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Ceramic vs Aluminum Oxide vs Zirconia Abrasive

Ceramic vs Aluminum Oxide vs Zirconia Abrasive Grains

Abrasive grain types

 Abrasives have been utilized since the stone era when sand was used to grind, flat, and smooth them. Then, animal skins have been used for honing and sharpening blades and swords. And, now today, fabrication industries utilize various natural and artificial abrasive grains for grinding, sanding, and smoothening of material.

Abrasive grains are mainly classified based on grain hardness, size, and abrasive material. Therefore, selecting the right abrasive grain becomes more important for different grinding, woodworking, and metalworking applications.

What are Abrasive Grains?

Abrasive grains are (either natural or synthetic) hard materials used to remove excess material from the surface. Any hard minerals that are used on metal, wood, alloys, or other materials to grind or polish them are called abrasive grains. The classification of abrasives is based on either natural or synthetic abrasives. Diamond, emery, and corundum are natural abrasives.

Synthetic aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, zirconium, ceramic alumina, natural diamond, and other minerals are used to design abrasive grains. These materials are called abrasive due to their hardness and sharp particle form.

The three most common types of abrasive grains are ceramic alumina, zirconia alumina, and aluminum oxide.

1. Ceramic Abrasive

Ceramic alumina grains have the longest life and the fastest cut rate among all abrasive grains. They are a new revolution for the machining industry. Ceramic abrasive grains can cut consistently and aggressively under moderate to high pressure. The color of the ceramic is orange or red. Primarily used in metalworking applications. Ceramic abrasive grits range from 24 to 120.

Ceramic abrasive grains have a more fine micro-crystalline structure than aluminum oxide or zirconia abrasive grains but ceramic grains are quite sensitive to heat and temperature.

What are Ceramic Abrasives Used For?

Ceramic abrasive grains are widely utilized to manufacture different abrasive tools. Ceramic grains-coated tools are used for grinding, deburring, sanding, heavy stock removal, and metal surface conditioning. Ceramic abrasives exceptionally work on aluminum castings, mild steel mill scale, stainless steel finishing, and titanium alloys (used in the aerospace industry).

Benefits of Ceramic Abrasives

  • Ceramic grains are durable because of their self-sharpening ability. The ceramic grains retain their cutting effectiveness as they erode, breaking into sharper, smaller fragments.
  • Ceramic grains are highly versatile. Apart from using metal surfaces, they are also effective in cutting wood and composites.
  • Ceramics are amazing at removing material quickly due to their unique microcrystalline structure.

Drawbacks of Ceramic Abrasives

  • Ceramics are more expensive when compared to aluminum oxide and zirconia abrasives.
  • Ceramic grains are brittle due to their unique structure. If we apply excessive pressure on ceramic grains, they will be prone to break.  Hence reducing their lifespan and cutting ability. 
  • Due to excessive pressure, ceramics generate heat. This will weaken the grains and lead to breakage.

2. Aluminum Oxide Abrasive

Aluminum oxide is the most common and less costly abrasive grain utilized for large-scale metal and woodworking applications. Aluminum oxide grains are brown or reddish, although they can also be blue, green, or yellow. Aluminum oxide grains last long and have sharp cutting edges. Their grits range from 24 to 600.

What are Aluminum Oxide Abrasives Used For?

Aluminum oxide abrasives are utilized with different backing materials to perform belt sanding, power sanding, or hand sanding applications. As it works tremendously on wood, metals, and painted surfaces, aluminum oxide is the widely used abrasive grain. Aluminum oxide sandpapers are used for large-scale metal sanding. They are also a good choice for stainless steel finishing (white aluminum oxide) and high-end woodworking (pink aluminum oxide).

Benefits of Aluminum Oxide Abrasives

  • Aluminum oxide abrasives are highly accessible. They are easily available in different sizes and shapes, making it an ideal choice for beginners as well as professionals.
  • Aluminum abrasives are highly economical.
  • Aluminum oxides can be used in various materials like wood, plastics, and composites, making them more versatile.

Drawbacks of Aluminum Oxide Abrasives

  • Aluminum oxides produce heat during the cutting process. This can cause severe damage to the workpiece and also reduces the lifespan of an abrasive.
  • Compared to ceramics and zirconia abrasives, aluminum oxides are not suitable for heavy-duty applications or high-demanding projects that require high power and durability.

3. Zirconia Abrasive

Zirconia alumina or zirconium is also known as "Zir." Zirconia abrasives are perfect for coarse to medium-grit metal work applications. Commonly zirconia abrasive is found in green or blue color. They can perform in high temperatures and pressure to refine new sharp edges. Zirconia alumina is a self-sharpening abrasive grain. Zirconia abrasive grits range from 24 to 180 (Ideally, zirconia grains work best in the grit range of 24 to 120).

What are Zirconia Abrasives Used For?

Zirconia abrasives are much stronger and can perform better than aluminum oxide grains because they have good heat resistance. This tendency makes them ideal for high-pressure machining and grinding applications. There are differences between (grinding vs machining). Zirconia abrasives are widely utilized in the steel fabrication industry. Zirconia grains are ideal for manufacturing sandpaper sheets, grinding belts, and sanding discs for metal, steel grinding, and finishing.

Benefits of Zirconia Abrasives

  • Zirconia abrasives are aggressive. They remove material aggressively from the material. They are perfectly suitable for stock removal.
  • Zirconia abrasives are highly durable and able to withstand high pressure and speed while maintaining their structure throughout the process. Zirconia abrasives are ideal for demanding jobs like abrasive jetting and shot blasting.

Drawbacks of Zirconia Abrasives

  • Zirconia abrasive grains are not suitable for projects that require a smooth and precise finish because of their aggressive cutting nature.
  • Zirconia abrasive grains tend to overheat due to excessive pressure applied while cutting. Overheating can cause a grain to damage quickly, and it can also damage the workpiece.
  • Zirconia abrasive grains are more expensive compared to other abrasive grains like aluminum oxide.

4. Silicon Carbide Abrasive

Silicon carbide is the strongest abrasive grain.

Silicon carbide is a large natural abrasive grain. Its natural form is long and thin. Silicon carbide is the most extremely sharp grain among all other abrasive grains (for instance, think you have a ball with hundreds of sharp razor blades).

What are Silicon Carbide Abrasives Used For?

Silicon carbide abrasives are excellent for making clean & sharp cuts on stainless steel and polishing stone. Silicone carbide grains are not suitable for high-pressure grinding. Despite all these benefits, silicon carbide is not widely utilized for large-scale industrial applications because these abrasive grains are comparatively more fragile and break down too easily. Silicon carbide sandpaper sheets are perfect for automotive sanding, wooden furniture finishing, and metal finishing.

Applications of Abrasive Grain

Abrasive grains are utilized in coated and bonded abrasive forms. In a coated or bonded form, grains are fused with an appropriate matrix to form grinding belts, flap discs, flap wheels, grinding wheels, and many other abrasive tools. Abrasive grains are utilized in several industrial applications, including grinding, sanding, honing, sharpening, smoothening, lapping, sandblasting, etc.

The different abrasive grains are required for different applications, and this is an important factor for their high performance.

Read More: Industrial Applications of abrasives

Choosing the Right Abrasive Grain Size For The Job

Every workpiece needs the right abrasive grain size to give it a fine shape, polish, and finish. Choosing the right abrasive grain size is important for grinding and polishing to achieve a smooth, polished, and finished surface.

How do you choose the right abrasive grain size?

Let us help you; next, you will find a detailed abrasive grain chart based on abrasive types, grit, tools, and applications so that you can choose the right abrasive for your job.

Abrasive Grains Comparison: Size, Tools, and Application

Choosing the Right Abrasive Grain For The Job

Abrasive

Grit

Tools

Applications

Aluminum Oxide

Zirconia Alumina

36-80

Surface Sander

Belt Sander 

  • Surfacing rough wood
  • Fast stock removal

Aluminum Oxide

Zirconia Alumina

Garnet

60-100

Orbital Sander

Belt Sander

Disk Sander

  • Rough sanding
  • Quick sanding
  • Mill marks
  • Remove paint/rust
  • Saw marks

Aluminum Oxide

Garnet

Silicon Carbide

120-320

Orbital Sander

Disk Sander

Sandpaper Sheet 


  • Smooth sanding
  • Surface finishing
  • Remove material

Aluminum Oxide

Silicon Carbide

Medium/Fine

Sanding Blocks

Non-woven Pads

Aluminum Oxide

Silicon Carbide

Garnet

80-320

Sanding Drums

Sanding Discs

Cords

Flapper

  • End grain work
  • Round corners
  • Sanding contours
  • Remove large material

Aluminum Oxide

Silicon Carbide

Coarse/Fine

Sanding Blocks

Non-woven Pads

Silicon Carbide

Aluminum Oxide

240-600

Extra Fine

Sanding Sheets

Non-woven Pads

  • Wet sanding
  • Remove stains & oxidation
  • Finishing

00

Steel Wool or Iron Wool

Different Types of Abrasives Used in Grinding

Grinding is the process of removing unwanted material or bulk stock removal from the metal surfaces in the form of chips. Grinding wheels are designed with thousands of small abrasive grains bonded by a bonding material. The most common types of synthetic abrasives used in grinding are silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, diamond, and cubic boron nitride CBN.

Zirconia Alumina vs. Ceramic Abrasive

Zirconia Abrasive

Ceramic Abrasive

Zirconia Alumina is coated & resin-bonded abrasive grains.

Ceramic grain structures are similar to zirconia. They are tough resin-coated grains.

Zirconia alumina is high heat and pressure-resistant.

Ceramic grains are comparatively less pressure and heat-resistant.

Zirconia alumina has less lifespan & low cut rates.

Ceramic grains have a more extended lifespan & a faster cut rate.

Less expensive abrasive grain

Highly expensive abrasive grain

Zirconia alumina is good for manufacturing sandpaper, abrasive belts, and sanding discs for metal.

Ceramic abrasives are good for aluminum castings, mild steel mill scale, stainless steel finishing, and titanium alloys.

Industrial abrasive tools: flap disc, sanding disc, quick-change discs.

Abrasive tools: flap disc, sanding discs, sanding belt.

 

Ending Note:

This article was all about the different abrasive grain types, grit sizes, and applications. Hope you are now aware of the abrasive grains and can easily identify the difference between ceramic, aluminum oxide, and zirconia abrasive grains.

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