The Science Behind Coated Abrasives: Unraveling The Components
Coated abrasives are instruments used for polishing and grinding created by gluing abrasives to flexible materials such as paper or cloth. These come in various shapes and sizes, including rolls, sheets, belts, discs, and products with unique shapes. Substrates such as cloth, paper, or non-woven fabric can be used to make these.
They are widely used for grinding, polishing, and sanding in metal, wood, ceramics, plastics, leather, rubber, and non-metallic materials like paint and putty.
COATED ABRASIVE COMPONENTS
The substrate, the abrasive, and the adhesive are the three primary components of coated abrasives.
1. SUBSTRATE (BACKING MATERIAL)
The substrate is the main factor influencing the abrasive flexibility, which also serves as the carrier for the glue and abrasive. Paper, fabric, steel paper, composite substrates, non-woven fabric, polyester films, and other materials can be used as substrate materials for coated abrasives. These substrates must undergo specific processing to improve their mechanical and physical qualities and ensure they satisfy the specifications required for adhesive bonding and grinding operations.
The two types of substrate treatments are non-water-resistant and water-resistant. Depending on the grinding needs, other variations include soft treatment, high-permeability treatment, oil-resistance treatment, and anti-static treatment. Following are the four primary categories of backing materials:
- PAPER
Coated abrasives are placed on specialized technical papers that serve as substrates. The letters that stand for their weight and flexibility are as follows:
The "A" and "B" weights are very flexible and light in weight. The medium to heavy "C," "D," "E," and "F" weights provide greater strength but less flexibility.
- CLOTH
"X" weight (Drills) is medium to heavy for greater strength and durability. Its low flexibility suits it for finishing, deburring, and grinding. Compared to "X" weight, "H" (Heavy Duty) weight is heavier. It works well for heavy-duty grinding and deburring operations despite having little flexibility and outstanding stability at the edge.
- FIBER
- COMBINATION
Laminated paper and cloth make up the combination backing, incredibly durable and shock-resistant. Combination backings are generally employed with a variety of grits and mounting methods.
- OTHER BACKING MATERIALS
A range of alternative substrates, such as nylon fiber or screens, can also be coated for specific uses. Another substrate that can be utilized for cleaning, polishing, or mixing is non-woven nylon impregnated with abrasive grit.
2. ABRASIVES
High strength and hard materials are needed to manufacture abrasive tools or for direct grinding and polishing. These materials are called abrasives. There are two primary categories of abrasives: natural and synthetic. Certain fundamental qualities, like sufficient hardness, strength, appropriate fracture characteristics, self-sharpening ability, and chemical or heat stability, are required of abrasives.
ABRASIVE GRAINS
Garnet, silicon carbide, zirconium, ceramic, and aluminum oxide are the most popular abrasive grains used to produce coated abrasives. The coarse grains are crushed and divided into grit sizes using calibrated screens. The grit range is 12 (very coarse) to 1200 (extremely fine). Following their size separation, the grains are bonded to a supporting material utilizing various bonding processes. Descriptions of the most popular abrasive grains are provided below:
- CERAMIC
It is an excellent artificial abrasive substance. Extremely robust and self-sharpening grain structure with a high density makes for a more relaxed cut and longer lifespan. Excels at grinding complex materials.
- ALUMINUM OXIDE
Aluminum oxide is a complex, blocky-shaped artificial grain used to polish and grind metals, wood, and other materials with high tensile strength quickly and efficiently without breaking or shedding too much. Regarding resistance to fracturing, aluminum oxide performs better than all other coated abrasive grains.
- ZIRCONIUM
Zirconium is an artificial, extremely fine, dense, crystalline grain that can be employed aggressively to remove stock. Due to its particular self-sharpening property, zirconium is a highly thick substance that lasts long in heavy stock removal operations.
- SILICON CARBIDE
Silicon carbide is an artificial abrasive that is exceptionally sharp and strong, making it ideal for use on non-metallic and non-ferrous surfaces, including marble, glass, and concrete. Among all the grains used in coated abrasives, silicon carbide is the most brittle and cuts the fastest at low pressure.
- GARNET
The natural aluminum oxide that makes up garnet has a bonding structure that is moderately sharp but extremely weak. Incredibly variable in contrast to synthetics. Because garnet dulls too quickly to be used in metalworking, it is mainly employed in woodworking.
3. ADHESIVE
The abrasive tool strengthens and forms from the adhesive, which binds the abrasive to the substrate. Base adhesives, extra adhesives, and substrate treatment agents are standard adhesives in coated abrasives.
- SUBSTRATE TREATMENT AGENTS
These compounds hope to promote adequate adhesive bonding and grinding results by enhancing the substrate's mechanical and physical characteristics. Water-resistant or non-water-resistant substrate treatments are possible, depending on the particular needs of the product, and the treatment agents should be matched appropriately.
- BASE ADHESIVES
The coating that binds abrasives to the substrate comprises base adhesives.
- ADDITIONAL ADHESIVES
More adhesives are put on top of the bonded abrasive grains to strengthen the binding between them and ensure that they resist stresses and impacts during grinding without coming away from the substrate.