Key Terms Related to Circular Blades

Let’s start this article about key terms related to circular blades by defining a circular blade.

Circular blades are circular in shape and cut through things by rotating very fast. These types of blades, also known as rotary blades, are generally used for industrial purposes.

Since most of us don’t use a circular blade on a regular basis—we are assuming you don’t have one in your kitchen—Hyde Industrial Blade Solutions thought it would be a good idea to breakdown popular verbiage associated with it and its use.

To learn more about Hyde’s circular blades, follow this link!

Arbor – An Arbor (or mandrel) is the shaft upon which a circular blade turns.

Arbor Hole – The arbor hole is the center hole of the blade where the arbor goes in. Sometimes called a “center hole,” they come in many different shapes and sizes.

Bore Holes – Bore Holes are holes in the body of the blade that allow for it to be used by a machine. An arbor hole is an example of a bore hole.

Drive Holes – Drive holes are holes cut into a circular blade to allow pins to go through and drive the knife. These are also called pin holes.

Keyway – Keyway is a slot added to the arbor hole. Then, when the circular blade is placed on the arbor, a key is inserted into the hole to lock it to the machine. This helps the blade stay in place and gives it drive when in operation.

Machine Knives – Machine knives are knives used in industrial operations or repetitive operations. Circular knives are a popular type of machine knife.

Peripheral Runout – Peripheral runout refers to how centered a blade’s arbor hole is. If the arbor hole isn’t truly centered, the blade will “hop” while in use. Therefore, you don’t want peripheral runout. Another name for peripheral runout is concentricity.

Pitch – Pitch is a measure of the number of teeth on a blade. It’s easy when the blade is straight for it’s simply the number of teeth per inch. For circular blades you have to break out Pi.

Pitch = Pi x diameter/number of teeth                           

Side Runout – Side runout is like peripheral runout only it has to do with flatness. A blade that has “side runout” is not flat. You can tell a circular blade isn’t flat because it will wobble while running.

Speed – Speed refers to the rate circular blades spin when in operation. Industry experts measure speed in surface feet per minute (sfpm) or surface meters per minute (smpm).

To read about scientific terms about hand knives click here.

To read about terms associated with cutting knives click here.

To read about industrial blade and knife terminology click here.