Abrasives have played an important role in the metallurgical industry since the Stone Age, when grit was used to grind, flatten, and polish. For centuries, animal skins were used to sharpen knives and swords. Natural abrasives include emery, garnet, walnut shells, and even talcum powder.

Nowadays, most industrial abrasives are taken from ores that have been refined, hardened, and purified to optimize grinding characteristics.

We have listed all the abrasives here to make it easy for you to choose the right metal sanding belts.

TYPES OF SANDING BELT ABRASIVE GRAINS

1. Aluminum Oxide

Aluminum oxide is a naturally occurring mineral that is refined through a refractory process and is a strong, hard, irregularly shaped abrasive. Various grades of alumina can be obtained through the refractory process, the most common being brown, pink, and white.

2. Zirconia

Zirconia grain features a high heat resistance and is substantially stronger than alumina abrasives, making it an ethical choice for high-pressure grinding and machining applications. Zirconia belts, which work best within the 24 to 120 grit range, are regularly utilized in steel fabrication shops.

Although more challenging than alumina, zirconia may have difficulties grinding mill scale, they still do a high-quality grinding job on Stainless steel, Tool Steel, Nickel Alloy, Aluminum, Titanium, Cast Iron, Carbon Steel, Blades, Rotors, and Welds.

Zirconia requires more pressure to sand. Therefore, the belts are better suited for jobs on more challenging surfaces and are not ideal for polishing.

3. Ceramic

Ceramic abrasive belts have made a significant impact on the standard and efficiency of metal grinding applications. Ceramic abrasives are the longest-lasting and least expensive of the other abrasive grains.

The structure of Ceramic Sandpaper is more uniform than zirconia, and its micro-crystalline habit enables it to interrupt down in a more controlled manner and be utilized in a broader range of applications, including Aluminum Castings, Stainless Steel Finishing, Titanium Alloys (commonly utilized in aerospace applications), Mild Steel Mill Scale.

The micro-grain structure of abrasive belts enables them to break up smaller fragments during the grinding process, giving them a longer service life than their zirconia counterparts. However, unlike zirconia, ceramic is particularly sensitive to pressure and heat, so its use in such applications must be carefully considered.

Ceramic abrasives have a microcrystalline structure and are more uniform than alumina or zirconia abrasives. This habit means that ceramic grains break down in a controlled manner, which extends the range of applications available.

4. Silicon Carbide

The natural mineral form of carbide is long, thin, and sharp. When you think of carbide abrasives, imagine a belt or disc covered with thousands of tiny, razor-sharp knives.

Why aren't carbide abrasives used everywhere? Because even though they're very sharp, they're also more fragile than other abrasive grains, which suggests that they break down more quickly.

All this suggests that carbide abrasives are excellent when you need a clean, shiny cut or to reduce lacquers or polish stone, but are not very useful in heavy-duty grinding applications.