Types of Abrasives
Abrasives are hard crystals used for Polishing, Smoothening, and Grinding the surface of other materials. They are either found in nature or manufactured. Abrasives are primarily utilized in metalworking because their grains can penetrate even the most rigid metals and alloys.
However, their excellent hardness makes them suitable for working with other hard materials such as stones, glass, and certain sorts of plastics.
Abrasives are also used with relatively soft materials, including wood and rubber because their use permits high stock removal, long-lasting cutting ability, proprietary control, and fine finishing.
Characteristics of Abrasives
The main characteristic of abrasive is its hardness and brittleness.
Proper metalworking requires proper abrasive. These are minerals (or mineral-like substances) used to shape, grind or cut metal.
- Some Abrasives are hard enough to chop many hard materials.
- Common uses of hard materials are alumina, carbide, cubic boron nitride, and diamond.
- Other materials like garnet, zirconia, glass, and even walnut shells are used for select applications.
Many sorts of materials are often used for flaps, including neoprene, buff cloth, and cardboard. The foremost common materials utilized in flap wheels, however, are woven and non-woven abrasives. Flap wheel abrasives are natural or artificial crystals.
Types of Abrasives
There are two types of abrasives available:
- Natural Abrasive
- Artificial Abrasive
Natural abrasives
The Natural abrasives are found as minerals or rocks within the crust of the earth. Some example of natural abrasives are:
- Diamond
- Corundum
- Garnet
- Quartz
- Softer Materials Found within the Earth
Artificial abrasives
The Artificial or Synthetic abrasive group includes a variety of materials possessing very high hardness.
- Synthetic Diamond
- Silicon Carbide
- Aluminum Oxide
- Boron Carbide
- Various Aluminas
- Carborundum
Forms of Abrasives
Abrasives are found in two forms: Block form and Powdered form.
- Block Form Abrasives The pieces cut in different and suitable shapes from the abrasive material are block form, such as grindstones, whetstones, millstone, and cutting edges.
- Powdered Form Abrasive is nothing but the crushed material in different grades and sizes. This powder is employed intrinsically and also after bonding it on cloth or paper.
Some of them form an integral part of cutting, boring, and drilling tools, e.g., diamond and carborundum.
Abrasives Uses
Most of the abrasives utilized in industries belong to an artificial group, except diamond.
Diamond
It is a natural abrasive and purest sort of carbon (c). It possesses excellent hardness, which is approx.( H=10 ). This abrasive is perfectly colorless and the most rigid substance.
Its lifespan is more extensive as compared to other materials. and distortion can occur only by impacts.
They are used as core drilling stones, in rock and metal cutters, wire-drawing dies, and kit grindstones.
Some diamond-producing states are Belgian Congo, South Africa, Congo, Angola, Sierra Leone, Brazil, and Venezuela.
Carborundum
It belongs to an artificial or artificial group. It's the toughest abrasive after diamond. Its composition is carbide and is manufactured by fusing a mix of high purity sand, coke, and sawdust.
Carborundum was first manufactured in 1890 to supply artificial diamonds.
At present, it's manufactured by employing a very high current through an electrical arc at 2482 Centigrade.
Silicon carbide is made in the middle of the mixture.
Typical applications of carborundum include within the making of grinding wheels for metal, abrasive papers, abrasives cloth, and gear sharpening blocks.
Boron Carbide
Boron Carbide is manufactured by heating boric oxide and coke together at 2600 centigrade temperature.
The hardness level of boron carbide is similar to carborundum and is employed chiefly as a powdered abrasive.
Corundum (H=9)
This mineral belongs to a natural group. They're Gems of high value and are perfect flawless crystals.
Examples are sapphire, ruby. The imperfect varieties are used as abrasives.
Quartz (H=7)
It is the foremost common natural mineral. In its purest form, the abrasive is known as silica. Quartz is additionally the foremost commonly applied abrasive in many fields.
It may be used as pure quartz in blocks and also as quartz sand, sandstone, quartzite, chert, and pumice, all of which are various sorts of silica in nature.
Ending Note!
Abrasives are used for grinding applications in industries. The Industry Utilizes Abrasives in three primary ways, including:
- They can be bonded to a metal to form concrete machines such as Abrasives wheel, cylinders, bands, cups, segments, or sticks
- They can be added to the paper, cloth, plastic, or other substance, as is done with sandpaper.
Benchmark Abrasives has more than 20 years of experience in dealing with industrial equipment. We deliver premium quality industrial products from around the world to the USA market.
For further queries, please contact us at 877-841-1837 or drop a message at Contact Page