Bandsaw Blade Selector

Use the bandsaw blade selector below to select the correct of tooth tip type and pitch when choosing a bandsaw blade for a particular material and saw.

Factors include:

  1. Material section (round, solid, flat, square, bundle)
  2. Material specification (grade, alloy etc)
  3. Treatment, hardness etc
  4. Maximum width of blade contact with material
  5. Saw machine design – rigidity, blade width

Select the band saw blade according to the material form and quality to be sawn taking account of the task. When sawing wide, rolled H profiles, the saw band can jam in the material to be sawn. In order to prevent this effect, a WS (wide set) is available for “PROTECTOR”. For solid material with larger diameters, we provide an Anti-Pinching variant (AP) of the “SUPER HL” to prevent jamming in the cut.

Bandsaw blade type selector by material
Choose your material type
Type Rolled steel Profile steel Bundled small material Normal steel, Non-ferrous metals (*1) Cold working steel, case-hardened steel Hot forming tool steel, stainless steel High heat-resistant special alloys
St-37, St-52, StE 380 1.2510, 1.0301, 1.7012, 1.7218, 1.6955 1.2341, 1.2735, 1.2303, 1.2379 1.2344, 1.4301, 1.4564 Inconel, titanium, aluminum, Hastelloy
Choose the section to be cut
Thick wall sections and structurals Thin wall sections Bundle cutting Solid sections between 10 and 100mm<100 Solid sections between 100 and 400mm100-400 Solid sections greater than 400mm>400 Solid sections between 10 and 100mm<100 Solid sections between 100 and 400mm100-400 Solid sections greater than 400mm>400 Solid sections between 10 and 100mm<100 Solid sections between 100 and 400mm100-400 Solid sections greater than 400mm>400 Solid sections between 10 and 100mm<100 Solid sections between 100 and 400mm100-400 Solid sections greater than 400mm>400
Choose a blade type
The basic requirement for cutting is that the tooth tip must be harder than the material to be cut. As a general rule of thumb, the tooth tips should be at least twice as hard as the material to be cut.
C A R B I D E AXCELA G Coated carbide up to 2500HV (*2) Carbide saw blades for maximum performance with outstanding tool life.
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AXCELA H Carbide 1600HV (*2) Carbide saw blades for challenging materials and special applications.
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AXCELA A Carbide 1600HV (*2) Carbide saw blades for aluminium applications with high blade speed.
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AXCELA S Carbide 1600HV (*2) Carbide saw blades for universal application on modern and strong bandsaw machines.
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AXCELA B Carbide 1600HV (*2) Carbide saw blades for universal use on conventional machines. Replacement for standard carbide blades.
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B I M E T A L AURORA M42 + TiN coated 950/2300HV (*3) TiN coated high-performance saw blade for difficult to cut materials with extremely long tool life.
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MAGNUM HL M71 AMADA M71 HSS 1000HV(*3) HILO tooth geometry and precision offsetting result in friction reduction. High-performance tooth tip material and sectional cutting channel using patented tooth geometry. Can be used for difficult to cut materials including high heat-resistant special alloys.
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MAGNUM HLG M71 AMADA M71 HSS 1000HV(*4) HILO tooth geometry and precision offsetting result in friction reduction. Outstanding cutting performance for tool steel.
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SIGMA M42 HSS 950HV Sectional cutting channel using patented tooth geometry for the reduction of cutting resistance. Can be used for difficult to cut materials. Particularly recommended for stainless steels.
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SUPER HL M42 HSS 950HV (*3) HILO tooth geometry and precision offsetting result in friction reduction. The sectional cutting channel reduces the cutting resistance. For materials in the medium and large diameter range. An Anti-Pinching variant is available for materials with internal clamping.
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SUPER HLG M42 HSS 950HV HILO tooth geometry and precision offsetting result in friction reduction. Wide application area from normal steel to difficult to cut materials.
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CHIPBREAKER M42 HSS 950HV Special tooth profile in combination with HILO tooth geometry reduces the heat development at the tooth tip and promotes the formation of smaller chips. As a result, particularly suitable for materials with unfavorable chip form.
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SUPER8 M42 HSS 950HV NEW developed M42 bandsaw blade for universal purpose. Special design for noise reduced cutting, better lifetime and high surface quality.
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SGLB M42 HSS 950HV Universal blade with wide range of applications.
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RATIO HI-LO Matrix HSS M42 Basis 900HV Proven, patented AMADA HILO tooth shape reduces the friction and enables high cutting performance for materials with a strength up to 950 N/mm 2.
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HI-LO M42 HSS >950HV Special tooth profile in combination with HILO tooth geometry and a particular production method enables the economic cutting of tubes made of high strength materials such as duplex steel.
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PROTECTOR M42 HSS 950HV (*5) Saw blade specially for profile steel and tubes with reinforced tooth back for reduction of tooth breakouts.
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PROTEC Matrix HSS M42 Basis 900HV (*5) Saw blade specially for profile steel and tubes with reinforced tooth back for reduction of tooth breakouts. Particularly suitable for steels with a strength up to 950 N/mm 2.
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DUOS M42 HSS 950HV (*4) Due to the special offsetting and the different tooth heights, the sawing of a wide range of dimensions without blade replacement is possible. Particularly suitable for light weight workshop machines.
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*1 Non-ferrous metals are mainly aluminium, aluminium alloys, copper and copper alloys. In some cases, these materials can be just as hard as difficult to cut steels or even harder.
*2 JP. PAT. P.
*3 US. PAT.
*4 JP. PAT.
*5 JP. PAT. (2/3P, 3/4P, 4/6P)
*6 The hardness of the tooth tips refers to the average values published by AMADA. These can be different depending on type and dimensions of the product.

Choose the maximum width to be cut
Determine the section to be sawn (L). This is the maximum solid section that the saw blade has to cut through at any point.

Saw blade contact area selector
Using the maximum cutting width (L) determined from above, compare to the chart below to determine the ideal tooth pitch.

Blade pitch selector
  1. For optimum sawing, we recommend selecting a toothing pitch which always has 10 to 20 teeth in the material.
  2. For sawing deformed workpieces or workpieces with varying cutting width, it is recommended during the cutting that at least two teeth penetrate the material simultaneously.
  3. The above table is based on a quality “SGLB” as guideline. Specific applications of other blades vary occasionally due to their characteristic properties. For example, a 3/4 teeth PROTECTOR can also cut material from the above 4/6 teeth/inch range.
Choose the ideal band speed and feed rate
Cutting rate means the machined area per minute and is expressed using the unit sqcm/min. To achieve the target cutting performance, calculate the cutting time according to the following equation and set the feed rate.For simplified calculation of the surface area, use the following formula*:
  • Surface area of square material = width (cm) x height (cm)
  • Surface area of round material = Ø (cm) x Ø (cm) x 0.785
* For bundle cutting, multiply the number of the bundled bars by the value of the surface area of one bar.
Material size (mm) Area (sqcm) 79 100 200 314 300 707 400 1256 500 1963 700 3847 1000 7850
Normal steel Blade speed (m/min) 48 – 75 48 – 75 48 – 75 43 – 65 39 – 58 34 – 51 30 – 44
Cutting rate (sqcm/min) 36 – 54 72 – 108 72 – 108 60 – 91 49 – 73 37 – 56 26 – 38
Cold working steel Blade speed (m/min) 28 – 42 28 – 42 28 – 42 25 – 38 23 – 34 20 – 30 18 – 26
Cutting rate (sqcm/min) 11 – 23 23 – 46 23 – 46 20 – 40 17 – 35 15 – 25 12 – 20
Case-hardened steel Blade speed (m/min) 44 – 66 44 – 66 44 – 66 39 – 59 35 – 52 30 – 45 26 – 38
Cutting rate (sqcm/min) 28 – 42 56 – 84 56 – 84 47 – 71 39 – 58 30 – 45 22 – 32
Hot forming tool steel Blade speed (m/min) 24 – 36 24 – 36 22 – 32 19 – 29 17 – 26 17 – 26 17 – 26
Cutting rate (sqcm/min) 8 – 15 16 – 30 14 – 27 14 – 27 13 – 24 13 – 24 13 – 24
Stainless steel Blade speed (m/min) 40 – 60 40 – 60 40 – 60 35 – 53 31 – 46 26 – 39 22 – 32
Cutting rate (sqcm/min) 20 – 30 40 – 60 40 – 60 34 – 52 29 – 43 23 – 35 18 – 26
High heat-resistant special alloys Blade speed (m/min) 10 – 20 10 – 25 10 – 25 10 – 25 10 – 25 10 – 20 10 – 15
Cutting rate (sqcm/min) 2 – 10 3 – 15 3 – 15 3 – 15 3 – 15 3 – 15 3 – 15
Important preparations before cutting
  1. When you sharpen a pencil, don’t you always rub the tip lightly to round off the sharp brittle point to prevent it breaking off unexpectedly? A ragged broken lead spoils the line it draws and you soon have to sharpen it again. In order to achieve optimal blade life, saw blades must always be run in to gently wear the ultra sharp edges in a controlled manner. We recommend running in each saw blade until it has achieved approximately 3000 sqcm with the blade speed reduced to 70% and the feed rate reduced to 50%, after which the speed and feed can be increased to the optimum.
  2. There’s a reason EVERY sawing machine manufacturer fits a wire brush unit to their machines! Similarly, there’s a reason why EVERY blade manufacturer insists on the importance of having the brush unit in good working order, with a good quality brush and properly adjusted. Ensure that the swarf brush(es) of your machine is (are) always in good condition and engaged with the blade teeth. Replace worn brushes, otherwise the quality of the cut face and the blade life is reduced.
  3. Ensure sufficient concentration of the cooling lubricant; this should usually be approx. 10%. For stainless steels, a slightly increased concentration of approx. 12% has proven more effective. Only cast iron and plastic should be sawn dry. Old coolant is often partially broken down and ineffective as a lubricant, so change the coolant in your machines regularly.
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