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