Several years ago Antares introduced the Microedge® finish on our line of carbide engraving tools. The grinding processes we use produce an extremely fine, uniform and sharp cutting edge. The grit particles in grinding wheels can actually produce lines or score marks on the surfaces of the material. Where the back of the cutter meets the face (split), these score marks meet and can form an uneven and erose cutting edge that actually looks serrated under magnification. The tiny, saw-tooth like points are fragile and break off or dull quickly and the quality of the cut degrades.
The pictures below were taken through a high-powered microscope. They show the difference between the cutting edge of an average cutter and of an Antares cutter. |
| Standard Cutting Edge |
Antares MicroEdge® |
We are able to greatly minimize this phenomenon by utilizing sophisticated grinding techniques on both the face and back of the tool. The mirror-like finish on the face of our tools is produced using multiple stage side-wheel grinding processes with fine grit wheels along with the introduction other materials in the final grinding stages that tend to polish the surface by reducing the aggressiveness of the diamond particles. The back of the tools is finished with fine grit wheels and the result is an extremely fine and uniform cutting edge. Finer cutting edges produce smoother cuts and extended tool life. In fact in testing our Microedge® tools, we were able to engrave over 70,000 1/8" characters in Rowmark® microsurface engraving stock before the cutter needed resharpening. |
