Category & Attribute of Abrasive Grains in iAbrasive.com

Abrasive grains function as media in the process of grinding, lapping and buffing, and they are manufactured into certain grits to cut the extra materials of certain products. In iAbrasive.com (www.iabrasive.com), there are 18 main categories totally, and four of them are related to abrasive grits: Abrasive Grains, Superhard Materials, Sand Blasters & Media, Mass Finishing & Media,  Buffing & Polishing.

By referring to the websites of home and abroad, related products manuals and the customer online searching hobbies, iAbrasive.com holds the view that the abrasives that are used to manufacture common abrasive tools such as vitrified wheels, resin-bonded abrasives, sanding sheets and sanding belts should be included in the category ofAbrasive Grains; the abrasives that are used to manufacture super abrasive tools and diamond tools such as diamond wheels, cBN wheels, diamond blades etc. should be included in the category of Superhard Materials ; loose abrasives that are used for sand blasting and shot penning should be included in the category of Sand Blasters & Media; abrasive chips that are used for blasting and buffing in large functioning area should be included in the category of Mass Finishing & Media, as for the doubt that whether abrasive chips should belong to abrasive tools or abrasive grains, we do not make further discussion here, iAbrasive.com just currently put them in this category; polishing compound and powder should be put in the same category with where cloth and sisal wheels stay–Buffing & Polishing, in the view of iAbrasive.com. This article is mainly about the category and attribute of abrasive grains.

As shown in Figure 1, Abrasive Grains are sub-classified into 7 secondary categories in iAbrasive.com. In fact, aluminium oxide and silicon carbon are in the largest amount for supplying and demanding in this category, so Aluminum Oxide is sub-classified into 7 further levels; Silicon Carbide is sub-classified into 2 further levels. In every final level, there are related attributes and values. For example, although Aluminum Oxide is included in the category of Abrasive Grains, it’s not the final level; while Brown Fused Alumina is the final classification, so it has related attributes and values; Zirconia Alumina is the secondary as well as final classification of Abrasive Grains. The main attributes ofAbrasive Grains are as following.

Form: Block, Grain, Powder
Particle Shape: Angular, Rounded, Sharp, Cubic, Irregular, Other.
Grading System: ANSI, FEPA, JIS, ISO, GB/T, SAE, Other
Available Size: Customized
Features: Low Heat-treated, High heat-treated, Surface Treated, Ultra-Fine
Application: Bonded Abrasives, Coated Abrasives, Blasting, Polishing/lapping, Refractory, Wire Sawing, etc.
Zirconia Content: Approx.40%, Approx.25%, Approx.10%, Other
Materials: Corundum, Emery,Flint, Garnet, etc.

Remark:
Form: iAbrasive users can select by the size of abrasive grits. It can also be interpreted as the raw material block, coarse powder, or micro powder.
Particle Shape: Different processing methods vary the particle shapes. As for the bulk density, the densest in Rounded shape, then comes second in Angular, and the least inSharp; Cubic is unique for monocrystalline alumina; shape that is unable to define can be selected by Irregular; trying not to select Other as possible as you can.
Grading System: As it is well known, there are different grading systems in different countries. ANSI: American National Standards Institute; FEPA: The Florida Emergency Preparedness Association; JIS: Japanese Industrial Standards; ISO: International Standardization Organization; SAE: Society of Automotive Engineers.
Available Size: Based on above selected grading system, it is filled in and customized by users themselves. For example, if you choose FEPA and your products are used for bonded abrasives, then you can type F12-F1200. Here, the exact value is completely customized by the individual enterprise according to their real situations. If you can not offer micro powder but F4-F220, then just type F4-F220.
Features: It is unique for Brown Fused Alumina. If you post product under any other categories, this value will not appear.
Applications: It is multi-choice; however, iAbrasive.com thinks that the best choice(s) is the one(s) that can make the best expression for your products. More choices or more irrelative choices do not equal to more visibility. Or sometimes even leave a dishonesty expression to buyers.
Zirconia Content: This is unique for Zirconia Alumina and is customized.
Materials: This is unique for Corundum; if posting garnet, just simply select Garnet here.

Category & Attribute of Bonded Abrasives in iAbrasive.com

Bonded Abrasives are a kind of tools that are made by abrasive grains and bonding agent, with a certain shape and grinding ability. Usually, according to different abrasive grains, they are divided into ordinary bonded abrasives which are made by conventional abrasives (Aluminium Oxide, Silicon Carbide) and superhard bonded abrasives which are made by superhard abrasives (Diamond, cBN); or, according to different bonding agent, they are divided into vitrified bond, resin bond, rubber bond, metal bond, etc. Based on actual situation, in iAbrasive.com (www.iabrasive.com), they are included in the category ofBonded Abrasives, made by conventional abrasive grains, and there is no metal bond type to choose from. Suparhard bonded abrasives are included in another independent main category of iAbrasive.com, namely Super Abrasives.

As shown in Figure 1, Bonded Abrasives is sub-classified into 7 further levels in iAbrasive.com. It’s not hard to see that, iAbrasive.com takes shape as the criterion; it is also in conformity with the principle of intuitive and universal. Cut-off & Grinding Wheels is further classified into two more levels within these by shape and application; the same goes for Mounted Points, also with two further levels.

Ⅰ. Grinding Wheels

There is a great variety of grinding wheels, but here, no further sub-categories within them, why? Because in the industry, there are different opinions about it, some classify them by model, some by bonding agent, and some by application. So, iAbrasive.com complies with the principle that when users add products they can identify their unique products by different attributes illustrated as following.

The mains characteristics of grinding wheels are determined by abrasive grains, grit size, bonding agent, hardness, structure, shape, diameter, etc., so iAbrasive.com set following attribute fields for grinding wheels:

Shape: Straight, Cylinder, Tapered, Recessed, Straight Cup, Flaring Cup, Dish, Relieved, Disc / Ring, Other
Diameter: Common diameters 10mm-1200mm are available to choose from;
Application: Cylindrical/ Centerless, Internal/ Bores, Surface/ Creepfeed, Toolroom/ Sharpening, Cutting-off, Snagging, Polishing, Specialty
Abrasive Grain: Aluminum Oxide, White Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Carbide, Zirconia Alumina, Ceramic Aluminum Oxide, Boron Carbide, Natural Abrasives, Combination, Other
Grits: 16-220
Bonding Agent: Vitrified, Resin, Resin Reinforced, Rubber, Rubber Reinforced, Magnesite, Shellac, Plastic, PVA, Other
Hardness: Soft, Medium, Hard
Structure: Dense, Open
Work Condition: Dry, Wet, Dry/ Wet

Seen from above attributes, it’s not hard to see that, Shape does not cover all existing values, only the most commonly used shapes are listed, neither for Diameter which does not contain the value over 1200mm, these will be further adjusted according to data; ForHardness and Structure, the reason for not being marked by letters or numbers is that, there is not a universally accepted standard for each country, so here they are indicated by words for rough screening.

Ⅱ. Cut-off & Grinding Wheels

Cut-off & Grinding Wheels are the most consumable products within bonded abrasives, and they appear as one main category independently in many product catalogues and websites. Based on actual situation, and in order to avoid misunderstanding, iAbrasive.com classifies them under Bonded Abrasives. Because the quantity is so huge, iAbrasive.com further classifies them into Straight Cutting Wheels and Depressed Center Wheels, their attributes have both similarities and differences, details of which are as following:

Diameter: Common diameters 10mm-1200mm are available to choose from;
Abrasive Grain: Aluminum Oxide, White Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Carbide, Zirconia Alumina, Ceramic Aluminum Oxide, Combination, Other
Grits: 24-120
Style: High Speed, Chop Saw, Portable Saw, Stationary, Thin(<2mm), Circular Saw, Street Saw, Gas Saw, For Rail
Materials Abraded: Aluminum, Brass/ Bronze, Cast Iron, Cast Steel, Ceramic, Chrome, Gray Casting, Glass, Nickel Alloy, Plastics, Steel/ Steel Alloys, Stainless, Stone/ Masonry, Titanium, Universal, Other
Type: Grinding Wheels, Cutting-off Wheels, Combo

Style is specially set for Straight Cutting Wheels, and it is a multiple choice, users can select according to their products features. Type is specially set for Depressed Center Wheels, because there are grinding wheels, cut-off wheels, as well combo wheels for both grinding and cutting-off, all in depressed center shape. Materials Abraded is also a multiple choice, iAbrasive.com does not suggest selecting all values, while if the supplier does think all the listed materials are applicable, Universal can be selected. Selecting the most appropriate one or several materials abraded may improve product visibility; on the contrary, selecting all values for one product may result in lower ranking in screening, decreasing product visibility, and leaving a dishonesty impression to buyers.

Ⅲ．Mounted Points

Mounted Points can be introduced individually, but in the actual supply and demand, they usually appear in sets. So, iAbrasive.com further classifies Mounted Points into Mounted Points and Mounted Point Set. The attributes and values are described as following by iAbrasive.com:

Shape: Ball, Cone, Cone-Ball Nosed, Countersink 60° 60, Cylinder, Cylinder-Ball nosed, Inverted Cone, Other
Head Diameter: 1.5mm-75mm
Shank Diameter: 2.5mm-10mm
Abrasive Grain: Aluminum Oxide, White Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Carbide, Zirconia Alumina, Ceramic Aluminum Oxide, Combination, Other
Grits: 16-220
Bonding Agent: Vitrified, Resin, Rubber, Shellac, Plastic, PVA, Other
Hardness: Soft, Medium, Hard
Number of Piece: 8-100

There are various mounted points, such as vitrified ones, rubber ones, etc. and suppliers may select by different abrasive grains and bonding agent; There is also a great many of shapes for mounted points, but no uniform symbols for each company, so iAbrasive only list the most popular shapes for selecting. Number of Piece is specially set for Mounted Point Set, with the most popular piece numbers for selecting.

Ⅳ. Hone/ Sharpening Stone

Hone/ sharpening stones are strip-shaped boned abrasives made by abrasive grains and bonding agent. During the machining process, they usually need lubricating oils. They are generally used for manual sharpening for cutting tools & accessories, or clamped on machine tools for honing or super-finishing. Hone/ sharpening stones are either natural or synthetic, with various shapes. iAbrasive.com does not make further classification within them, still, using following attributes for differentiating:

Type: Abrasive File, Bench Stone, Water Stone, Honing Stick, Rubbing Brick, Slip/Slip Stone, Specialty
Shape: Rectangular, Square, Round, Half Round, Triangle, Wedge, Specialty
Dimension: Customized
Abrasive Grain: Aluminum Oxide, Boron Carbide, White Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Carbide, Zirconia Alumina, Ceramic Aluminum Oxide, Arkansas Stone, India Stone, Combination, Other
Bonding Agent: None, Vitrified, Resin, Rubber, Other
Coarseness: Coarse /Metal Removal, Medium/ Deburring, Fine /Stoning, Extra Fine/ Superfinishing, Combination Grits
Application: Internal /Bores, Flat Surfaces, Shafts/ Connecting Rods, Wheel Dresser/ Dressing Tool, Specialty

It’s worth mentioning that grit size is not easy to confirm, so here this field and value don’t appear, while replaced by Coarseness. There are other more applications besides above mentioned ones, which are only industrial applications but still not complete, we will further adjust according to data and buyers buying situations.

Ⅴ. Grinding Segments

Grinding Segments are blocky bonded abrasives make by abrasive grains and bonding agent. The majority is made by aluminum oxide or silicon carbide and resin; also some are made by ceramic aluminum oxide and magnesite. Usually, several segments are fixed on the chuck of a grinding wheel as an assembly; there is a certain distance between each segment for easy thermal dissipation and chip removal. iAbrasive.com tries to satisfy all suppliers’ posted products as possible as we can, collecting current existing bonding agents and abrasive grains as the attributes and values, details of which are as following:

Shape: 3101, 3102, 310, 3104, 3105, 3109, Specialty
Dimension: Customized
Abrasive Grain: Aluminum Oxide, Boron Carbide, White Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Carbide, Zirconia Alumina, Ceramic Aluminum Oxide, Combination, Other
Bonding Agent: Vitrified, Resin, Magnesite, Other

The Shape symbols here are only applicable on iAbrasive.com. When posting products, suppliers can click to select by skeleton diagram.

Ⅵ. Cones & Plugs

Compared with mounted points, Cones & Plugs don’t have handles. As a kind of bonded abrasives, they do exist in many products catalogue and websites in many countries, although the quantity is much smaller inChina. iAbrasive.com also show them up as one sub-category here.

Shape: Round, Taper, Square, Cylindrical, Other
Diameter: 25mm-70mm
Grit: 16, 20, 24, Other

Ⅶ. Other Bonded Abrasives

Simply selecting this category without careful thinking is strongly discouraged by iAbrasive.com, unless you do ensure that your product is ordinary bonded abrasive but above mentioned six categories all do not match, because products in this category will show in the bottom of this category listing.

Category & Attribute of Coated Abrasives in iAbrasive.com

Abrasives and abrasive products are known as the “Industrial Teeth”, and among them, the coated abrasives are regarded as the “Industrial Beautician”. In China, according to most professional magazines and textbooks, “Coated Abrasives” is defined as buffing and blasting tools made by abrasive grains and flexible backings such as cloth, paper, non-woven, etc. by adhesives, in roll, sheet, belt, disc and irregular types. It also includes buffing products made of cotton, sisal and feather, as well as abrasive compounds in solid or liquid. There are different voices about whether non-woven abrasives and buffing & polishing products should be included in the category of coated abrasives. The global giant in the field of abrasives industry– Northern makes different classifications for Europe and America markets. For example, for Europe market, coated abrasives and non-woven abrasives are in the same category; while for American market, they are divided. By referring to many other products manuals and websites of the famous enterprises, iAbrasive.com is for Northern’s classification for American market.

Considering the characteristics of ecommerce, iAbrasive.com classifies coated abrasives into Coated Abrasives, Non-woven Abrasives and Buffing & Polishing. Here, this article is only for the introduction of Coated Abrasives.

There are three important elements for the description of coated abrasives: bonding agent, abrasive grain and backing. Considering the principle of “Inter-crossing Classification”, iAbrasive.com users can choose non-woven when selecting backing type, however, iAbrasive.com suggests that all abrasives made of non-woven backing had better to be put in the category of Non-woven Abrasives.

As shown in Figure 1, in iAbrasive.com, Coated Abrasives is divided into 7 categories:Sanding Rolls, Sanding Sheets, Sanding Belts, Sanding Discs, Flap Discs, Flap Wheels and Specialties. Sanding Rolls is further classified into Jumbo Rolls and Shop Rolls;Sanding Discs is further classified into Fiber Discs, Cloth/ Paper Discs, Sanding Disc Rolls and Other; Specialties is further classified into Spiral Bands, Cartridge Rolls,Square/Cross Pads and Other.

Ⅰ. Sanding Rolls
Abrasive rolls can be the raw materials of sanding sheets, sanding rolls and sanding discs; while after being cut into smaller pieces, they can be retailed in shop as commodity. So, in iAbrasive.com, the raw-materials-oriented ones are put into the category of Jumbo Rolls, while the commodity-oriented ones are put into the category of Shop Rolls. Their attributions have both similarities and differences, details of which are as following:

Backing Type: Paper, Cloth, Film, Screen, Non-Woven, Combination, Other
Backing Weight: Customized (because each company has its own symbols)
Abrasive Grain: Aluminum Oxide, White Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Carbide, Zirconia Alumina, Ceramic Aluminum Oxide, Boron Carbide, Natural Abrasives (garnet, flint, etc. can be put into this category), Mixture Abrasives, Other
Available Grits: 12-6000
Bonding Agent: Resin Over Resin, Resin Over Glue, Glue Over Glue, Waterproof
Coating Density: Open, Semi-Open, Closed
Product Color: Black, Blue, Brown, Beige, Gray, Gold, Green, Maroon, Orange, Purple, Pink, Red, White, Yellow, Other
Materials Abraded: Glass, Leather, Metal, Nonferrous Metal, Paint, Plastics, Steel, Stainless, Titanium, Wood, Universal, Other; (multiple choice)
Width: 25mm (1″)-425mm (17″)

Width is unique for Shop Rolls. iAbrasiv.com has not collected the width for Jumbo Rolls.Material Abraded is multiple choice, but iAbrasive.com believes Universal is better if all listed materials are capable. Selecting the most suitable one(s) can help increasing products exposure, on the contrast, if selecting all the materials no matter capable or not, the posted products will not win much more exposure, or even leave a bad impression to buyers.

Ⅱ. Sanding Sheets
All above illustrated attributes for Sanding Rolls, such as backing type, backing weight, abrasive grain, available grits, bonding agent, coating density, product color and materials abraded, are necessary for Sanding Sheets as well. Additionally, according to the types of sanding sheets, some special attributes are set as following.
Type: Sanding Sheets (230*280mm (9X11″)), Cut Sheets/ Strips, Delta Sheets, Abrasive Sponge, Other
Width: 70-230mm

Ⅲ. Sanding Belts
Apart from above listed attributes such as backing type, backing weight, available grit, bonding agent, coating density, product color and material abraded, some other special attributes are added in iAbrasive.com, such as type, joint type.
Type: File Belts, Portable Belts, Narrow Belts, Wide Belts, Other
Width: 3mm (1/8″)-2650mm (106″)
Joint Type: Overlap, Overlap + Top Skived, Butt Joint, Z-lock Butt
There are many other joint types that will be illustrated with images for easy understanding in iAbrasive.com.

Ⅳ. Sanding Discs
1. Fiber Discs
Diameter: 25mm (1″)-235mm (9-1/8″)
Abrasive Grain: Refer to Sanding Rolls
Available Grits: 16-320 (multiple choice)
Fastening Type: None, Quick Change, Rrbor Hole
Product Color: Refer to Sanding Rolls
Materials Abraded: Refer to Sanding Rolls
It’s worth mentioning that all diameter-related Abrasive Wheels can be selected by the attribute of Diameter in iAbrasive.com; Fastening Type refers to the way of mounting a product on a grinding equipment or power tool.

2. Cloth/ Paper Discs
Same as Sanding Rolls, the attributes such as backing type, backing weight, abrasive grain, available grit, bonding agent, coating density, product color and abraded materials all are indispensable; also same as Fiber Discs, Cloth/ Paper Discs has the fastening types and unique vacuum holes.
Diameter: 13mm (1/2″)-900mm (36″)
Fastening Type: None, Hook & Loop, PSA/ Adhesive, Quick Change, Arbor Hole, Other
Vacuum Holes: None, Round Hole, 5 Holes, 6 Holes, 8 Holes, 16 Holes, Other

3. Sanding Disc Rolls
There are 8 attributes for Sanding Disc Rolls: diameter, backing type, abrasive grains, bonding agent, coating density, product color and abraded materials. Diameter: only 90mm (3-1/2″), 125mm (5″), 150mm (6″), 200mm (8″) are available to choose from. The other attributes are same as Sanding Discs.

Ⅴ. Flap Discs
Type: Type 27 (Flat), Type 28 (Tapered), Type 29 (Convex)
Diameter: 50mm (2″)-180mm (7″)
Backing Plate: Fiberglass, Plastic, Other
Fastening Type: Arbor Hole, Threaded Hub, Other
Abrasive Grain: Refer to Sanding Rolls
Available Grits: 24-120 (multiple choice)
Product Color: Refer to Sanding Rolls
Materials Abraded: Refer to Sanding Rolls

Ⅵ. Flap Wheels
There are 5 attributes for flap wheels: shape, diameter, abrasive grains, available grit and abraded materials.
Shape: Shank Mounted, Tread Mounted, Arbor Holes, Interleaved
Available Grits: 40-320
The attributes of abrasive grain and materials abraded can be referred to that of Sanding Roll.

Ⅶ. Specialties
1. Spiral Bands
Spiral bands are used on the expanding tires. The attributes include diameter, abrasive grains and material abraded. Among them, abrasive grain and material abraded can be referred to that of Sanding Roll.
Diameter: 10mm-100mm
Available Grits: 24-320 (multiple choice)

2. Cartridge Rolls
The related attributes are shape, diameter, abrasive grain and abraded materials. Among them, abrasive grain and materials abraded can be referred to that of Sanding Roll.
Shape: Cylinder, Cone
Diameter: 6mm-25mm
Available Grits: 24-320mm

3. Square/ Cross Pads
The attributes are: abrasive grain, available grit and material abraded which are same as above.

Warm Notice:
iAbrasive.com strongly believes that you’d better not put your product into the category of “Other”, unless you indeed can not find the proper classification. In iAbrasive.com, the products in the category of “Other” will be show in the button of product listing. Also, iAbrasive.com will make adjustment for current categories & attributes irregularly for this category. For example, add some new or hide some current ones, etc. You are warm welcome to share your opinions with us if you have different views about the Category & Attribute explained here. We will read your feedbacks carefully. Thanks a lot. Email: s@iabrasive.com

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Overall Access to iAbrasive.com will Open in May

iAbrasive.com — International Abrasives Trade E-marketplace! Membership recruitment for the first batch is now open to all abrasives and abrasive products manufacturers, raw materials suppliers, etc. All related products such as abrasive grains, bonded abrasives, coated abrasives, non-woven abrasives, superhard materials, super abrasives, diamond tools, buffing & polishing products, wire brushes, mass finishing media, abrasive machines & power tools… are available to display after registering as a Supplier.

In May, 2013, overall accessing to iAbrasive.com will open. The first 10 Free Verified Members and their main products will show on iAbrasive.com homepage, lasting for totally one month. If you are, if you don’t want to miss the chance, why not join now? Join FREE Now Here: http://www.iabrasive.com/signup

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