METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A SAW ELEMENT AND SAW ELEMENT

The invention concerns a saw element that is produced by the method of laser cladding. In this method a supply of metal matrix material is heated by a laser beam and deposited on a metal substrate while abrasive particles are being added to the forming abrasive layer. Particular is that the supply of metal matrix material to the laser beam is a mixture that comprises a low melting metal powder and a high melting metal powder. The laser deposition is carried out at a set process temperature that is in a range wherein little to no damage to the abrasive particles, in particular diamond particles, occurs. The low melting metal powder melts below the process temperature, while the high melting metal powder melts above the process temperature. The resulting abrasive layer shows an increased hardness even if only a little weight fraction of high melting metal powder is included in the metal matrix powder stream. The saw elements resulting therefrom show a good balance between abrasive particle wear and metal matrix wear. The particular case wherein the saw elements are saw beads is elaborated.