Abrasive Grains

ABRASIVE GRAINS

Coated abrasives are developed using abrasive grains. The foremost common abrasive grains are alumina, zirconium, ceramic, carbide, and garnet. 

The grains are crushed and separated into sizes that are grit sizes, using calibrated screens. Grit size ranges from 12 (very coarse) to 1200 (very fine). Once the grains are separated into sizes, they're attached to a backing material using various bond techniques. 

Below are descriptions of the foremost common abrasive grains:

CERAMIC

It is a high performance, man-made abrasive, which is a very uniform, high-density grain structure. Ceramic is extremely durable and self-sharpening for extended life and a more relaxed cut. Excels on tough to grind materials.

ALUMINUM OXIDE

It is a challenging, blocky shaped, man-made grain used for top speed grinding and finishing metals, wood, and other high-lasting materials without excessive fracturing or shedding. The power to resist fracturing is that the primary consideration, alumina, will outperform all other coated abrasive grains.

ZIRCONIUM

Zirconium is an excellent, dense, man-made crystalline grain used for aggressive stock removal. Zirconium may be a very thick material with a singular self-sharpening characteristic, which provides its long life on massive stock removal operations.

SILICON CARBIDE

It is a rigid, very sharp, man-made abrasive fitted to non-ferrous materials and non-metallic materials like concrete, marble, and glass. A friable grain, carbide cuts faster under light pressure than the other grain utilized in coated abrasives.

GARNET

Garnet is formed of natural alumina, which may be a relatively strong but fragile bonding structure. Very inconsistent in comparison to synthetics. It's used primarily in woodworking as garnet dulls too quickly to be utilized in metalworking.