners, there is a demand for diamond thin-walled engineering drill bits for pipeline installation, air conditioner adjustment installation and renovation of old buildings. The demand is also increasing day by day, and the demand for PDC drill bits used for petroleum and coal field exploration is also increasing accordingly. The quality of the diamond composite sheets produced in my country is not up to standard. It needs further research and improvement to continuously improve product quality and change the current situation of relying on imports of PDC drill bits. In mechanical processing, diamond grinding wheels, PCD tool cutters, honing oil stones, dressing rollers, wire drawing dies, etc. are widely used: resin-bonded diamond grinding wheels are used in large quantities, with an annual output of about 1 million pieces; diamond polycrystalline wire drawing dies have better performance than natural diamond dies and carbide dies, so they are widely used in the wire drawing industry, especially the emergence of cvd diamond wire drawing dies, which provide reliable wire drawing tools for controlling wires below 15mm. PCD cutting tools are mainly used for processing non-ferrous metals and non-metallic materials. According to reports, the demand for PCD cutting tools in industries such as automobiles, motorcycles, household appliances, wood processing and general machinery is increasing year by year. According to statistics, the demand has reached 26,000 by 1997. Especially in wood processing, the potential market for PCD cutting tools is very large and needs to be further developed. Diamond dressing rollers are a high-tech product with high technical content. In 1997, the number of diamond rollers used in my country was 3,000, and the demand this year is expected to reach 4,500. 

Problems

Although various diamond tools produced in my country are widely used in various industries and have achieved significant economic benefits, their technical level still lags behind similar foreign products, mainly as follows:

The entire diamond tool industry lacks unified management and macro-control. Due to blind development, the entire diamond tool production layout has become scattered and chaotic. The quality of products in the tool sales market is unstable, competition is disordered, and prices are chaotic.

Due to the uncoordinated development of diamond single crystal production and diamond tool production, the development of my country's diamond tools lags behind the growth rate of diamond single crystal production, resulting in a backlog and unsalable diamonds, which affects and restricts the sustainable development of my country's diamond industry and causes a serious decline in the economic benefits of diamond production enterprises.

The application fields of diamond tools are narrow, the product varieties are single, and the quality is unstable. The technical and quality standards of some products are confusing, and there are no unified management specifications and standards for product quality testing and supervision.

Diamond tool production equipment and overall technical level are relatively backward, and the promotion and application of some more advanced new technologies and new processes are slow.

The scale of production enterprises is generally small, production is not centralized, process technology is poor, market competitiveness is lacking, and economic benefits are not high.

There is insufficient capital investment in diamond tool production, new product development, and process technology research.

During the use of diamond tools, the usage rate of base materials is low and steel is wasted seriously; during use, abnormal wear, shedding, and residual diamonds result in a low actual utilization rate of diamonds and a large amount of waste of diamond materials. 

Measures to ensure the stable and sustainable development of my country’s diamond industry

Vigorously develop the diamond tool industry, pay close attention to the development of new products and new processes, expand diamond application fields, accelerate the development of my country's diamond industry, and improve economic benefits and overall technical level. The specific steps are:

Increase investment in the diamond tool industry, expand the production scale of diamond tools, appropriately introduce more advanced foreign production equipment and testing instruments, and strengthen the overall strength of my country's diamond tool industry. The development of the diamond industry should adhere to the principle of synchronous and coordinated development of diamond single crystals and diamond tools. Do not only focus on the development of single crystals and ignore the development of diamond tools. Only the development of diamond tools can drive and promote the production of diamond single crystals and the development and progress of the entire diamond industry. Judging from the domestic diamond tool manufacturing enterprises, there are very few diamond tool manufacturing enterprises with annual sales revenue of more than 10 million yuan. This shows that there is insufficient investment in diamond tools, which hinders and affects the process of group production of my country's diamond industry and the development of the entire diamond industry. In order to improve the overall technical level of my country's diamond tool production, it is necessary to strengthen the transformation of existing equipment, expand the scale of diamond tool manufacturing enterprises, and appropriately introduce foreign production lines and patented technologies with a higher degree of automation.

Pay close attention to the development of new products and the promotion of new technologies and new processes, continuously expand the application fields of diamonds, improve the overall technical level and market competitiveness of the diamond tool industry, survive by variety and quality, and develop by scientific and technological progress.

In order to meet the needs of the domestic and foreign diamond tool markets, it is necessary to speed up the development of new products, improve product quality, increase varieties, and increase output. In recent years, the demand for diamond tools in the processing fields of machinery, gems, medical equipment, wood, fiberglass, stone crafts, ceramics and composite non-metallic hard and brittle materials has increased year by year. At present, these products still rely on imports in China, so various series of high-quality diamond tools must be developed as soon as possible to replace imports. At present, products in urgent need of development include: PDC drill bits for oil drilling, diamond grinding blocks for stone polishing, engineering thin-walled drill bits, diamond honing oil stones, diamond film coating tools, diamond rollers, rubber bonded diamond plastic tools, PCD diamond tools, diamond styli, nozzles, diamond heat sinks and transistors and other products. In order to ensure the quality of its products, it is necessary to accelerate the promotion of new technologies and new processes, such as vacuum welding technology, electric spark sintering technology, diamond uniform distribution technology, diamond iridium plating technology, metallization bonding technology, laser welding technology, etc.

Strengthen the internal management of the enterprise, continuously improve the production process, reduce production costs, and improve economic benefits.

Strengthen the operation and management of the diamond tool industry, standardize the domestic market, expand the international market, promote the development of domestic diamond tools, accelerate the integration of my country's diamond tool variety series and standards with international standards, achieve orderly entry into the international market, and continuously expand exports to earn foreign exchange.

Formulate a unified national diamond industry standard, establish an authoritative diamond tool monitoring agency, implement product standardization management, and implement strict inspection and monitoring of product quality.

Diamond tool manufacturing enterprises should follow the path of integrating science, industry and trade, accelerate the process of industrial grouping, participate in large markets, and continuously increase their competitiveness to promote the development of the diamond tool industry and the improvement of economic benefits.

Establish a sound diamond industry management organization and standards and specifications for the production, technology, and management of diamond and its products, and strengthen the macro-control and operation management of enterprise production layout.

To do a good job in the research and manufacturing of large-scale ultra-high-pressure equipment for diamond synthesis and highly automated diamond tool production equipment, we can appropriately introduce some advanced production lines from abroad and improve detection technology to improve product quality.

Pay close attention to the research and application of powder catalysts, continuously improve and improve the diamond synthesis process, develop various new diamond varieties in line with market demand, and increase the proportion and output of coarse-grained high-strength diamonds to reduce the backlog of low-grade diamonds and improve economic benefits.

my country's diamond industry should take the road of groupization or joint enterprise, establish several large enterprise groups, guide the development of the industry, create its own brand, and actively participate in international competition.

Rely on scientific and technological progress, increase scientific and technological investment, update equipment, pay close attention to the research and promotion of new technologies, new processes and new products, and improve the technical level of my country's diamond industry.