Abrasive-product manufacture

Grinding wheels

The most important abrasive product manufactured is the grinding wheel. Made of abrasive grain and a binder, or “bond,” it is a self-sharpening cutting tool. As the grains on the periphery become dull, they are shed from the surface of the grinding wheel, and fresh, sharp cutting edges are exposed. The ability to resharpen is controlled by the nature of the bond used and the ratio of abrasive to bond, measured by volume.

Forming and firing

In the manufacture of grinding wheels, abrasives of the proper size and bonding materials are weighed and mixed together in a power mixing machine. When thoroughly mixed, measured amounts of the abrasive and bond mixture are evenly distributed in steel molds. The mold is placed in a powerful hydraulic press, and the mixture is compressed to the desired wheel size, allowing some oversize in dimensions for finishing operations. Pressures vary with wheel size and may be upwards of several hundred tons. Some shaving and shaping of the wheels is done before they are baked or fired.

The majority of grinding wheels made have a vitreous, ceramic bond, made of clays and feldspars. The so-called vitrified wheel is fired in high-temperature kilns at temperatures of 1,260° C (2,300° F). Electric-, oil-, and gas-fired kilns are used. The length of the “burn” varies with wheel size and can be as long as two weeks.

The remaining 35–40 percent of the grinding wheels manufactured have organic-type bonds using resins, rubber, or shellac as the bonding material. These wheels are baked at temperatures of between 150° and 200° C (300° and 400° F). The lower temperature permits the inclusion of steel rings, molded-in threaded bushings, or fibreglass reinforcements, which become baked into the wheel and serve to make it more resistant to breakage from side pressure. The bushings help to hold the wheel in place on certain grinding machines.

Organic wheels can be made much thinner than vitrified wheels, and they are used in place of metal saw blades for cutting a great variety of materials.

Truing, grading, and testing

Nearly all grinding wheels must be finished after they have been baked or fired. In a process called truing, the wheels are cut to final size, and the outside glazed layers resulting from the kiln are removed, making the sides of the wheel parallel and the size of the arbor hole accurate; at the same time the working surface of the wheel is sharpened. Wheels are trued by using conical steel cutters, by rubbing in beds of steel shot, and by grinding with grinding wheels.

Grading of wheels assures that they have the correct resistance to wear. Grade or hardness, determined by the amount of bond, permits the grinding wheel to keep itself sharp and free-cutting in a variety of conditions. Grinding wheels used for heavy grinding operations are “harder” and are made with greater amounts of bond, retaining the abrasive particles longer under severe conditions such as those found in steel mills and foundries. In the tool room where industrial cutting tools are sharpened, softer wheels, with less bond per unit of abrasive, are required, so that, as soon as the abrasive grains start to dull and the possibility develops of building up heat in the sensitive cutting tool being ground, the wheel will resharpen and shed the dulled grains.

Finally, grinding wheels are checked for balance to assure that they will run without vibration. Grinding wheels six inches in diameter and larger are usually speed-tested. The wheel is rotated at a speed at least 50 percent greater than the maximum allowable operating speed. This is a nondestructive measure of the wheel’s bursting strength.

The same basic processes are used in the manufacture of abrasive bricks, sticks, and formed shapes. These are used as rubbing blocks, sharpening stones, honing stones, and shaped abrasive mediums for tumbling or mass finishing.

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SIMILAR TOPICS

Wood

Plastic

Glass

Semiconductor

Metamaterial

Concrete

Structural clay products

Metal

Naval stores

Industrial ceramics

Sandpapers

Sandpapers (coated abrasive) are the next most significant abrasive product. They consist, basically, of a single layer of abrasive particles held to a flexible backing material by an adhesive bond. The cutting action of coated abrasive products is determined by the abrasive used, the grit size, the density or spacing of the grit, the strength of the adhesive, and the flexibility of the backing material.

Coating

Manufacture begins with huge rolls of backing material, either paper, cloth, or a combination of the two. The backing is fed to the making machine where the first layer of adhesive is applied. Next, the layer of abrasive is applied, either by gravity or electrostatically. The electrostatic method orients the slivery type of abrasive used, with the sharp ends facing out. The process can also control the spacing of the grains. This is an advantage in that wide spacing helps to alleviate loading problems when grinding soft, stringy, or gummy materials.

After being coated with the abrasive layer, the product is draped in long festoons in which it partially dries. Then it is run through another sizing operation and a second layer of adhesive is applied. The product is draped, allowed to dry thoroughly, and wound into large-diameter rolls.

The adhesives used to bond the abrasive to the backing are water-soluble, waterproof, or a combination of the two. Water-soluble types are used for dry grinding operations and in household sanding, and occasionally on wood-sanding commercial operations. Resin or resin-over-glue types currently in use have the flexibility associated with the soluble types. The all-resin type is best for severe operations; its properties are such that the heat of grinding actually increases the adhesive’s holding strength.

Shaping

Sandpaper disks for right-angle grinders are die-cut. Sheets are cut in the standard lengths and widths used in production and household applications. Strips are slit, cut to length, and joined by their ends to make up the coated abrasive belts that have become an essential part of industry, replacing several kinds of abrasive wheels used previously.

Other abrasive products

Other products use the abrasive in the form of grains or powders. In addition to the sizing operation, many types are specifically treated, by calcining, acid, or heating, to make them more suitable for use as lapping abrasive or perhaps as sandblasting grain. For use in lapping and polishing, the abrasive is usually mixed with a vehicle such as mineral or seal oil. Polishing sticks consist of waxes or greases impregnated with various-sized abrasive grains, depending on the particular requirements of the work.

Two materials used for cleaning rather than grinding are still abrasive in nature. Glass beads, pressure blasted onto a surface, remove rust, scale, and carbon. These have replaced much hand cleaning with steel wool. Steel wool still has some applications