Advantages
- Lower cost: Natural diamonds are expensive due to their scarcity and high mining costs. CVD polycrystalline diamonds are synthesized in the laboratory by chemical vapor deposition, which makes the production process relatively controlled and cost effective, providing the market with a more cost-effective option.
- Customizable: CVD polycrystalline diamond can be customized to meet specific finishing requirements by adjusting the deposition process and parameters to precisely control its crystal structure, particle size distribution, shape and size. In contrast, the shape and characteristics of natural diamond are limited by natural conditions, making it difficult to fully meet the demands of various complex applications.
- Consistency of performance: CVD polycrystalline diamonds are manufactured under strict control of process parameters, thus ensuring consistency and stability of product performance. Each batch of CVD polycrystalline diamond dressing tool blanks has similar hardness, wear resistance, thermal stability and other performance indicators, which is conducive to quality control and standardized operations in industrial production. Natural diamonds, on the other hand, may have large fluctuations in properties from one individual to another due to differences in origin and formation conditions.
- Environmentally friendly: The production process of CVD polycrystalline diamonds is relatively environmentally friendly, and does not involve the large amount of resource consumption and environmental damage that occurs during the mining of natural diamonds. As people's awareness of environmental protection continues to increase, the advantages of CVD polycrystalline diamond dressing tool blanks in terms of environmental friendliness will be more prominent.
Disadvantages
- Slightly lower purity and crystal integrity: Despite the continuous advances in CVD technology, the purity and crystal integrity of CVD polycrystalline diamonds produced today still fall short of that of high-quality natural diamonds. Natural diamond is formed through a long geological process and has a perfect crystal structure with very low impurity content, which makes it still has irreplaceable advantages in certain application scenarios that require very high purity and crystal quality, such as the processing of high-end precision optical components.
- Limited growth rate: CVD polycrystalline diamond grows relatively slowly, and the preparation of large-sized, high-quality blanks requires a long time and high cost. Natural diamonds, on the other hand, can be mined to obtain larger sized crystals directly. Although high quality, large grained natural diamonds are also relatively rare, natural diamonds may be more advantageous in certain specific situations where there is a demand for large sized diamond dressing tool blanks.
- Relatively low toughness: CVD polycrystalline diamonds may have a slightly lower toughness than natural diamonds, and may be more susceptible to cracking or shattering in some high-impact, high-load dressing operations. Natural diamond, due to its unique crystal structure and growth environment, has higher toughness and is able to withstand greater external impacts
