Measuring the dynamic twisting behaviour of saw blades in the kerf during the sawing process

Vibrations may occur in all kinds of production processes. Particularly the kinematics of band saws with their thin and unstable structure of the saw blade causes high vibrations, which generate, on the one hand, a high acoustic level. On the other hand, the impact can be seen as grooves on the surface of the workpiece. To optimize the sawing process, the vibration behaviour of the saw blades is investigated by experiment on a test band saw with a contactless measuring system during the sawing process of steel. The focus here is on the twisting of the saw blade in the kerf. The sawing parameters of cutting speed and feed rate are varied here in a wide range to examine the stability of the process and the occurring displacement of the saw blade. The results of this investigation indicate that the saw blade in the kerf shows a characteristic behaviour, which is subject to the cutting parameters. It is obvious that the performance of the process depends not only on the cutting process but also on the tensile state of the saw blade affected by the design of the saw frame, the saw blade guides and the saw blade tension. The results obtained are able to support future developments and identify an optimization potential for the sawing process.