The valid working parts of metal-bonded diamond tools (e.g., the teeth of the common diamond blades) are normally called diamond segments, which are the sintered mixture of diamond grains and metal bond materials. Generally, diamond segments are made via the procedures of mixing diamond grains with bond materials, hot pressing and sintering, and arc grinding. They can be arc-shaped or rectangular.

Diamond segments have two basic functions. One is holding diamond grains; the other is wearing along with the diamonds’ wearing to let the new sharp diamonds be exposed properly. Besides having a certain hardness and wear resistance, the diamond segment’s bond should also be tough.

Diamond segments for welded diamond tools consist of a working layer and a transitive layer. The working layer contains diamond grains for cutting or grinding, while the transitive layer has no diamonds. It just consists of bond materials, and is used to connect (via welding) the working layer to the body of the diamond tool.