ForMatter/Materials/gemstone/Industrial Diamond Grit
mat_gem_diamond_industrial_grit

Industrial Diamond Grit

polycrystalline / single-crystal diamond grit, industrial · bort, industrial diamond, diamond abrasive grain
highlast updated 2026-04-27
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

Diamond as an abrasive — grit and powder, made by HPHT synthesis at industrial scale, used to make grinding wheels, polishing pastes, dental burs, surgical scalpels, lapidary saw blades, and the wire that cuts silicon wafers. The most common form of "diamond" in industrial use; jewelry-grade material represents a small fraction of total diamond demand by mass.

HPHT-grown diamond grit at micron-to-millimeter mesh sizes (graded by FEPA standards 4–5000 µm). Mostly cubo-octahedral synthetic single crystals; polycrystalline diamond (PCD) variants for specific tooling. Mohs 10. Bonded into resin, vitreous, metal, or electroplated wheels and saws; loose-grit form for lapping pastes. Annual industrial-diamond production exceeds natural diamond mass by roughly an order of magnitude.

mechanical

  • mohs_hardness10
  • knoop_hardness_kg_mm27000
source: GIA; Element Six technical reference

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon kg co2e per kg15
  • sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
  • recyclabilitylow — typically consumed in service
  • biodegradableFalse
  • certificationsFEPA grit-size standards
visual
matte black to gray powder or fine angular grain — nothing like the visual of gem-quality diamond
tactile
abrasive — engages with virtually any harder-than-glass material on contact

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere granular finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      granular
albedo        #3a3a3a
metallic      0.00
roughness     0.85
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.00
anisotropic   0.00
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#3a3a3a",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.85,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Industrial Diamond Grit · finish: granular
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_gem_diamond_industrial_grit")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.0423, 0.0423, 0.0423, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.850
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Industrial Diamond Grit · finish: granular
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_gem_diamond_industrial_grit", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (58, 58, 58))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.850)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Industrial Diamond Grit \u00b7 finish: granular",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.0423,
    "g": 0.0423,
    "b": 0.0423
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.85,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_gem_diamond_industrial_grit",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.0423,
          0.0423,
          0.0423,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.85
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Industrial Diamond Grit · finish: granular
def Material "mat_gem_diamond_industrial_grit" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_gem_diamond_industrial_grit/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.0423, 0.0423, 0.0423)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.850
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
Substitutes
Lab-Grown Diamond (HPHT)

Citations