In manufacturing, abrasives become something common that can be found easily. The abrasive is necessary since it is needed in most manufacturing and production process. Basically, abrasives are necessary to make the surface of material smoother. The main mechanism of the abrasives is the frictions. It means that the abrasives need to have certain material for its surface so it later can create frictions on surface of certain material and make it smoother. Some people call the abrasives as the sandpaper, but in fact it does not use sand as its surface at all. However, later the term of sanding is referred to the abrasives. In fact, it is not only to make surface smooth, but it is also to make the surface sharper, and other purposes.
Materials and Types of Abrasives
Abrasives have different types. In term of types, there are sanding belts, sanding sheets, sanding rolls, and also sanding discs. Each of them has different mechanism to use, and the sanding sheets may become the most popular since it is the simpler and easier to use. The other types of sanding or abrasives have different way to use and it determines how people are going to use it. Then, there are also different types of materials for the abrasives. There is silicon carbonate, aluminum oxide, zirconia, and also the ceramic. Ceramic becomes the strongest material so it can give better results even for the material with strong surfaces. Meanwhile, aluminum oxide becomes the weakest material with cheapest price.
Choosing Suitable Abrasives
There are many types and materials of abrasives. Each of them has different purposes and price will be different among them. In this case, the first helpful sanding guide is to choose the hardness of abrasive. As what is mentioned, ceramic is the hardest, but it is also the expensive one. In this case, the stronger abrasive will cut deeper material. The adhesion between the grains of materials should also be considered since it will determine the how fast the grains will be lost once the abrasive is used.