Types of Abrasive Materials

Abrasives can be used in a variety of ways by many different kinds of companies. Especially when you have products that need to be progressed to a completed state by buffing, sanding, grinding, or polishing. As long as the abrasive itself is harder than the material you're trying to finish, an abrasive will be a very effective way of honing down any material to prepare it for use.

Types of abrasive materials

Abrasives consist of minerals that can be either naturally-occurring or synthetic, such as calcite, emery, pumice, sandstone, garnet, borazon, ceramic, steel abrasive, and silicon carbide. When used for industrial applications such as mining, construction, railroad, and wholesale/retail operations, usage falls into several different categories, depending on the type and shape of material to be finished:

Bonded – These types of abrasives are generally contained within some kind of matrix, such as clay, resin, or rubber, and then shaped into wheels or blocks. The sides often have two different densities of grit. A grinding wheel is a good example of a bonded abrasive, operated at very high speed to finish any material which is pressed against it. Bonded abrasives most commonly consist of aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, or garnet.

Coated – Sandpaper is the most commonly used coated abrasive, and is affixed to a backing material, such as paper or metal. Resin or some other adhesive is used as a bonding agent between the paper backing and the abrasive mineral to form the gritty sandpaper surface. Sandpaper can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes for use with a variety of sanding tools.

Other - There are also miscellaneous applications for abrasives, such as sandblasting, which makes use of materials like metal pellets, sand, or glass beads. Cleaning products that everyone is familiar with, often contain a mild form of abrasive, and are used in the cleaning of floors, pots, pans, and other surfaces.