Abrasives

Wheels: Grinding Wheels: (Bonded Abrasives) For all applications: carbide, creep-feed, internal, gear, plunge, surface, disc grinding, etc...

Various grains and bonds depending on your surface needs.

Belts + Rolls + Discs

Whether flash removal or fine wood finishing, ACA has the right coated abrasive for the job. Coated abrasives can come in many forms of belts, rolls, sheets or discs. A coated abrasive is a combination of two primary parts, the backing and the abrasive grain. The combination of the backing and the grain will be determined by your process. The backing material may consist of either paper or cloth. Paper backed coated abrasives are generally used in sheets or discs, however, the heavier weight paper can be used in belt form. Primarily all heavy applications will require a cloth backed abrasive.

The abrasive grain is adhered to the backing with resins or glues depending upon the surface finishing application. The grains are mostly either aluminum oxide or ceramic as well as silicon carbide and garnet. Each combination of grain and backing will provide a specific set of finishing characteristics. ACA is able to match your finishing needs to the exact combination of grain, bonding material and backing to ensure that the product get the best finish possible.

Tumbling Media

Abrasive media comes in all shapes, sizes and bonds: vitrified and resin is the pre-form category. It can be rapid cut or non-cut polishing in bond. Finish requirements set the standard for proper choice.

Ceramic or vitrified is the largest volume in use today. It abrades well in all equipment, is relatively clean in cutting and surface preparation and settles out in simple water treatment systems. This material is always run wet, therefore an antioxidant and/or cleaner will perform very well in finishing.

Plastic (resin) media is somewhat different. It is lighter in volume (pounds/cubic foot). Ceramic normal weights 85-90 lbs/cu. ft. Resin weights 55-60 lbs. /cu. ft. Plastic has same cut or non-cut features. Plastic media is normally used prior to plating where low micro-inch finish (Ra value) is required. Since plastic media weights less it is more forgiving on finish. It will have reduced impingement. It will not yield high color, however.

Random shape is the third category. These materials are random in size and are classified by mesh sizes; 3/8x1/4 would be an example. These shapes are ideal for parts not having a lodging affinity. Materials available in this area are aluminum oxide, corundum and quartz.

The last type of media is steel form. This is a pre-form forged from carbon or stainless. It finds its nitch in ball burnishing. There are some applications for steel impingement to close porosity on castings.

Selection of media again depends on the finish requirement of the parts to be refined. ACA has a complete selection for your evaluation.

Blasting

Blasting grains sizes come in coarse and fine gradations. 24, 36, 46, 50 & 80 are a good range of coarse grits. Fine grits are in 180, 240, 320 and 400. Not all companies use the same numbering system, but cross reference charts assist in choosing the correct size.

These gradations are found in man-made: aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, plastic composite and glass bead; natural minerals are zirconia, quartz, silica and other combinations of these.

There are also natural abrasives used in industry. They are walnut shells, pecan shell and other fruit shells that provide a soft finishing cut rather than a hard abrasive. Unfortunately these materials have a shorter lifecycle than manmade materials.

Steel shot is also another blasting media used by many who repaint furniture, large containers and steel structures.