I'm hoping for both a) direct responses if you can make this (ideally with price tag!) and b) meta responses on where else to look, how else to look, how anybody finds others willing to take on projects that are slightly "out there", etc.
These blades exist on today's market as size "2/0 scroll saw blade" (google-able) and are about 5 inches. I've been looking for the past several months to create the same thing, but with teeth for a continuous 50 meter length. I would use these blades in a manner like a bandsaw, but without being in a closed loop. I previously worked on a "CNC scrollsaw" (google-able) and this new blade would power that machine's successor.
I've brainstormed and refined many ideas on in-house (DIY) manufacturing, outsourcing, and some combination.
So far, I've tried contacting:
* The 3 well known manufacturers of these blades: 1 got a prototype to me before saying no (the prototype had teeth, then gap with no teeth, then teeth, etc). 1 said no. 1 had no response
* A reseller of these blades who then asked one of the same manufacturers, but got the same response
* Umpteen companies on Alibaba, few leads, no winners
* Multiple manufacturers that do punch & die work, varying levels of no or no response
* A manufacturer that does reel to reel etching, still in discussion, but seems unlikely
* Multiple manufacturers that do custom CBN form wheels for grinders. skeptical responses and I would need a good spindle to run them
* A manufacturer that makes a fairly similar product to what I'm looking for, just in slightly larger size, but they said no
* A discord of machinists, who had some helpful tips, but no leads
* Steel suppliers for the raw material (flat wire/ribbon is likely the best), but obtaining small (ie < 1 ton) amounts has not been fruitful
I think the DIY approach is not impossible for someone with more skills and better space+equipment than me. A 50m length has about 25,000 teeth, so whatever process it is (milling, punching, grinding, Thanks!
That is a lot thicker than what you ask for (about 1 cm², compared to your 0.0012 cm², so about 800 times as thick) and more flexible.
Unless you’re cutting a very weak material, I would think that thickness is as good as unavoidable. If you pull at one end of a 50m saw, and, say, 25m of it grips the thing being cut, would the fairly small pin through the end of the blade that you pull on be strong enough to not break? Or are you going to move the blade very slowly through the thing being cut? Alternatively, maybe you want fewer teeth, to decrease the maximum force needed to pull this blade through whatever you’re trying to cut?
At that length, you would need a jig or straight edge to keep it linear, not to mention a large space. But it does not seem impossible.
Maybe ask a number of machine shops or even a general contractors to assemble it for you, suggesting this method, especially if you bring the supplies? I would try a small prototype first.
The punch and die shops probably focus on their specific type of product (punches, dies), so I would look broader.
Or maybe put the project on the Handy app? (A hungry person may be happy to do it for you, not thinking more than twice about how unusual it sounds.)
Asides: I wonder what the required blade tension would be and how machine will maintain tension on the blade. Also I wonder why the blade needs to be so long.