Even a cutting edge made of the hardest material will eventually wear and require re-sharpening to ensure optimal performance. The amount of edge wear that is accumulated on the tool tip will depend on many variables such as crystal orientation, material processed, edge geometry and depth of cut parameter to name a few.

The re-sharpenning process or “relapping” as it’s more commonly known as, involves grinding away a layer of the diamond to expose a new sharp chip free edge. Process efficiency can be defined by achieving a balance between removing all wear and subsurface damage while removing as little material as possible, extending overall tool life and post relap performance as result. Though relapping can be performed to remove almost any type of wear, as illustrated bellow, in some cases with severe wear, re-radiusing the tool edge may be the better option in regards to maximizing tool life.

At DiamTech we thrive towards providing you the best value for your tooling investment. We understand that machine down time due to tool servicing is not an option and that an efficient relapping service will minimize your tooling inventory requirement, translating directly to lower production cost. Our relap processing protocol is focussed on providing a thorough, efficient service within the most competitive turnaround time possible. Upon arrival, each tool’s wear is individually inspected to determine the best course of action. Wear removal and edge polishing is
achieved using state of the art custom machinery and edge inspection is performed using Nomarski optics under 500 to 1000x magnification depending on application. We service our own as well as competitor’s tools with natural or synthetic crystals.