HE&M Saw recently had a customer which enquired about a bandsaw that could cut graphite, prompting the company to design and build a large vertical bandsaw that minimises the risks involved with cutting this material.

The challenges are not with cutting graphite per se, but rather with the material’s qualities. Under a great deal of pressure and heat, graphite converts to diamond, a tough material. In its pure form, graphite is relatively soft, and highly conductive of heat and electricity, which is why it is commonly used in products such as electrodes, batteries, solar panels and other industrial products.
Saw designers wanting to cut graphite are presented with unique challenges because the dust resulting from the soft material is quite fine. When airborne, it can settle around electrical components and connections, prompting the potential for electrical shorts due to the material’s high conductivity. The result is likely to be component failure, or perhaps even a fire. Graphite is non-flammable in bulk form, but combustible, and even explosive, with the proper mixtures of graphite dust and air.
Seeking to overcome these issues, the HE&M engineering team set about designing the V360M-CTS2 vertical bandsaw. This customised solution has safety features that minimise the risks of electrical shorts by incorporating a dust-proof and ATEX-rated motor. Additionally, all electrical parts have been specified with sealed housings to minimise the amount of exposure to graphite particles. The UK representative for HE&M Saw is Kaltenbach.
For further information https://kaltenbach.co.uk/