Difference between Cold Saw and Band Saw

Even though cold saw and band saw are both useful for cutting different types of materials, there are a lot of differences between them in their structure, functioning style and capabilities. Some of them are detailed below.

Structural Differences:
A cold saw contains resharpenable circular teeth for cutting process where as a band saw is made of a flat continuous band of metal teeth usually riding on two wheels. Band saws are either horizontal or vertical and fixed to a table.

Cold saw blades are made up of high speed steel or tungsten carbide tipped jaws and are supported with an electric motor and gear reduction unit to control speed. Band saws are of ordinary metal or stainless steel blades. Cold saws are mostly portable and hand held machines whereas band saws are of fixed type usually mounted on a table.

Functioning Style:
Cold saws rotate the teeth circularly with high speed and velocity piercing into the metal and making the cuts very quick. The material to be cut is held fastened and the saw moves on it. But a band saw is not movable and the material to be cut is placed underneath it by lifting the blade for making cutting possible. The band saw blade moves up and down in case of vertical type and from one side to the other side in case of horizontal type. The material is moved in different directions according to the shape of the cut required. Band saw enables cuts of different shapes possible by moving the material according to the shape of cut required which is not possible in case of cold saw cuttings.

Differences in Capabilities:
Cold saw generally works with high speed and is capable of rotating at a velocity of 5000 to 15000 feet per minute. But band saw generally works with a comparatively low speed velocity of up to 5000 feet only per minute. Cold saw cuts very perfectly and accurately and with minimum wastage of material. But band saw cutting is not so perfect and accurate in finishing. Metals cut with band saw may lose their coatings because band saw teeth get too much heated during the cutting process. The cold saw is more economical as it functions with high efficiency. The blades of cold saw are not prone to wear and tear quickly, while band saw’s blade teeth get often damaged during use.

On the whole, both cold saw and band saws are useful in their own way. To know more about cold saw click here.

Pros And Cons of Cold Saw

Cold saw is basically a metal cutting device that includes a circular rotating blade which is made of steel or iron. One of the most attractive features of these saws is that the blades remain cool even after the cutting process. The device uses double prolonged teeth to cut the metals. As the heat is transferred away from the surface, the object remains relatively cool. Most of the cold saws are portable and easy to use. Handheld cold saws are popularly used for most of the industrial and domestic purposes.

Cold saw can be used to cut various types of metals. It is powered by electricity and the blades of the saw are made of high speed steel. These types of blades are highly tensile and have the power to resist wear and tear. It can therefore be used for a number of purposes.

Cold saw blades also include tungsten carbide blades. Tungsten carbide blades are also highly tensile but these blades need to be sharpened regularly to obtain maximum benefits.

Among the most beneficial features includes the temperature of the blade and the metal during the cutting process. The heat is transferred to the chips during the process which results in lower temperature of the blade and the metal.

It is quite inexpensive compared to the other metal cutting devices. Moreover, it can be used efficiently to cut both thick and thin metallic sheets.

These saws are mainly designed to cut metals rather than wood. It is therefore used in most of the industrial and construction applications. With the passage of time, technological developments have evolved these cutting devices to a large extent. Today cold saws are designed specifically to protect the metal coatings during the cutting process. This prevents the warping of the metal sheets.

Nevertheless, it is quite important to use cold saws with care and precaution. It is also important to maintain the blades appropriately to prevent deformities. As these saws are hand-held devices which are portable, it is also necessary to clamp the materials before it is cut so as to prevent accidents. To obtain precise and flawless cuts on metals, it is necessary to clamp the metals.

Functions and Benefits of Cold Saw

Cold saw is basically a multipurpose saw which is circular in shape. It is mainly used to crosscut metal rods, tubes, pipes and bars. It is quite different from the abrasive saws as it seldom generates heat. Both the metal and the blade remain cold after the cutting process. Two types of blades are often used in cold saws. These blades include the tungsten carbide tipped saw blade and the solid high speed steel (HSS) blade. Both these blades are resharpenable circular saw blades.

Benefits and Uses

The cold saw seldom produces any noise, dust or heat. Some of the greatest benefits of cold saw include high speed, safety and quality. The saw blades can cut through thick pipes in limited amount of time quite easily. It is mainly used to cut metals from above. The cold saws can be used to cut most of the non-ferrous and ferrous alloys.

Cold saws are more preferred than the abrasive saws as it keeps the protective coating on the metals intact. Cermet tipped blades is mostly used in these types of saws.

One of the greatest benefits of the cold saws include the lower cost incurred for cutting the metals. The blades can be sharpened for 50 times before it is replaced with a new one.

The cold saw uses a solid High Speed Steel (HSS) blade or a Tungsten carbide tipped blade for sawing purposes. It also includes a gear reduction unit and an electric motor to control the rotational speed of the blade. However, the electric motor maintains constant torque while it functions. The metal must be clamped to the sawing machine so that it remains still during the cutting process.                                                                              

                                                                                                    

The type of saw blade, number of teeth, feed rate and the cutting speed of the machine varies according to the type of metals used. It also depends on the size of the metals that need to be sawed.

With huge technological advancements in the manufacture of cold saws, there has been a subsequent increase in the usage of these sawing machines for various sawing purposes. Apart from sawing machines, punching machine is also used for production purposes.