As the function part of almost all kinds of diamond tools (except some diamond tools which used tungsten carbides or PCDs, such as bush hammers, PCD coating removal tools), the diamond segments are vital. Generally, there are 2 types of diamond segments: the metal-bonded one and the resin-bonded one. The metal-bonded diamond segments are widely used in all kinds of diamond tools, including diamond saw blades, diamond grinding cup wheels, diamond core drill bit, etc. While the resin-bonded diamond segments are usually only used in diamond grinding tools such as diamond polishing pads, resin concrete grinding pads, etc. But have you ever wondered what makes up a metal-bonded diamond segment? The answer is Diamond Particles and Metal Powder. A metal-bonded diamond segment is the mixture of diamond particles and metal powders after cold pressing and hot pressing. Let’s learn more about “Diamonds” and “Metal Powder”.   The "Artificial Diamonds" The “diamonds” can be divided into natural diamonds and artificial diamonds. Natural diamonds are made to different shapes as expensive jewelry, while artificial diamonds are widely used in various kinds of diamond tools. As one of the important components of diamond segments(the other is metal powder), the artificial diamonds worked as the function part and can be used for cutting, grinding and drilling different construction materials such as concrete, asphalt, tile, glass, granite, marble, and other stones. The artificial diamond particles have 3 main specifications: Shapes, Grades and Grits. (The following “diamond particles” refers to “artificial diamond particles”) 1.1 Different Shapes of diamond particles Diamond particles have different shapes for different applications. There are mainly 2 shapes: one is Granular type, and the other is Flat type. Granular diamond particles are mainly used for cutting & drilling. Good granular diamond particles should be angular. The edges and corners guarantee the cutting & drilling performance. Flat diamond particles are mainly used for grinding & polishing. Because in the process of grinding & polishing, the purpose is to make the working face smoother and smoother, but if you use granular diamond particles, it will leave massive scratches on the working face. 1.2 Different grades of diamond particles The diamonds have different grades for different uses. Generally, diamond particles used for cutting and drilling is with higher quality than them used for grinding. Because the cutting & drilling has higher requirements for diamond particles than grinding. For example, the quality of diamond particles in the diamond saw blade is higher than it in the floor diamond grinding tools. 1.3 Different sizes of diamond particles The particle sizes we called as “diamond grit”. The bigger the diamond grit number, the smaller the diamond particles. The size of diamond particles and its diamond grit number is inversely proportional. Big sizes of diamond particles are usually used for cutting, rough grinding, and drilling. Medium sizes of diamond particles are usually used for medium grinding. Small sizes of diamond particles are usually used for polishing. Check the following table to know different diamond grits used in different diamond tools: If you want to know more about the diamond particle size and corresponding diamond grit number, check the "Diamond Particle Size Conversion Chart" as bellow. Different countries or organizations use different standards, but they are only slightly different. What I want to say is that, the diamond grit number is always a range, such as 35/40#, 40/50#. We sometimes only print one girt number like 40# on the diamond tools for simplicity or because of the customers requirements. For Sunny diamond tools, we only print the diamond girt numbers on our diamond grinding tools. . . . The “Metal Powder” The metal powder is used as the bonding agency, which means it will be consumed gradually and help to expose the diamond particles during the working. It is a mixture of different metals like Cu, Sn, Ag, Co, Ni, WC, Mo, etc. Each element has its unique characteristics and is used for unique functions. Please check as follows: •  Fe – Iron powder is cheap and is generally the main component of the metal powder. • Cu – Copper powder acts as an adhesive, sometimes it is the main component of the metal powder (such as marble diamond segments, etc.) • Ni – Nickel powder is used to improve the toughness of the diamond segment and make the diamond segment difficult to be broken, and increase the strength of the metal bond. •  Co – Cobalt powder has high-temperature resistance, and it is used to improve the thermal stability of the metal, it is usually used in dry diamond cutting tools and dry diamond drilling tools. • (Sn)Tin and (Zn)zinc powder have low melting point and they play a role of conglutination. Diamond Segment Formula (or Diamond Formula) Diamond segment formula also called diamond formula. It comes in diamond particles and specific metallic elements with a certain proportion. Different diamond formulas are used for different applications. They are mainly developed by 4 factors: 1. The material type to be cut, ground and drilled Different types of materials need different diamond formulas,  such as granite, marble, concrete, asphalt, etc. 2. The quality grades. High quality of the diamond segments means high price. Different markets accept different prices, so different quality of the diamond segments are made for different markets. 3. Higher performance and longer lifespan, which one do you prefer? We know that many diamond tools manufacturer or suppliers say that their diamond tools are with high performance and long lifespan. But in fact, we can't have the highest lifespan and the longest lifetime at the same time. We have to make a choice. If you want higher performance, some of the lifespan will be shortened. If you want a longer lifespan, similarly, the performance will be sacrificed. Here are 3 different ways you can choose: Higher Performance and Lower Lifespan. Lower Performance and Higher Lifespan. Medium Performance and medium Lifespan. 4. The unique diamond segment formulas for specific customers. As a professional diamond segment manufacturer since 1993, Sunny Tools has already developed so many diamond formulas for different applications and markets. We developed the diamond segment and tested it on the stones and concrete of the main market. But there are so many different stones all around the world, so adjusting the diamond formulas for the specific project is a must. Here is our solution: New customers can buy some sets of our diamond segments for testing at first. If they didn't reach your expectations, give us feedback and we can adjust the diamond formulas to meet your requirements. More than this, Sunny will name the unique diamond formulas with different codes and note their performance. Thus, you can just choose the specific code numbers and the communication is easy and efficient. In conclusion, there are so many different diamond formulas that should be developed. Through a rough calculation, I made a table of 81 types of diamond formulas, but they are much more than this. The reasons are: 1. a company maybe develop more than 3 grades for the diamond segments. 2. there are much more diamond formulas of concrete grinding tools - so many diamond grits and bond types should be calculated. 3. diamond formulas with different performance and lifespan  haven't been considered. 4. the unique diamond formulas for specific customers haven't been considered. The following chart - "Diamond formulas for Different Materials" is to give you a rough think of the quatity of diamond segment formulas. In next articles, we will continuously talk about: 1. The different types of diamond segments 2. The production of diamond segments 3. The welding type of diamond segments