Ear on Chicago; Sears #1

The background sounds that you are hearing are those of one of the famous conventions of Chicago. You probably heard that Chicago was a convention town and that it is. Thousands of conventions come to Chicago every year. What this convention is is the annual tool show, annual convention and tool show, of the American Society of Tool Engineers, it's being held at the amphitheater. The Armour Research Foundation and the AST or the American Society of Tool Engineers have a booth here on shaped diamond tools. That is the reason why we are going to do the story of this convention, to do the story really of this booth. We are standing now in front of a model of the famous Premier Mind which is located in Pretoria, South Africa. The gentleman that is going to talk to us about this mine is Hal Miller, who is with the Armour Research Foundation located in Chicago. All right now what you explain is explained to us how, just exactly how this mine works. I know that you have actually visited the real

mine, gone down inside and so on, but this is a fabulous diamond mine and I'd like for you to go step by step through the process that diamonds are mine. Well this type of this mine is what is called a pipe mine. There are other mines called alluvial mines but the Premier Mine is one of the richer pipe mines that gets the name pipe because the blue ground from which the diamonds are mine is in the form of a long cylinder extending deep into the earth and the diamonds are then mine from this blue ground. Now to describe how they're mine, the mine is an open pit having an area of 78 acres at its top. The bottom of the pit is some 700 feet below the surface of the ground and the workings below the bottom of the pit

and the conventional type of mining go as deep as 1600 feet. That means if you put the Empire State Building in the bottom of the mine its top would be far below the surface of the ground. I notice that we have a series of tunnels here then down at the very bottom is apparently a railroad car going by, is that right? That's right. The blue ground is blasted from the working faces, the rock then falls into what is called a slot and each day 15 ,000 tons of rock are blasted into this slot. The rock then is allowed to feed by gravity down through tunnels into cars. Here in the model they look quite small but actually in reality they hold 10 tons of piece and at the 1200 foot level these cars are transported to a big crusher

which crushes this ore to minus 7 inches. At this size it is raised to the surface and is there processed in a most modern mine? How do you keep calling this blue ground? Why do you call it blue ground? Its color is blue green and it is the ore is known as Kimberlite named after the famous Kimberly area in a near this mine. By the way up at the top of this open pit there is an arrow pointing over to a scale model I suppose of what is designated as the Cullinan Diamond says the Cullinan Diamond is found here. Tell us about that. Well that diamond was the largest ever found. It was a beautiful gem quality stone weighing a pound and a third. Part of it now is in the Crown Jewels of England. How did a third? How many carats? That would be 3

,200 some carats I don't know the exact figure but it is 2 ,300. And the gem was broken up? No, no the stone as you do in any gem you have to cleave it and finally polish it and in the most efficient operation this would be only about 60 % of the stone is recovered as a gem. Well now how first of all gems are very important and attractive but as I understand it that is not the most important part of diamond mining. You actually use most of the diamonds in the industrial uses is that correct? Dollar wise the gem industry is some 3 times the size of the industrial however the industrial diamond plays a much more important part. There is hardly a thing in your daily life that hasn't in some manner maybe quite remote been dependent upon diamond in its process. One of the points I want to make about this mine which is

one of the richer mines is that diamond is very dispersed in this rock. It is said that a man can work a lifetime in a mine and not see the diamond and this is quite true when you realize that in this rich mine it requires 12 million parts of rock to be processed to produce one part of diamond. In other words for one pound of diamond you would have to mine 12 million pounds of rock and process that rock. As I said how I wanted to ask you about diamonds themselves how are they made do you really know? Well in the laboratories we know the so -called phased diagram they have been synthesized by the general electric laboratories. We are quite sure that very high pressures probably in the order of 600 ,000 maybe as high as a million and a half is involved. A million and a half pounds

per square inch and that relatively high temperatures are involved. We feel that in the earth temperatures under 1200 C were most likely involved. Did you say that you actually manufactured a diamond? The general electric company have made diamonds many times however they are very very small. They are useful however and grinding wheels. All right now how we found out about how you take the diamonds out of the mine suppose we walk over here and find out to what use these diamonds are put. Well how we were talking about the rock products being brought up out of the mine now we're over here to another operation suppose you tell us what this is. Well here we have a

diamond cutter demonstrating cleaving of diamonds to our guests. Now this would be one of the diamonds that would be brought out of the mine and then this would this would be the next step that would happen to the diamond. Well this is one way of breaking a diamond apart for useful parts which will finally be made into tools. Another way is sawing which we'll talk about later. All right now about cleavage. This gentleman here is the one that's going to cleave the diamond. This gentleman here demonstrating the cleaving is Mr. Richard Dom of Johannesburg South Africa. He is a diamond cutter there in Johannesburg. I wonder sir if we could listen for just a moment as you cleave the diamond. This is making a mark to cleave the diamond. It's a mark in the shape of a V which I make with another sharp piece of diamond into the diamond that has to be cleave. You're making a mark in the shape of a V. Yes in the shape of a V.

And afterwards a blunt knife is used that does not go to the bottom of the V and then a blow is struck on top of the of the knife which pushes the walls of the V away and then the diamond splits. Now you have to know exactly where to make that V do you not? It's got to be made on the grain of the diamonds. And how do you tell the grain of the diamond? Well the grain of the diamond runs parallel with the doticae either in phase of the diamond. That's something that only you would know. Isn't that true or that is a diamond cutter? I wouldn't know anything about that. The diamond cutter would only know that of course. Yes. Now can we listen to you as you cleave it? Well I hope it will cleave. He's looking at the V now through a microscope. And in a moment you'll put the knife to that V, strike a blow, sharp blow and then it will be cleave. He hopes.

He's putting it in a place now. Locking it firm. Here's the knife. Oh I say a little prayer. Say it's a little prayer to make sure that it's going to cleave correctly. As the knife in place now. Good and go. Didn't cleave. It seems to be a fairly stubborn diamond. He's going to take another look at it. Will you strike at another blow now? I'll have to. I'm going to try it again. This time he's going to take a different knife. The knife is now in place. We get it

that time? Yes. Now the diamond is cleaved. Now that would only cleave in that one particular spot. Is that right? Yes. That would only cleave here. Now this is the trouble that I had here is that the diamond was not very pure on the particular place where the diamond's supposed to split you see. All right thank you very much sir. Took him two blows of the hammer to cleave it but finally it worked. Now where did my friend Hal go? Hal? We have that diamond cleave. Now what happens to it after it's cleave? Well it would be mounted in a tool holder and put on a polishing machine and shape to a precision shape. All right before we get to that process however you told me there was something to do with sawing the diamond. Yes another process for separating the diamond into bits for use and tools is one of sawing and we have a demonstration here of sawing the diamond. I'd like to see that. Now that

soft sound you're hearing is that of a diamond being sawed. Hal I've always heard that the diamond is the hardest object in the world. So what do you use to saw a diamond? Well you're right a diamond is the hardest material known to man but you actually use diamond to saw a diamond. This was discussed this morning in one of the papers at the symposium and it is based on this that there are certain directions in a diamond that are harder than others. And you make use of these both in the tool the finish tool and in sawing. And here we have a battery of saws which consists of small copper discs spinning at high speed that are impregnated with diamond powder and they are brought to bear against the diamond in a preferred orientation so that it will be cutting on the easy direction. One thing I want to ask you how before we go any further there's a small diamond in each of these machines and then we saw a small diamond

just a moment ago being cleaved. I say small they're really not small they look like maybe a couple of carrots or so aren't they? They're in the order of two carrots you see here. Now the reason I mention that is that I'd like to ask you how small do you really want them? One of those stones will be cut into as many as six pieces for tools. You will get two lathe tools for super finish turning and you would probably get four bits for wheeled resters. One other thing how a little while ago we were here as much as a half an hour ago these machines were operating we came back and now it's a half an hour later and I don't see any results. How long does it take to cut a diamond? It will take over five hours to go through that diamond. Is that right? But by having batteries of saws this is not expensive. Is this a real full -sized model of the saw? This is what you would see in a diamond tool shop. I see. All right

now after we have this sawed we'll have it in two different parts. Do you break that down still further sometimes? Yes these will be cut in two then the parts cut again until finally you'll have six pieces out of this one diamond. All right now what happens to those pieces? They are mounted in tool holders that is the shank of the tool that will finally be used. The diamond will be mounted in that with powder metals under pressure and temperature and then that tool is then put on a polishing machine and shaped to a precise shape. But now this disc which I hold in my hand you say that's made out of brass it is a bronze really it's about five thousand thick and about four inches in diameter and on the outside of that the rim of that wheel is placed diamond powder. Yes diamond powder is embedded in the edge of that with a little roller. Where do you get the diamond powder? Well the bulk of the diamonds in the industrial field are

used in the form of powder. The so -called board. The boards are crushed to powder and they're used in grinding wheels in the polishing and a lapping of dyes and in the cutting of glass the polishing of glass in many many applications this time. Now how may I ask you this which is preferred the sawing or the cleaning of the diamond in this particular operation? Well that's an interesting question. In the diamond tool field you will find that certain diamonds of their natural shapes can be used with that with a minimum of machining or finishing then in this case we're showing a technique of taking diamonds that would not ordinarily be used for diamond tools sawing them and making perfectly oriented tools getting the best out of the diamond. A little while ago we introduced the show by telling you that we were at a convention that is a story we're doing today on here on Chicago. This particular operation is a sawing of a diamond and it is for the booth which

is jointly sponsored by armor research foundation and the American Society of Tool Engineers. We've reached the point where we have the diamonds mined from the mine in South Africa or some mine in the world and brought into the industry where it is either sawed or cleaved. Now we're going to ask Calviller to tell us about what happens to those pieces after they are sawed or cleaved whichever the case may be. He told us that they were mounted in tools. We're standing now in front of a table and I'll assume how that this is one of the tools that is used. Is that correct? Yes, this is a polishing machine. It consists of about a 14 inch diameter cast iron disc which spins at 3200 revolutions per minute and on the surface of that disc has been impregnated diamond powder again. Now the diamond which we have sawed is mounted in the tool is placed in what is called a tang and that is brought to bear or that is the diamond is brought to bear on the high speed highly rotating scape.

How we have an operator here now who is going to polish a diamond. Suppose we let him talk about well our diamond cutter here is Mr. Phantosi of the supercut company here in Chicago when we have invited to help man this show and show the public how diamonds are cut. Mr. Phantosi will show you or tell you about polishing and shaping the diamond for the tool. That wheel about which how spoke a moment ago is now revolving at a high rate of speed. Mr. Phantosi is moving some instrument back and forth. Now could you tell us what you are doing sir? I am putting an angle on a diamond tool. Is this the tool itself that you have on your left hand here? Yes it is. Now there is one small wheel revolving and then there is another larger wheel revolving over here. What are the differences? The small wheel is a diamond metal bonded diamond impregnated wheel for for

hogging off diamonds the diamond the large scape is used strictly for polishing. Will you be polishing this in just a moment then? Well yes. Could we hear that? All right. He is moving his equipment over now to move over to the larger wheel and he will then polish the diamond. The diamond is being put in place now. Now how long is this operation sir? For polishing knowing it takes a few minutes just to get a very high polish on the diamond. Thank you very much for explaining this process. Now we have the diamond in the tool but how do you use the tool? What is it used for? It is these diamond tools which makes possible our modern precision production

and our interchange ability in production of parts. Some of the things that you use in your home daily that depend on diamond are the electric light bulb. Your saucepan is a typical example where diamonds have been used to make that pan. The watch the jewels in the watch are made by or with diamond. Jet aircraft could hardly get off the ground if it weren't for the diamond because the turbine and many of its parts are ground or turned with tools which in turn have to be dressed or finished with diamond. All right how we've done the story of the manufacture of diamonds. I'm going to call it manufacture I suppose that really isn't the right word maybe process would be better. Now there's a few things that we left out. First of all over to my left is a large bank of diamonds in an enclosed exhibit and I'd like to walk over there and have you tell us

a thing. This exhibit demonstrates both in the real diamond which is under the magnifiers and in large plastic models how the diamond must be oriented to be sawed and how the diamond is sawed into different pieces and finally shaped into the shaped tool tips that we have been describing earlier. We can see now something that you talked about earlier and that's the fact that you saw the diamond into six different parts. Here's one sawed into six parts. That's right and those are sawed according to their crystallographic access to get the best of hardness and the ease of manufacture. Hell in the next exhibit down here are some large hunks of rock. Are these the rocks that are actually taken out of the diamond mine? These are actually blue ground taken out of a mine and we have in them diamonds as they would be found in the mine however this would be a very

very rare occasion to see a diamond sticking out of a piece of this blue ground. Remember that 15 ,000 tons of that blue ground go down the conveyor belt each day. That blue ground is a very hard material is it not? It is quite hard it's quite a rock it is not a soft play like material. I might briefly describe this these hunks of rock that we have been talking about embedded in a piece so maybe a foot in diameter is a very small perhaps all three carrots well those are little larger those go as high as ten carrots all right let's say a ten carrot diamond and it looks like any normal stone might look a piece of marble or something inside of that huge rock and as how just pointed out it's very seldom that you see something like this but it's rather interesting to at least to look at it here in the exhibit. Well these two pieces we have here the oyster bed matrix are historical they are the from the exploration that

discovered the mines in southwest Africa the consolidated mines and the Alexander Bay mines they discovered in 1926 by Dr. Hans Mersenski they are considered not because of their dollar worth but historically very very valuable and that's why they're being exhibited here. You know I've often heard the story how and I suppose this is untrue from what you've told me the diamond mines are sometimes discovered by a man walking along the side of a road in South Africa and looking down and saying oh my there's a diamond this must be a diamond mine what about that well that would be quite rare if it ever occurred probably you will find a diamond mine after long pains taking hours of search and work well certain the geologists can recognize certain geological formations that are likely to be diamond bearing and then further prospected to determine whether it is useful or worthwhile

of mining farther down here to the left howl in the same bank of exhibits are a number of actual diamonds now we've been looking at plastic models but down here as we walk down we can see trays of real diamonds now what's this exhibit for this is an exhibit giving a demonstration of a typical parcel of tool stones and they're further segregated into uses and we have shown here their percentage on the average of the different types of stones that would come from one of these parcels and how they would be used and we finally work it down to the statistics on how many different kinds of tools would come out of a parcel of a certain size in this particular case starting with a 2 ,000 -carat parcel we end up with 1 ,050 wheeled dressers 35 special tools some 1900 shaped tools

1200 dressing wheels or wheeled dressers rather and 1500 shaped tools and then there are several hundred other small special tools can be gotten out of that 2 ,000 -carat or slightly under one pound of diamond a howl as we near the end of this program I'm going to bring in the question that has undoubtedly been on the minds of anyone who has listened to this show and that's what about the value of these diamonds now you have hundreds and hundreds of diamonds in this exhibit here how much are they worth on display we have a 1 million dollar collection of industrials or sortment of industrials broken down into the various assortments for various uses well now we have a gentleman with us who we want to talk to about that operation of this particular exhibit and that of course is security the security of international detective agency incorporated and the manager of the uniform division is Mr. N .H. Keltchik

Mr. Keltchik is standing right next to me and so we better ask him the questions how about the security here first of all Mr. Keltchik got a million dollars worth of diamonds in this booth I suppose the real question I should ask is how you guard it how do you keep people from coming in here in Stealium oh I don't suppose I've been giving away trade secrets sir but we make preparations for an operation of this sort way in advance we now have this entire building covered as far as permanent or as the outside perimeter is concerned we also have in the audience some who you do know and some who you have never seen men in plain clothes who are milling around with the group these men especially trained experts who know characters which they spot in the audience who have previous records of men who we know might be interested in something of this type on the wrong side of the fence on these particular shows do you really have these characters coming around uh with a with an idea of stealing a few diamonds

oh yes well as a man realize that you felt as have some pretty tight security here they do but they'll always try you know show like this could you tell us anything about total number of guards for example there's a uniform gentleman standing next to me how many of those do you have a total a total overall we probably have about 75 men in this entire operation uniformation uniform and plain clothes and would that include a man who are on the outside of the building yes yes what about credentials now there's a lot of people around here do they have to have special credentials those who are authorized to come into the show have badges which we check if we see someone without a badge we immediately check them for identification and if the identification is something which is uh what is supposed to pass them into this show we authorize them to stay if not these asked to leave now nobody around here ever sees you uh ask anybody to leave but I understand a little while ago you had a character can you tell me about it

he left well you got a million bucks to watch over here and it's a mighty important job I want to thank you a lot for telling us about it welcome i'm sure how that's pretty much the story of your industrial diamond show here we want to thank you very much for being our guide you've just heard the story of the diamond booth the tool diamond booth at the American Society of Tool Engineers Convention here in Chicago at the amphitheater