Basic Structures and Choices of Abrasive Belt

Ⅰ. Basic structural elements of abrasive belt

The abrasive belt is generally composed of four basic elements: matrix, binder, abrasive and structural form. They are shown as follows.

Substrate: cloth base, paper base, composite base.

Abrasives: natural abrasives - natural corundum, garnet.

Regular abrasives: white corundum, brown corundum, zirconium corundum, silicon carbide.

Superabrasives: artificial diamond, cubic boron nitride.

Binder: animal glue, semi-resin, full resin, water-resistant products.

Forms of construction: jointless abrasive belts.

Jointed abrasive belts: docking, lap joint, etc.

Ⅱ. The application of an abrasive belt

1. Plate processing industry: raw wood board, composite board, fiberboard, particleboard, veneer board, furniture, building materials, and others.

2. Metal processing industry: non-ferrous metal, ferrous metal.

3. Ceramics, leather, fiber, paint, plastic and rubber products, stone, and other industries.

Ⅲ. The choice of abrasive belt

The correct selection of abrasive belts is not only to obtain good grinding processing efficiency but also to consider the durability of abrasive belts. The main basis for selecting the abrasive belt is, on the one hand, the grinding processing conditions, such as the characteristics of the grinding processing workpiece, the state of the grinding machine, the performance, and technical requirements of the workpiece, and the production efficiency. On the other hand, the characteristics of the abrasive belt also should be taken into consideration.

1. Selection of particle size

Generally speaking, the choice of abrasive grit size is based on the consideration of grinding efficiency and workpiece surface finish. For different workpiece materials, the grit size range of abrasive belts selected for rough grinding, medium grinding, and fine grinding is different.

2. Selection of binder

According to the different binders, there are four abrasive belts: animal glue abrasive belts (commonly known as dry abrasive belts), semi-resin abrasive belts, full resin abrasive belts, and water-resistant abrasive belts. Their scope of application is as follows.

(1) Animal glue abrasive belts are inexpensive, easy to make, and mainly suitable for low-speed grinding.

(2) Semi-resin abrasive belts improve the shortcomings of animal glue abrasive belts such as poor moisture resistance and heat resistance, greatly enhance the bonding performance, and increase the grinding performance exponentially with little increase in price. It is widely used in metal and non-metal grinding and is especially popular in the wood and leather processing industries.

(3) All-resin abrasive belts are made of high-quality synthetic resin, high-strength cotton cloth, and superior abrasives, which have a high cost. But they are wear-resistant and can perform powerful grinding. It is suitable for high speed, large cutting, and high precision grinding. The above three types of abrasive belts are suitable for dry grinding and can also be ground in oil. However, they are not water-resistant.

(4) Compared with the above-mentioned abrasive belts, water-resistant abrasive belts require better raw materials and have more complicated manufacturing processes, resulting in less production and higher prices. It has the characteristics of resin abrasive belts, and it can be used directly for water coolant grinding.