Cutting and Grinding Wheels
:yinglong :2017-11-29 10:31:03
Different products have different working principle, only clearly understand the basic principle of products, to better use it convenient your work. If you don't follow the working principle of the product, it may cause trouble to your work, not only a waste of money, and even life safety threat. This article explains the basics about grinding wheel abrasives.
The power tool industry uses a specialized system of terms to organize and name abrasive grinding wheels and cutting wheels. Like most other power tool accessories, abrasive wheels are available in a huge variety of types and styles suited for different applications, and most of these types and styles are separated by only small variations in materials and design features. Cutting wheels and grinding wheels are custom fit to their jobs by a combination of a wheel's measurements, abrasive material, grit, hardness, bond material, and wheel type. Each of these abrasive wheel design features are explained below, giving shoppers the information they need to quickly match compatible abrasive wheels to their tools and applications.
The naming system includes information regarding four things:
1. what kind of grain material an abrasive wheel uses, 2. the grit (or size) of the abrasive particles in the wheel, 3. the overall hardness of the wheel, and 4. the type of bonding material used.
This is the syntax for the ANSI marking system:
[Grain Material][Grit][Hardness]-[Bond Material]
Example: "C24S-BF" is an ANSI marking system name for a common type of masonry grinding wheel.
"C" here refers to the wheel's grain material (Silicon Carbide in this case).
"24" is the grit of the wheel (on the coarse side).
"S" is the hardness of the wheel (on the harder side of the scale), and
"BR" is the bonding material used in the wheel (Resinoid Reinforced in this case).
[C][24][S]-[BF]
We explain each part of the ANSI marking system below in more detail.
The first portion of an abrasive wheel's ANSI name is one or two letters that indicate(s) the type of abrasive grain material used in the wheel. The properties of different abrasive wheel grain materials make them better for different applications and application materials. Abrasive wheels for power tools are typically made from one of the types of abrasive materials listed below:
Aluminum Oxide- Aluminum oxide grains are coarse and blocky. Aluminum oxide abrasive wheels are tough, widely used, and promote long life for the wheel. These are best suited for metal cutting and grinding, including ferrous metals. ANSI notation: "A"
Silicon Carbide- With a sharper grain shape, silicon carbide is a great abrasive for concrete and masonry applications. It is a hard abrasive, but more brittle than aluminum oxide. Silicon carbide is also used for non-ferrous metal grinding, like aluminum metal work. ANSI notation: "C"
Aluminum Zirconium- Aluminum zirconium is a very fine, dense grain abrasive, and is the toughest abrasive derived from aluminum. These wheels are used for very rapid, aggressive stock removal and are very durable. ANSI notation: "Z" and sometimes "ZA"
Seeded Gel- These high performance wheels are made by a carefully controlled manufacturing process using aluminum oxide grains. The grains are powdered very small and slowly fused with a bonding agent. Seeded gel abrasive wheels last the longest of those described here, they stay sharp the longest, and they require the least maintenance. ANSI notation: "SG"
Grit
Grit simply refers to the size of the abrasive grains infused in a wheel. Varying grit sizes give abrasive wheels varying degrees of aggression and durability.
Instead of using the actual measurements of the abrasive grains, the tool industry uses rounder figures for measuring grit from what is called the CAMI scale. (Conversion charts can easily be found between CAMI units and particle size if needed)
The chart below provides a general idea of grit ranges for abrasive cutting wheels and grinding wheels:
The grit number occupies the second portion of a wheel's ANSI name.
Hardness
The hardness of an abrasive wheel partially determines how quickly the wheel will wear against different materials, and how aggressively the wheel will clear material.
Because of this, hardness also helps to determine a wheel's optimal application materials.
The tool industry uses the ANSI hardness scale that progresses from softer to harder from A to Z.
This letter is the third portion of a wheel's ANSI name.
Bond Material
The abrasive grains in cutting and grinding wheels have to be held together by some kind of material, a bonding material.
There are several varieties of bonding materials and bonding methods, including fiberglass mesh reinforcement.
One or two letters make up the last portion of a wheel's ANSI name after the dash, indicating the bonding material used in that wheel
Cutting and Grinding Wheel Types
