Abrasives 1

Abrasives
Jean-Claude Menard, Federation of European Producers of Abrasives, 75041 Paris, France
Newman W. Thibault, Norton Co., Worcester, Massachusetts 01606, United States

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5. Physical and Chemical Properties . 11

2. Natural Abrasives . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5.1. Hardness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1. Quartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5.2. Grain Strength or Fracture Tough-
2.2. Garnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3. Corundum and Emery . . . . . . . . 2 5.3. Resistance to Attrition or Plastic
2.4. Diamond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3. Manufactured Abrasives . . . . . . . 3 6. Loose-Grain Applications . . . . . . 12
3.1. Fused Aluminum Oxides . . . . . . . 3 7. Bonded Abrasive Products . . . . . . 13
3.1.1. Raw Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7.1. Vitrified Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.1.2. Furnace Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7.2. Organic Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.1.3. Fused Alumina Types . . . . . . . . . . 3
7.3. Metal Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2. Fused Zirconia – Aluminas . . . . . . 5
8. Coated Abrasive Products . . . . . . 15
3.3. Sintered Aluminas . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.4. Silicon Carbide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8.1. Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.5. Boron Carbide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8.2. Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.6. Diamond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8.3. Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.7. Cubic Boron Nitride . . . . . . . . . . 7 9. International Quality Specifications 16
4. Manufacture and Testing of Sized 10. Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Grains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1. Introduction available on almost any aspect of the applica-

tion of their products. Most of them, as well as
An abrasive has been defined as “any of a wide some universities and miscellaneous organiza-
variety of natural or manufactured substances tions, also have Internet sites.
used to grind, wear down, rub away, smooth,
scour, clean or polish, often combined with a
binder to make grinding wheels or affixed with 2. Natural Abrasives
glue to the surface of paper or cloth” [1].
Although this broad definition could include 2.1. Quartz
such products as plastic pads, metal wool,
pumice, and various tools employing large sin- Quartz [14808-60-7] is found worldwide. Ma-
gle diamonds, as in bits for oil-well drilling, this jor applications include the abrasive for common
article is limited to granular abrasives as hard flint sandpaper used industrially for the finish-
as, or harder than, quartz (crystalline silicon di- ing of nonmetallic substances, such as leather
oxide) with grit sizes from about 5 mm average and felt, and also for miscellaneous household
diameter down to 1 µm or smaller. The abra- applications. Other uses are in sandblasting, in
sives can be used in their loose, bonded (grinding lapping of soft materials, as the cutting medium
wheel), or coated (sandpaper) forms. in wire sawing of soft stone, such as marble, and
Abrasives have applications that are so ex- in scouring compounds. The use of this abrasive
tensive and varied that only the major ones are has declined greatly because inhalation of free
mentioned in this article. For further informa- silica dust may lead to silicosis. Quartz has been
tion see [2–12]. In addition major manufactur- replaced to a considerable extent by manufac-
ers of abrasives, bonded and coated products, tured abrasives, such as fused aluminum oxide
and related trade organizations have their own and silicon carbide, as well as by garnet, glass,
brochures, reprints of published articles, etc., and slags.

c 2005 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

10.1002/14356007.a01 001
2 Abrasives

2.2. Garnet amounts of other minerals, particularly mag-

netite [1309-38-2] and hematite [1317-60-8].
Mineralogically, the term garnet refers to a group High-quality emery has been produced on the
of minerals with similar crystal structure but Greek island of Naxos for at least 2000 years
varying considerably in chemical composition. and also is mined in Turkey. Major uses include
Most abrasive garnet is almandite [1302-62-1], polishing metals with the coated products and
an iron aluminum silicate, Fe3 Al2 (SiO4 )3 . incorporation of the abrasive in nonslip floors,
Almost all of the garnet used for high- pavements, and stair treads.
performance coated abrasives is mined in the The term “emery” has also been applied to
Adirondack area of New York State. The ore is a rock mined near Peekskill in New York State.
crushed and beneficiated and the resulting gar- Also known as spinel emery, it contains little or
net is separated into various grit sizes and heat no corundum. However, because of its content
treated. This particular garnet is unique, as the of spinel [1302-67-6], a mineral with hardness
mineral fractures to produce grains having sharp, between quartz and corundum, this “emery” has
continuous edges that are optimum for use as a utility in less demanding applications. Very lit-
coated abrasive. Also its hardness is at the upper tle, however, is used for coated abrasives.
end of the range for garnets. The coated product Estimated world emery production in 1990
is used for finish sanding of wood in furniture was 20 000 t/a and has decreased sharply since
and woodworking plants. 1983.
Other U.S. operations in New York, Idaho,
and Maine, and those elsewhere in the world,
produce garnet of inferior quality for coated 2.4. Diamond
applications, but which is used extensively for
sandblasting, metal lapping, and the fine grind- Diamonds [7782-40-3] apparently were found
ing of glass. first in India and Borneo over 2000 years ago,
Estimated 1996 world production in 103 t/a but the discovery of them in South Africa in 1866
are [49]: began an era of great expansion that is still con-
tinuing (→ Carbon).
United States 68.2 Diamonds may be classified as gem quality,
India 15
Australia 40
high-grade industrial, and bort, the borderlines
China 15 between grades overlapping and varying with
Others 16.8 demand. Bort contains inclusions, microcracks,
Total 155
and other flaws, giving rise to translucency or
opacity, off-color, etc. The material therefore
Approximately 30 % of U.S. production was is used almost exclusively in grain and powder
used for water-filtration applications. forms. Most natural diamonds are single crys-
tals, but carbonado [12414-51-6], a type found
in Brazil, and ballas, found in Brazil and Africa,
2.3. Corundum and Emery are polycrystalline in structure. They are espe-
cially tough because of the absence of well-
Corundum [1302-74-5] is a naturally occurring developed cleavage planes, and are particularly
aluminum oxide mineral of high purity. Esti- useful for heavy-duty applications, such as tru-
mated production in 1990 in 103 t/a was [50]: ing and dressing grinding wheels.
South America 0.25 World production of natural industrial dia-
Europe + CIS 10 monds in 1996 in 106 carats, including bort,
Africa 20
Asia (India) 2 which accounts for over 85 %, was:
World total 32.25 Congo (Kinshasa) 15
Russia 9.2
The major use of corundum is for the loose- Botswana 5
grain grinding and polishing of optical compo- Republic of South Africa 6
Australia 23.1
nents. All others 3.3
Emery [12415-34-8] consists predomi- Total 61.6
nantly of corundum but also contains varying
 Abrasives 3

Australia is the worlds largest producer since The alumina from the indirect Bayer process
the startup of the Argyle alluvial operation in contains about 99 % Al2 O3 . The type commonly
Western Australia in January 1983. used for fused alumina production contains ap-
Major uses of diamonds are discussed in Sec- proximately 0.4 – 0.5 % Na2 O, the remainder
tion 3.6. being small amounts of SiO2 , Fe2 O3 , and water.

3. Manufactured Abrasives 3.1.2. Furnace Designs

3.1. Fused Aluminum Oxides Two general types of furnace are employed, one
resulting in a batch process and the other in a
Differences in the composition of natural corun- continuous one.
dum and emery gave rise to variability in grind- The first, generally known as the Higgins fur-
ing wheel manufacture and in end-use perfor- nace, consists of an open-ended, slightly tapered
mance. Therefore attempts were made to pro- cylinder of sheet steel, smaller diameter up, rest-
duce more consistent synthetic corundum abra- ing on a hearth protected by a carbon coating
sives. [14]. Fusion of the bauxite is accomplished using
Although some early work was carried out an electric arc. Water continuously flows down
in Europe, the first commercially successful the outside of the shell, keeping it from melt-
product resulted from the experiments of C. B. ing during the process. After fusion is complete,
Jacobs, C. M. Hall, and A. C. Higgins in the the product is cooled for several days, resulting
United States at the end of the 19th century in a coarsely crystalline material. This is sorted
and the beginning of the 20th [13]. This tech- and rough crushed to yield crude abrasive about
nology was the foundation for a variety of 50 mm in size.
fused aluminum oxide [1344-28-1] abrasives Continuous furnaces are patterned after the
(→ Aluminum Oxide). batch type except that they are generally much
larger and arranged for tilting and tapping the
molten products into suitable containers [15],
3.1.1. Raw Materials [16]. For economic reasons most fused aluminas
being produced in similar large-capacity casting
Bauxite [1318-16-7] is used directly for the pro- furnaces where fusion may continue uninter-
duction of some fused alumina types, and in- ruptedly for many days or even months.
directly, through the Bayer process, for other
varieties. Largely for economic reasons, baux-
ites used for the production of fused aluminum
3.1.3. Fused Alumina Types
oxide abrasives are of relatively high Al2 O3 con-
tent. Materials from various sources are usually The fused alumina produced in largest tonnage
blended, a typical specification being: is known as regular aluminum oxide. The raw
Al2 O3 ∗ = 82 % minimum materials are calcined bauxite, carbon usually
SiO2 = 8 % maximum in the form of coke, and iron borings, a typ-
Fe2 O3 = 8 % maximum ical mass ratio being 80 : 15 : 5. Because the
TiO2 = 4 % maximum relative ease of reduction of the bauxite feed
to metal in the fusion process with carbon is
∗ determined by subtracting total SiO2 , Fe2 O3 > SiO2 > TiO2 > Al2 O3 , an abrasive of
Fe2 O3 , and TiO2 from 100 %. considerably higher Al2 O3 content than that of
Abrasive-grade bauxite consumption in the the furnace feed can be attained. During fusion
United States and Canada was quoted as two immiscible liquids exist. The upper one be-
197 × 103 t in 1994 and 133 × 103 t in 1995, comes the abrasive on crystallization, and the
both on a dry basis. This is less than 2 % of lower one becomes a byproduct, ferrosilicon.
the total consumption of bauxite, 90 % of which Regular aluminum oxide is brown and has a
was used for the production of aluminum. chemical composition of approximately 95 %
4 Abrasives

Al2 O3 , 1.5 % SiO2 , less than 0.5 % Fe2 O3 , high purity, only fusion and crystallization take
and 3 % TiO2 . Because of very slow cooling place. The resulting abrasive has about the same
in the Higgins furnace, the crystals of alumina chemical composition as the alumina. However,
are coarse, averaging 10 – 15 mm in diameter. If a small amount of the soda is volatilized, giving
the fused material is cast, the upper liquid must rise to pores in the resulting product. Sometimes
be poured into very large molds holding at least small amounts of chromium oxide [1308-38-9]
5 t of product to insure similar slow cooling and are added to the furnace feed, producing a pink
coarse crystallization. or ruby-colored abrasive. Similarly, a small ad-
A second brown type is semifriable fused alu- dition of vanadium oxide [1314-34-7] results in
mina. It is purer than regular, containing approx- an emerald green color. Although claims have
imately 97 % Al2 O3 , 0.5 % SiO2 , less than 0.5 % been made for the value of such additions, con-
Fe2 O3 , and 2 % TiO2 . Both batch and continu- trolled grinding tests have failed to detect pos-
ous processes are used to produce this variety. itively any advantages. The major use for the
Because the regular and semifriable types are white abrasive is in vitrified-bonded wheels for
close in composition, the present trend is to- toolroom grinding or precision grinding of heat-
ward a single brown fused alumina of intermedi- sensitive steels.
ate composition, produced in casting furnaces. Monocrystalline aluminum oxide is a very
The relative friabilities are adjusted by crush- high purity abrasive, produced directly from
ing and processing methods to give different bauxite in a single-stage fusion [17]. The pre-
grain shapes, the more equidimensional being ferred method employs a furnace feed consist-
the regular and the sharper, less blocky being ing of bauxite, pyrite (FeS2 ) [1309-36-0] or sul-
the semifriable. fur [7704-34-9], carbon, and iron borings. When
In general, the major use of fused alumina subjected to fusion in the Higgins batch furnace,
abrasives is for processing high-tensile-strength two immiscible liquids are formed as with reg-
ferrous metals, such as carbon steels. The reg- ular aluminum oxide. However, in the present
ular kind is employed in loose-grain form in case very slow cooling of the upper liquid results
blasting, lapping, and barrel finishing, in bonded in essentially pure, individual crystals of Al2 O3
form mostly in nonprecision operations, such in a matrix of sulfides. After the pig has cooled
as cutting off and rough grinding in organic- and been crushed, the matrix is removed chemi-
bonded products. Semifriable alumina is more cally and mechanically. This treatment releases
commonly used in vitrified-bonded products for alumina crystals in the range of sizes required
precision grinding operations, and on coated by the industry.
belts and discs. Little or no crushing is needed, so in this re-
A third type, similar in composition and fu- spect this abrasive is entirely different from all
sion method to the above, is known as microcrys- the other types of fused aluminas in use today.
talline. In order to produce an abrasive with very Chemical analysis approximates 99.2 % Al2 O3 ,
small alumina crystals, rapid cooling of the melt 0.6 % TiO2 , 0.2 % impurities. This abrasive also
is required. This is effected by pouring it into may be produced in a casting furnace provided
small molds or onto pans to produce slabs. The that the fusion is poured into a large receptable
resulting abrasive has higher intrinsic strength capable of holding many tons of product to per-
than the others. It formerly was used extensively mit slow cooling of the melt. The size distri-
in heat-treated form for very heavy duty grinding bution of the resulting abrasive crystals can be
wheel applications, such as the conditioning of varied by changes in manufacturing parameters.
steel slabs and billets using resin-bonded prod- Surprisingly the monocrystalline type also may
ucts. For the most part this abrasive has been su- be produced from a mixture of Bayer process
perseded by fused zirconia – alumina of the ZS alumina, elemental sulfur, and carbon [18]. In
type (Section 3.2), or by sintered alumina of the this process only one liquid is present in the fur-
76 Alundum type (Section 3.3). nace during fusion, but otherwise the sequence
White fused alumina is produced by direct of operations is similar, and the resulting prod-
fusion of Bayer process alumina [14]. Either uct is the same as that produced directly from
the batch or the continuous casting process may bauxite. This premium-priced abrasive is found
be employed. Because the raw material is of to be more cost efficient than others, such as the
 Abrasives 5

semifriable type, in many precision operations [19]. The alumina may be derived from baux-
using vitrified-bonded wheels. ite or from the Bayer process, and the zirconia
Production. World production capacity for from the mineral zircon (a zirconium silicate)
fused aluminum oxide is listed in Table 1. [14940-68-2], baddeleyite (a naturally occurring
mineral high in ZrO2 ) [12036-23-6], or fused
Table 1. World production capacity (103 t/a) for fused aluminum
zirconium oxide. Zirconia and alumina are fused
oxide in 1996 and 1997 (estimated) [49] by electric-arc casting furnaces to give primary
1996 1997
crystals of alumina with diameters no greater
than about 300 µm but typically less than 30 µm
USA and Canada 220 220 in a matrix of a eutectic of alumina and zirconia.
Australia 75 50
Austria 60 60 The resulting abrasive is dense and very tough.
Brazil 100 100 The grains dull slowly during heavy-duty grind-
China 450 500
France 45 45
ing operations, as with resin-bonded wheels
Germany 150 150 on floorstand machines in foundries. They also
India 20 20 have a longer life on high-speed, high-pressure
Japan 55 55
Others 125 100 grinders used for conditioning billets and slabs,
World total (rounded) 1300 1300 particularly those made of alloy steels or of stain-
less steel, where better surface finish is required
than produced by the sintered alumina of the 76
Trade Names: Alundum, Aloxite, etc. Alundum type (Chap. 3.3.).
Trade Names: ZF-ZS Alundum, BX, BZ,
etc.
3.2. Fused Zirconia – Aluminas Zirconia Content 40 wt %. The raw materi-
als and fusion methods are similar to those dis-
The most outstanding commercial development cussed above; however, in this case the melt must
in the area of alumina-containing abrasives in be solidified very rapidly in order to produce ex-
the last two decades was the invention of fused tremely small crystals [20]. In addition to a rela-
zirconia – alumina products. For the applica- tively slow dulling rate, these grains tend to frac-
tions in which they are most useful, they re- ture to a greater extent than the 25 % analogue
sult in substantially greater efficiencies (lower and do so in such a manner as to provide new
total grinding costs) than the fused aluminas pre- cutting edges rather than being shed from the
viously employed. United States and Canadian grinding wheel or coated abrasive product. Ma-
production for 1980 was 17.2 × 103 t, amount- jor applications include resin-bonded portable
ing to 11 % of all fused aluminas, including the wheels, cones and plugs, cloth-backed resin-
zirconia – aluminas. No production data were bonded belts, and fiber-backed discs for grinding
available for 1981 or 1983; however, 1982 pro- castings of steel, gray and ductile iron, and stain-
duction was quoted as 7.3 × 103 t or 6 % on the less steel alloys. In some cases mixtures of this
same basis as the 11 % for 1980. This reduction abrasive with the less expensive fused alumi-
was caused by the severe depression in those seg- nas or with silicon carbide are used for specific
ments of the metal-working industry in which purposes; for example, the latter blend can effi-
zirconia – alumina abrasives are most applica- ciently clean and grind castings having burned-
ble. on sand.
These abrasives also are produced in Japan, Trade Names: NZ Alundum, etc.
France, Austria, Federal Republic of Germany,
and possibly other countries. However, produc-
tion data are not available for them. 3.3. Sintered Aluminas
Zirconia Content 25 wt %. Although the ba-
sic patent specified an abrasive alloy consisting From Bauxite. Calcined bauxites are ground
essentially of zirconium oxide [1314-23-4] and to a fine powder, mixed with an organic binder,
aluminum oxide, with the content of the for- such as grease, extruded through an orifice, cut,
mer between 10 and 60 wt %, the resulting com- and fired statically or in a rotary furnace to tem-
mercial product typically contains about 25 % peratures between 1400 and 1600 ◦ C [21]. This
6 Abrasives

results in limited recrystallization of the alu- today in furnaces similar to the one he patented
mina, increased density, and great strength of the in 1893 [24]. Silica sand plus carbon in the form
particles, which have the desired grain size with- of coke, or low-ash coal in the approximate mass
out being crushed. The major use of this abrasive ratio of 60 : 40 is heated in a troughlike electric
is the conditioning of stainless steel billets and resistance furnace to produce SiC according to
slabs using hot-pressed resin-bonded wheels. the equation:
Trade Names: 76 Alundum, SO 200, etc.
From Alumina Gels. A colloidal dispersion SiO2 + 3 C −→ SiC + 2 CO
of alumina monohydrate [12252-67-4] and of
modifying oxides, such as zirconia and/or mag- Several grades of this abrasive are produced.
nesia [1309-48-4], is formed, and the resulting The most common black or gray type is used
gel dried to produce chunks. These are crushed in bonded and coated form for grinding low-
and air fired (sintered) to above 1250 ◦ C, re- tensile, nonferrous metals such as aluminum,
sulting in considerable shrinkage and forma- brass, copper; some cast irons; and nonmetallics,
tion of a dense, sharp, and extremely tough such as glass, stone, concrete, ceramics, and re-
abrasive [22], [23]. These expensive abrasives fractories. A higher purity green variety is em-
are now widely used in industry as they sig- ployed for those operations, such as rough grind-
nificantly outperform fused alumina grains for ing of cemented carbide tools with vitrified-
high-precision grinding and creep-feed grind- bonded wheels, in which this abrasive’s more
ing. They are mostly used in vitrified wheels, friable characteristic and the light green color are
but specific operations requiring organic-bonded helpful. A type lower in purity than that used for
wheels, such as flute grinding, surfacing, and bonded and coated products has utility in loose-
calibrating with disk grinders, also use sol – gel grain applications, such as wiresawing and lap-
aluminas. Coated abrasives are also produced ping.
with these grains for foundry snagging with belts World production capacity for silicon carbide
and fiber disks and for other work on stainless abrasives is listed in Table 2.
steel and high-resistance alloys. As new types of
sol – gel aluminas are developed and production Table 2. World production capacity (103 t/a) for silicon carbide abra-
volume grows, they are progressively replacing sives in 1996 and 1997 (estimated) [49]
fused aluminas in many operations. 1996 1997
Trade Names: Cubitron, SG, TG, etc. Often
referred to with the generic name “ceramic abra- USA and Canada 90 90
Argentina 5 5
sives”. Brazil 43 43
China 450 450
France 16 16
Germany 36 36
3.4. Silicon Carbide India 5 5
Japan 90 90
Mexico 60 60
The discovery of silicon carbide [409-21-2] Norway 80 80
by Edward G. Acheson in 1891 was indeed Venezuela 40 40
epoch-making because it was the first synthetic Others 185 185
World total (rounded) 1100 1100
abrasive invented and commercialized, and sig-
naled the gradual decline in the use of natural
abrasives (→ Silicon Carbide). In an attempt to Trade Names: Carborundum, Crystolon, etc.
make diamonds by an electric-arc heating pro-
cess, Acheson produced a very few hard crys-
tals. Knowing that they were not diamond but 3.5. Boron Carbide
thinking that they were a combination of carbon
and corundum, he called them “carborundum,” Abrasive boron carbide, B4 C [12069-32-8], is
a term that remained even after the crystals were produced in electric resistance furnaces from
determined to be silicon carbide. Carborundum a charge of high-purity boron oxide glass and
became the name of the company he organized to high-purity coke according to the equation [25]:
exploit the discovery. Abrasive SiC is produced
 Abrasives 7

2 B2 O3 + 7 C −→ B4 C + 6 CO World production of synthetic diamond is

listed in Table 3.
As explained in Section 5.3, this abrasive is In general, diamonds, both natural and manu-
unsuited for use in bonded or coated products. factured, are used for lapping carbides and other
However, for loose-grain applications, such as hard materials, and for grinding, drilling, and
the lapping of cemented carbides and other hard sawing cemented carbides and a wide variety
materials, it is used alone or mixed with silicon of nonmetallics, such as plastics, glass, stone,
carbide. concrete, ceramics, refractories, and such elec-
Trade Names: Norbide, etc. tronic materials as silicon and quartz. Silicon
carbide also can be used for these same ma-
terials. However, bonded diamond products, in
3.6. Diamond spite of their higher cost, often are more effi-
cient, resulting in lower total costs per unit of
Commercial availability of manufactured dia- work performed. This is particularly true in ce-
mond [7782-40-3] is the most important abra- mented carbide grinding, where diamond, now
sive development in the 20th century (→ Car- nearly always one of the manufactured types,
bon). Not only did it eliminate occasional short- is used almost exclusively except for offhand
ages of natural diamond grain, but also it made roughing with vitrified-bonded green silicon car-
possible a great variety of diamonds with vastly bide wheels. Because of the affinity between di-
different characteristics, thereby increasing dia- amond (carbon) and iron, diamonds are not eco-
mond efficiency and consequent use. nomical for grinding ferrous metals except those
Commercial manufacture of diamond re- containing relatively large amounts of hard con-
quires high pressure (5.0 – 6.5 GPa) and high stituents, such as certain vanadium steels.
temperature (> 1400 ◦ C) [26]. Depending upon The cost of synthetic diamond has greatly
manufacturing parameters, a wide range of prop- decreased since the mid-1980s, and this has al-
erties may be obtained, from very friable com- lowed it to be used in nonprecision applications
posite structures of small diamond crystals to such as cutting masonry materials, stones and
stronger single crystals containing various de- bricks with steel disks on hand-held grinders.
fects and inclusions, to very strong, almost flaw- The disks have laser-welded, metal-bonded dia-
less crystals, equidimensional in shape, with mond segments, and their low cost and long life
well-developed crystal faces. One leading pro- have allowed them to replace most conventional
ducer offers no fewer than seven different basic silicon carbide cutting-off disks.
types. Over the years the major manufacturers
have gradually been able to produce economi-
cally high-quality single diamonds of larger and 3.7. Cubic Boron Nitride
larger size, now up to 20 – 25 mesh (approx-
imately 700 – 850 µm in diameter). No doubt The second, and eventually possibly the most
they will continue to extend availability further important development in the abrasive area this
in the coarse direction. century, was the invention [28] of cubic boron ni-
The two major producers further improved tride (CBN) [10043-11-5], first introduced com-
the efficiency of diamonds for use in resin- mercially in 1969 (→ Boron Carbide, Boron Ni-
bonded products by introducing metal-clad va- tride, and Metal Borides).
rieties in 1966 [27]. These coatings are believed This abrasive may be made in any of the high-
to improve wheel efficiency by controlling abra- pressure, high-temperature apparatuses used for
sive breakdown, and by acting as a heat sink be- diamond production. By using different raw ma-
tween the abrasive and the bond, retarding dete- terials and manufacturing conditions, a variety
rioration of the latter from heat generated during of products having a range of friabilities may be
grinding. The most commonly employed coat- produced. Color ranges from almost colorless
ings are nickel-based (30, 55, or 60 wt %) or through shades of yellow, red, and black. As with
copper (50 wt %). Although used mostly with diamonds, the producers supply CBN in sized
manufactured diamonds, the 55 % nickel coat- grains and flours. Metal cladding of this abrasive
ing is also available on natural diamonds. also has improved its efficiency in resin-bonded
8 Abrasives
Table 3. Estimated world production of synthetic diamond (103 carat)

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

Belarus 30 000 30 000 25 000 25 000 25 000

China 15 000 15 000 15 000 15 000 15 000
Czech Republic 10 000 ∗ 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000
France 3 500 3 500 3 500 3 000 3 000
Greece 750 1 000 1 000 1 000 750
Ireland 60 000 65 000 65 000 60 000 60 000
Japan 30 000 32 000 32 000 32 000 32 000
Poland 320 98 271 256 250
Romania 3 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000
Russia 80 000 80 000 80 000 80 000 80 000
Slovakia 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000
South Africa 60 000 60 000 60 000 60 000 60 000
Sweden 25 000 25 000 25 000 25 000 25 000
Ukraine 10 000 10 000 8 000 8 000 8 000
USA 90 000 103 000 104 000 115 000 114 000
Total 418 000 440 000 434 000 440 000 439 000

∗ Czechoslovakia

products [29]. A 60 % nickel-based coating is Production of CBN by region is summarized

used commonly. in Table 4.
Initial successful applications of CBN were Table 4. Production of CBN by region (106 carat) [51]
for high-performance grinding of difficult to
grind ferrous metals where use of fused alumina 1992 1993 1998
abrasives results in high rates of wheel wear per Pacific Rim 12.5 13.2 18.8
unit of material removed from the workpiece and United States 10.9 13.1 37.7
in rapid dulling of the abrasive grains. Therefore Europe 9.9 10.9 19.5
Total 33.3 37.2 76.1
machine productivity is low and grinding costs
high, as is the liability of metallurgical damage
to the work. Because of its hardness (inferior Trade Names: Borazon, Amber Boron Ni-
only to diamond), strength, low coefficient of tride, etc.
friction during operation, and thermal and chem-
ical stability to well over 1000 ◦ C, CBN wheels,
although expensive, increase productivity. This 4. Manufacture and Testing of Sized
is because of much lower wheel wear, improved Grains
workpiece integrity, and fewer rejections and re-
works. Now, with the development of computer- As mentioned in Chapter 3, some abrasive types
controlled, high-production systems especially are produced directly to size for use in bonded or
designed for use with this abrasive, its applica- on coated products. Other abrasives, such as the
tion is being extended to more common, less dif- fused aluminum oxides, must be crushed, sized,
ficult to grind ferrous metals. This has resulted and otherwise treated before use.
in increased productivity for such operations as Crushing is accomplished by a variety of
camshaft grinding in the automobile industry. means, depending on the shape and other char-
In 1981 one producer introduced a CBN fam- acteristics of the desired product. Jaw crushers,
ily (trade names: Borazon 550, 560, 570) with hammer mills, roll mills (in which precrushed
sized grain that is polycrystalline and extremely crude is passed through sets of alloy steel rolls),
tough. In certain applications resinoid- and and ball or rod mills commonly are employed. If
vitrified-bonded wheels containing this abrasive exceptionally equidimensional particles are de-
have shown lower wheel wear than similar prod- sired, the grain may be mulled by the use of
ucts containing the usual monocrystalline CBN. heavy steel rollers working the grain in a revolv-
However, the expense of the abrasive has been ing pan.
a problem in establishing lower overall grinding To produce specific grit sizes, screening is
costs in many cases. used for the coarser ones (macrogrits; >50 µm
 Abrasives 9
Table 5. Standards for sizing of abrasive grains

Type of abrasive Screen sizes (macrogrits) Subsieve sizes (microgrits)

All except diamond and CBN for :

Grinding wheel and ANSI B74.12−1992 [30] ANSI B74.10−1977 (R1992)
general industrial usage FEPA 42/93 FEPA 42/93
ISO 8486, part 1 (1996) ISO 8486, part 2 (1996)
Coated Applications ANSI B74.18−1996 ANSI B74.18−1996
FEPA 43/93 FEPA 43/93
ISO 6344, parts 1 and 2 (1998) ISO 6344, part 3 (1998)
Diamond, CBN, all uses ANSI B74.16−1995 ANSI B74.20−1997
FEPA 61/97 FEPA 60/77 (under revision)

F90 154
in diameter). Finer sizes (micogrits) are sepa- F100 129
rated by various elutriation methods. Centrifug- F120 109
ing often is employed for the finest grains. F150 82
F180 69
For checking the sizing of abrasive grits, the F200 58
standards shown in Table 5 are used. Microgrits
F230 55.7 ± 3
Conventional (i.e., non-diamond and non- F240 47.5 ± 2
CBN) abrasive grits are sized according to stan- F280 39.9 ± 1.5
dards that assign each size a number and de- F320 32.8 ± 1.5
F360 26.7 ± 1.5
fine the mean size and the proportion and di- F400 21.4 ± 1
mensions of coarser and finer sizes that can be F500 17.1 ± 1
F600 13.7 ± 1
present. The standards usually differ for bonded F800 11 ± 1
and coated abrasives, as the optimum perfor- F1000 9.1 ± 0.8
mance of the products requires different grain F1200 7.6 ± 0.5

shapes and a different size distribution for each

grit number. For example, FEPA (Federation of The grit numbers and the mean particle sizes
European Producers of Abrasive Products) has in micrometers in the P series (aluminum oxide
issued two standards: FEPA 42/93, which de- and silicon carbide grains for coated abrasives
fines the F series for bonded abrasives, and FEPA are as follows:
43/93, which defines the P series for coated abra- Macrogrits
sives. Similarly, ISO has issued ISO 8486 for P12 1815
P16 1324
bonded and ISO 6344 for coated abrasives. The P20 1000
grit numbers and the mean particle sizes in mi- P24 764
crometers in the F series (aluminum oxide and P30 642
P36 538
silicon carbide grains for grinding wheels and P40 425
other bonded abrasives are as follows: P50 336
P60 269
Macrogrits P80 201
F4 4890 P100 162
F5 4125 P120 125
F6 3460 P150 100
F7 2900 P180 82
F8 2460 P220 68
F10 2085 Microgrits
F12 1765 P240 58.5 ± 2
F14 1470 P280 52.2 ± 2
F16 1230 P320 46.2 ± 1.5
F20 1040 P360 40.5 ± 1.5
F22 885 P400 35 ± 1.5
F24 745 P500 30.2 ± 1.5
F30 625 P600 25.8 ± 1
F36 525 P800 21.8 ± 1
F40 438 P1000 18.3 ± 1
F46 370 P1200 15.3 ± 1
F54 310 P1500 12.6 ± 1
F60 260 P2000 10.3 ± 0.8
F70 218 P2500 8.4 ± 0.5
F80 185
10 Abrasives

Figure 1. Example of size gradations of the FEPA standard F series for bonded abrasive grits

The approximate relationship between the Figure 1 shows the relationship between grit
FEPA and other national diamond and CBN grit size designations, sieve numbers, aperture size
size designations is summarized in Table 6. of sieves, and micrometer dimensions of par-
ticles for both screen-size and subscreen-size
Table 6. Approximate relationship between the FEPA and other na-
tional diamond and CBN grit size designations grains according to FEPA standards [31].
In practice various manufacturers use other
FEPA grit designation ∗ ASTM 11 BS 1987
(approx. mean size, µm) equipment for checking abrasive sizing, such as
the Coulter counter.
Narrow-range grades
1181 16/18 14/16
The major suppliers of subsieve diamond and
1001 18/20 16/18 cubic boron nitride products offer their own se-
851 20/25 18/22 ries, many items of which are extremely well
711 25/30 22/25
601 30/35 25/30 classified into the very narrow ranges demanded
501 35/40 30/36 by the trade. One supplier, for example, offers
426
356
40/45
45/50
36/444
44/52
17 sizes from 40 – 80 µm down to 0 – 0.5 µm.
301 50/60 52/60 After sizing, grits are washed, processed fur-
251 60/70 60/72 ther, and tested using the methods in Table 7.
213 70/80 72/85
181 80/100 85/100 Instrumental techniques such as atomic ab-
151 100/120 100/120 sorption, emission spectroscopy, and X-ray flu-
126 120/140 120/150
107 140/170 150/170
orescence are used in practice for chemical anal-
91 170/200 170/200 yses. Eventually new standards based on such
76 200/230 200/240 methods will be forthcoming.
64 230/270 240/300
54 270/325 300/350 Strength of abrasive grains containing glass
46 325/400 350/400 as a minor impurity, as in regular fused alumina,
Wide-range grades
1182 16/20 14/18 can be increased significantly by heat treatment
852 20/30 18/25 in air to 1250 – 1350 ◦ C. The glass migrates to
602 30/40 25/36 the surface, sealing microcracks, and thus re-
502 35/45 30/44
427 40/50 36/52 pairing damage caused by the crushing opera-
252 60/80 60/85 tion. Alternatively, the grain may be coated with
∗ The grit designation is prefixed with a “D” to denote diamond a glass frit that matures at 800 – 1000 ◦ C. Such
and a “B” to denote CBN. treatments increase abrasive efficiency in heavy-
 Abrasives 11
Table 7. Test methods for abrasive grain properties

Application Test method Comments

Presence of magnetic particles ANSI B74.19−1990 (R1995)

Measure of coating weight for diamond FEPA 62/93
and CBN grains
Relative strength of saw diamond grits FEPA 63/93
Degree of capillarity ANSI B74.5−1964 (revised 1995) capillarity is increased by heating to 500 – 600 ◦ C
ISO 9137 (1990) used for conventional abrasives
FEPA 44/93, part 3 used for conventional abrasives
Grain shape ANSI B74.4−1992 (R1997) equidimensional shapes pack to a higher bulk
density than flat or slivery ones
ANSI B74.17−1973 (revised 1993) this method is used for testing diamond and CBN
Bulk density ISO 9136, parts 1 and 2 (1989) used for conventional abrasives
FEPA 46/93, part 2
Grain strength (friability) ANSI B74.8−1987 ball mill test (see Section 5.2 for interpretation of
strength data)
FEPA 46/93 used for fused aluminum oxides
Chemical analysis (classical wet methods)
ISO 9285 (1995) used for fused aluminum oxides
ANSI B74.14−1992 used for fused aluminum oxides
ISO 9286 (1995) used for silicon carbides
FEPA 45/93 used for silicon carbides
ANSI B74.15−1992 used for silicon carbides
Sampling and splitting ISO 9138 (1993) used for conventional abrasives
FEPA 44/93, part 1 used for conventional abrasives
Test-sieving machines ISO 9284 (1992) used for conventional abrasives

duty applications, such as in the conditioning of number. Values of K100 for common abrasives
steel slabs and billets with resinoid wheels. compared with the Mohs’ hardness scale gener-
Sometimes grits are treated with a liquid sili- ally used by mineralogists are:
cone resin before being incorporated into resin-
Knoop, K100 Mohs’
bonded products. Silicon carbide grain may be
subjected to froth flotation to remove free car- Quartz (silica) 820 7
Spinel (magnesium aluminate) 1270
bon and/or treated with a sodium hydroxide so- Garnet (almandite from Adirondacks, U.S.) 1360 8
lution to remove free silicon. In order to insure Fused zirconia-alumina (NZ Alundum type) 1600
vitrified-bonded products free from iron spot- Fused alumina (white type) 2050 9
Silicon carbide 2480
ting, fused alumina grains, especially the white Boron carbide 2800
variety, may be acid-treated to remove ferro- Cubic boron nitride 4700
Diamond 7000 – 8000 10
silicon or tramp steel not eliminated by magnetic
separation.

5. Physical and Chemical Properties 5.2. Grain Strength or Fracture

Toughness
5.1. Hardness
The hardness level required of an abrasive obvi- Strengths resulting from three different proper-
ously depends upon the specific use. However, ties are important and usually act together during
the vast majority of industrial applications ne- an abrasive operation. First is the grain shape, the
cessitates abrasives at least as hard as quartz. blocky or equidimensional one being referred
A common means for determining hardness to as a strong shape, that with many flakes and
is by use of the Knoop indenter, a gem-quality slivers as a weak shape. Second, grains contain-
diamond carefully lapped to the shape of an ing microcracks and other flaws produced by
elongated pyramid. This device indents the ma- crushing tend to be weaker than those produced
terial to be tested under controlled-load condi- directly to size without subsequent comminu-
tions [32]. The applied gram load must be spec- tion, assuming that the grains are otherwise of
ified, e.g., K100 , because it can cause consider- about the same overall shape. Third, is the in-
able variation in the resulting Knoop hardness trinsic strength of the body of the abrasive itself.
12 Abrasives

Although this is difficult to measure in finished on the abrasive grains and so the loss of much or
grain form because of the effect of shape and all of their stock-removal capabilities [34–36].
crushing, relative intrinsic strengths may be es- For loose-grain lapping operations, hardness
timated. If the difference between abrasives is and strength are the most important abrasive
large, this is done by means of data derived from properties. However, stock removal with fixed
ball milling (method of ANSI B 74.8−1977) or abrasives is a complicated process involving the
by crushing or blasting tests, provided that the interaction of hardness, strength, and chemical
difference in grain shape has at least been mini- properties of both the abrasive and the work-
mized and crushing histories are similar. piece. In addition the conditions of operation
The fracture strength or toughness of ce- also must be considered.
ramics is determined by studying the cracking
produced by indenting polished sections with
a Vickers indenter. The load is such that frac- 6. Loose-Grain Applications
tures are produced at the corners of the indenta-
tions. The fracture toughness (K c ) may be calcu- Blasting. In this operation, screen-size abra-
lated by measuring the average crack length and sives, such as quartz sand, garnet, fused alumina,
the diagonals of the indentations when Young’s and silicon carbide, impact the work material by
modulus and the microhardness are known [33]. means of compressed air, centrifugal force, or
This method of measuring intrinsic strength or pressurized water. Blasting is used to descale
toughness of abrasives is destined to replace the or otherwise clean and deburr metal parts, clean
other procedures because it is a direct one. buildings, and carve letters and designs on stone.
Wire Sawing. Endless, multistrand, twisted
wire under tension is used to carry a slurry of
5.3. Resistance to Attrition or Plastic water and abrasive for sawing blocks or slabs
Flow of stone such as limestone, marble, and gran-
ite. Quartz sand may be used to cut the softest
When abrasive boron carbide was first produced stones, but fused alumina or silicon carbide is
in the early 1930s, its hardness was greater than required for the harder granites and sandstones.
that of any known material except diamond. Its This method is used both in the quarrying pro-
effectiveness as an abrasive in loosegrain lap- cess itself and to shape and slice blocks removed
ping operations, such as on cemented carbides, from the quarry.
correlated well with relative hardnesses, being Barrel Finishing. Metal parts requiring
greatly superior to silicon carbide and fused alu- cleaning, deburring, and/or refining of surface
minas, but inferior to diamond. For that rea- finish are tumbled in a slowly rotating barrel with
son boron carbide was excepted to have exten- water, acid or alkaline cleaning compounds, and
sive applications in bonded products, replacing suitable abrasives. Depending upon the work
those older, softer abrasives. However, extensive material and finishing requirements, the abra-
grinding tests proved boron carbide to be com- sives may be natural ones, such as emery or
pletely unsuitable in any such operation because crushed granite, or, more commonly, manufac-
the wheels quickly became dull. The major rea- tured abrasives, such as fused aluminas. The lat-
sons appear to be oxidation of the boron carbide, ter may be used as such, or they may be bonded
and the reaction or diffusion between the abra- with vitrified or organic materials into specific
sive and the material being ground. A similar ex- shapes, such as triangles, stars, or pins. A more
planation appears to apply to the relatively poor efficient finishing method, involves vibrating
performance of diamond when grinding com- the materials in bowls or tubs.
mon ferrous metals. Temperatures at the inter- Lapping. Loose abrasives in a vehicle of wa-
face may approach the melting point of steel. ter, soluble oil, kerosine, greases, etc., can be
Under these conditions both the abrasive and used to fine grind flat, cylindrical, or other sur-
piece being worked are greatly softened, with faces. Laps of cast iron and other metals are used,
reaction or diffusion between the two greatly ac- and the abrasive grains may become embedded
celerated. The result is attritious wear or plastic to some degree in these during the operation. The
flow, leading to the development of polished flats choice of abrasive depends upon the nature of
 Abrasives 13

the workpiece. Harder abrasives, such as boron clay, fluxes, or frits, molding the mix to a prede-
carbide and diamond, are most suitable for lap- termined mass : volume ratio, drying it, altering
ping cemented carbides, whereas quartz, garnet, the shape in the green state by shaving, if neces-
and emery may be used on relatively soft materi- sary, and finally maturing the bond by firing in a
als. Gear lapping is accomplished by feeding an kiln, usually at 850 – 1250 ◦ C or above. After it
abrasive slurry between the parts as they revolve. cools, a wheel may be sided and faced, and the
Buffing. Abrasives, such as fused aluminas hole reamed or bushed.
and silicon carbide of subsieve size, are bonded Products are characterized by volume per-
with greases or waxes into cakes or sticks. These centages of abrasive, bond, and pores (Fig. 2).
are applied dry to the face of rotating resilient Softer grades contain higher pore volumes, and
wheels made of such materials as felt and other lower structure numbers have higher grain vol-
cloth types. The bond melts during the buffing umes. The final product is inspected by measur-
operation so the abrasive is not fixed. A small ing mass : volume, modulus of elasticity, and
amount of material is removed from the work, resistance to penetration by a rotating chisel or
usually a metal; but, more importantly, a lus- by a blast of a known volume of sand or other
trous, satin, or mirror-like finish is produced. abrasive under known pressure. The pores of the
wheel may be filled with sulfur or waxes to im-
prove grinding action by retarding loading of the
7. Bonded Abrasive Products wheel face with swarf during operation. A com-
posite wheel can be made with a stronger center
These are rigid or only slightly flexible bod- portion (finer grit abrasive, harder grade) to in-
ies, such as grinding wheels, which normally crease the overall strength of the body. Also the
have more than a single layer of abrasive grains portion adjacent to the hole can be treated with
bonded with glass (vitrified bonds), organic ma- a liquid epoxy resin for the same purpose.
terials, or metals. The products are manufac-
tured in a wide variety of shapes and sizes,
including wheels (mounted and unmounted),
segments, bricks, sticks, etc. For details see
ANSI B74.2−1974, Specifications for Shapes
and Sizes of Grinding Wheels. . . . The spec-
ifications for diamond and CBN wheels are
given in ANSI B74.3−1974 (revised 1980),
and for marking of abrasive products in ANSI
B 74.13−1977. Considering possible variations
in types of abrasives, grit sizes, bond types,
structure of the bodies (variations in volume per-
centages of abrasive, bond, and pores), and size
and shape of the bodies themselves, it is un-
derstandable that major manufacturers produce
several hundred thousand varieties of grinding
wheels alone.

Figure 2. Relationship of hardness to structure in bonded

7.1. Vitrified Bonds abrasives
Bv) Bond volume; Gv) Grain volume; Pv) Pore volume
Abrasives bonded with glass include silicon car-
bide, diamond, cubic boron nitride, and all of the Because of the high cost of diamond and cu-
fused alumina types. bic boron nitride (CBN), only a small portion of
With fused alumina and silicon carbide, a the body contains these abrasives, the remain-
typical manufacturing method involves coating der being the core or “preform”. A “green” pre-
the abrasive grain with premixed temporary and pressed ceramic body is first formed, placed in
permanent bonding ingredients such as feldspar,
14 Abrasives

a mold, and the abrasive-bond mix packed be- bonded products, such as thin wheels for cutting-
tween preform and mold assembly. Bonds com- off operations and portable wheels for offhand
monly employed are of the borosilicate type grinding, are reinforced by molding sheets of
from frits or raw materials of the same general woven fiberglass onto the sides, within the body,
composition. After pressing and stripping from or both.
the mold, the product is fired to 900 – 1000 ◦ C. Resin-bonded alumina and silicon carbide
Because diamond oxidizes at such temperatures, products are used for precision-grinding, roll-
firing is usually in nitrogen; CBN may be fired grinding, centerless-grinding, and, most com-
in air. monly, for rough-grinding operations where di-
Content of diamond and CBN in bonded mensional tolerances and finish are less critical,
products is based on volume percentages, 100 as in offhand grinding of rough castings and the
concentration being 25 vol % and others be- conditioning of steel billets and slabs.
ing proportional. For diamond-containing items, Most diamond and CBN products are hot
concentrations are almost always in the range pressed, and preforms are employed, as with the
of 25 – 100, whereas for CBN the range is vitrified-bonded analogs. Uses are mentioned in
50 – 200. Average porosities are lower and the Sections 3.6 and 3.7.
items more durable than those containing fused
aluminas and silicon carbide. Rubber. Natural or synthetic rubbers or com-
For the most part, vitrified bonds are used binations are milled between rolls to break down
for precision operations, such as surface, inter- the fibers, after which the abrasive grain, fillers,
nal, and cylindrical grinding, where close di- and sulfur for vulcanization are added. After be-
mensional tolerances are required. ing mixed, the batch is calendered to the re-
quired thickness, cut to shape, and heated to
150 – 175 ◦ C to vulcanize the rubber. Depend-
7.2. Organic Bonds ing on the amount of sulfur, type of rubber, and
variety and amount of fillers, the product may
Phenol – Formaldehyde Polymers. Most range from soft and resilient to hard.
organic bonds are of this type. They have grad- Because of strength and resiliency, rubber
ually replaced vitrified types in rough grinding cutoff wheels, particularly thin ones, give ac-
applications because the wheels are stronger curate cuts with good surface finish and little
and more shock resistant and so can be operated burring in wet-grinding operations. Another ap-
safely at higher speeds with resulting greater ef- plication is the grinding of ball bearing races and
ficiency. Diamond and all of the manufactured centerless feed wheels.
abrasives described in Chapter 3 are available in
this bond type. Shellac. Shellac is a natural polymer pre-
For abrasives other than diamond and CBN, pared by heating and filtering the secretion of
a common cold-pressed manufacturing method the lac insect, a parasite found on tress in India
involves wetting the abrasive with furfural and surrounding countries. A common wheel-
[98-01-1] or liquid phenolic resin followed making process involves coating the abrasive
by coating it with a premixed blend of pow- with shellac and hot pressing the mixture in
dered phenol – formaldehyde resin and fillers steel molds. The mix also may be calendered
or grinding aids, such as pyrite (FeS2 ), cryo- into thin sheets, from which wheels are cut and
lite [15096-52-3], or potassium tetrafluorobo- cured at 150 – 175 ◦ C. Another method involves
rate [14075-53-7]. Molding is similar to that moistening the abrasive with a shellac solvent,
for vitrified products. Curing is carried out in adding powdered shellac, mixing, cold pressing,
an oven at 140 – 200 ◦ C, or dielectrically. Very and postcuring. Shellac wheels exhibit a con-
low porosity products may be produced by hot siderable degree of thermoplasticity, giving rise
pressing at 160 – 175 ◦ C followed by oven cur- to a soft grinding action with a distinct polish-
ing, as with the cold-pressed products. ing characteristic. They are used in some wet,
When a softer grade action is desired, the light grinding operations, particularly for finish-
phenolic resins may be modified with epoxies, ing steel rolls.
rubbers, or other thermoplastics. Some resin-
 Abrasives 15

Polyimide Polymers. For limited, special- in 1982, has permitted a much higher bonding
ized applications, such as the grinding of flutes strength, virtually eliminating loss of segments
on carbide drills, and edge-grinding of carbide because of weakening of the joint from the heat
inserts on certain types of machines, diamonds generated during the cutting operations.
in a polyimide bond have proved to be advanta- Electroplated products normally have a rigid
geous [37]. This particular polymer has consid- core, a nickel bond, and a single layer of ei-
erably higher resistance to thermal degradation ther diamond or CBN. Examples are: diamond-
than the phenol – formaldehydes. coated mounted points and discs used by
dentists, relatively inexpensive diamond-coated
wheels for offhand sharpening of carbide tools,
7.3. Metal Bonds and wheels of complicated shapes coated with
diamond or CBN used for form grinding of
The abrasive most often bonded with metal is workpieces, where great precision can be at-
manufactured diamond, but the use of cubic tained because of little or no tool wear.
boron nitride (CBN) in metal bonds is expected
to increase very significantly.
Three types of metal-bonded products are 8. Coated Abrasive Products
made:
1) Those in which the abrasive zone is bonded In coated abrasives a single layer of abrasive
directly to the core by a heating process; grains is bonded with an adhesive to flexible or
2) Those in which segments or rims are produced semirigid backings.
and then attached to the core or steel blade af-
terward;
3) Those bonded by electroplating. 8.1. Components
For the first type, a core or preform is placed
in a mold, and the abrasive-metal mix added Abrasives include quartz, known in the trade
and then pressed. After being stripped from the as flint; garnet; emery, usually the Turkish va-
mold, the body usually is sintered to maximum riety; fused aluminas of the regular, semifri-
density, or it may be sintered to controlled poros- able, white, and pink types; sintered aluminas
ity followed by infiltration with a liquid metal, made from gels; fused zirconia – alumina of the
such as a silver solder. Alternatively, the prod- NZ Alundum variety; silicon carbide, black and
uct may be hot pressed in a graphite mold. Bond green types; and diamond and CBN, for very
compositions vary greatly. Commonly used ones limited applications.
include bronzes, various cobalt and nickel al-
loys, steels, and cemented carbides. Maturing Backings include Paper of different
temperatures vary from 500 ◦ C for bronzes to weights: A for fine hand sanding with sheets, C
1200 ◦ C for cemented carbides. Firing is in neu- for medium hand operations or machine finish-
tral or reducing atmospheres. In general softer ing, E for heavy machine grinding.
bonds are used with hard, dense work materials, Cloth: woven cotton or polyester, stitch-
whereas harder ones are used to grind relatively bonded polyester. They must be specially treated
soft but abrasive materials. For example, bronze before being coated with abrasives on cloth-
bonds commonly are used on dense alumina, ce- finishing lines to give them the appropriate me-
mented carbides, and quartz crystals, whereas chanical characteristics. Different weights are
carbide bonds often are used to groove concrete used, depending on the operation: J for flexi-
highways and cut sandstones. ble products, X or Y for coarse grits or use on
In the case of rims and segments, similar powerful machines.
bonds, manufacturing methods, and firing tem- Combinations of paper plus cloth: used when
peratures are employed. In the production of dia- limited backing stretching and high resistance to
mond blades for use in the construction industry, tearing are necessary: wide belts for high power
segments have been attached to the steel center machines, drum sanders.
by brazing. However, laser welding, introduced
16 Abrasives

Vulcanized fiber made of several layers of the minimum amount needed to satisfy end-use
cotton-based paper gelatinized with zinc chlo- conditions is employed.
ride and vulcanized together. Different thick-
nesses are used, from 0.4 to 0.75 mm, depending
upon the required stiffness and strength. Main 8.3. Applications
use is fiber disks for portable machines for rough
grinding and semi-finishing. The jumbo rolls are cut and converted into many
Polyester films for microfinishing and polish- different shapes: narrow rolls, sheets, disks, end-
ing of mechanical, electronic and optic compo- less belts 10 to 3000 mm wide and 250 to
nents with very fine P series grits and micron or 7000 mm long, flap wheels and flap disks, spi-
sub-micron sizes Abrasive grains are aluminium rally wound cones and pencils. These shapes
oxide, silicon carbide, diamond and special ma- are used by hand or on sanding machines in
terials such as alumina flour and chromium, iron, practically all industries for roughing, finish-
and cerium oxides. ing, and polishing of wood, sheet and struc-
tural metal, mechanical parts, weldings, lac-
Adhesives used are high-quality hide glue; quers, glass, plastic, rubber, plaster, semicon-
phenol – or urea – formaldehyde resins; and ductors, etc.
polyurethane or epoxy-based varnishes. These
adhesives may contain mineral fillers to modify
the physical properties of the bond, or to aid the 9. International Quality
operations in other ways (see Section 7.2).
Specifications

8.2. Production Because of the mature nature of the abrasive in-

dustry and the use of various specifications, truly
A strip of backing material up to 1.5 m or more international standards have been slow in devel-
in width is passed into a making machine where oping.
a thin film of bond, known as the maker coat, is However, the International Organization for
applied. Sized abrasive is fed onto it by grav- Standardization (ISO) has been active in es-
ity, or an electrostatic field is used to orient tablishing specifications relating to bonded and
the longer dimension of the grain perpendicu- coated products, and, to a lesser extent, to the
lar to the backing. The coating may be closed, abrasive grain itself. This organization has is-
in which the abrasive entirely covers the adhe- sued ISO standards, some 21 of which relate to
sive, or open, in which 50 – 75 % of the surface those items [38]. Eleven of them cover designa-
is covered. The item is dried at about 60 ◦ C after tions and dimensions of various coated products,
which another layer of adhesive, known as the nine of bonded items, including diamond and
sizing coat, is applied to secure more firmly the CBN, and one relates to grit sizes of diamond
abrasive grains. This second coat may be of the and CBN.
same composition as the first, or it may be dif- National standards exist in the United States
ferent, e.g., resin used over glue. Then the bond (ANSI) [30], Japan, Japanese Industrial Stan-
is dried further and cured at about 150 ◦ C. The dards (JIS) [42], and Europe (FEPA) [31].
coated abrasive is then coiled into a large roll
known as a jumbo.
For most uses a further operation is required 10. Safety
to improve product flexibility. This involves
breaking the bond in a controlled manner. In Bonded abrasive products are not indestructible.
single flexing, cracks are developed at right an- Strengths vary with such factors as the type of
gles to the length of the strip. In double flexing, bond, the grit size of the abrasive, and the struc-
there are two series of cracks at about 45◦ to ture and grade of the product required to effi-
the length. Triple flexing is a combination of ciently perform a particular grinding operation.
the other two types. Because of disturbance to Therefore, the user must take special precautions
the abrasive bond layer by such operations, only to see that these products are properly handled,
 Abrasives 17

mounted correctly on the machine, and not oper- tions and wheel dimensions. Drawings of suit-
ated at excessive speed. The latter is the most fre- able equipment are included. Similarly, “Ven-
quent cause of wheel breakage, leading to dam- tilation and Safe Practices of Abrasive Blast-
age of equipment and possible personal injury. ing Operations,” ANSI Z9.4−1979, 12 p., in-
Most wheels are marked for maximum operat- cludes sections on dust risks, equipment, and op-
ing speeds or instructions are packaged with the erational procedures. It contains information on
items. minimum air volumes for blast cleaning rooms
“Safety Requirements for the Use, Care occupied by blasters.
and Protection of Abrasive Wheels,” ANSI Most abrasive products are inert, producing
B 7.1−1988, 106 p., is particularly useful be- dusts classified as inert or nuisance types when
cause it includes sections on definitions of the the work material also is inert. When the dust
various types of grinding operations, and on is not inert, not only must the amount to which
wheel shapes with their limitations, and han- the operator is exposed be known, but also its
dling and storage of abrasive products. General composition. Most of the dust generated from
conditions of machines, safety guards, flanges, dry grinding and coated-abrasive operations is
proper methods for mounting, general operat- from the work material, with lesser amounts
ing rules, and, most importantly, standard and derived from the abrasive products themselves.
special maximum operating speeds are covered Some abrasive products incorporate active fillers
also. or grinding aids containing sulfur or fluorine
“Safety Requirements for the Construction, compounds. Use of coated abrasives containing
Care and Use of Grinding Machines,” ANSI quartz (free silica) as the abrasive may require
B11.9−1975, 71 p., is likewise helpful because special controls. Only when both the amount and
it contains sections on design of machines, the composition of the airborne dust are known
guards and flanges; on operating risks, and on can a determination be made as to whether the
the responsibilities of manufacturer, employer, requirements of the particular jurisdiction (city,
and employee in connection with the care and country, etc.) are being met, and the health of the
use of equipment. operator safeguarded.
An EC standard concerning the safety of For further details see “Fundamentals of In-
grinding machines is in preparation (EN 13218). dustrial Hygiene” [43], which relates specifi-
Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), cally to requirements in the United States but
R6240−1972 and R6241−1972 [42], as well which should be of interest worldwide. Par-
as the European Safety Code, FEPA standard ticularly valuable are the appendices and their
12/87, are similar to ANSI B7.1 but vary in de- revisions [44–47]. For requirements in Europe
tails. Requirements in Germany (VBG 49) are (MAK), see [48].
more stringent than in most other countries be- With respect to disposal of wastes from abra-
cause high-speed wheels must carry a certificate sive products, the major concern is related to the
with certifying that they have been tested by the chemical composition of the swarf because of
manufacturer in accordance with the specifics its finely divided nature and consequently large
of ZH 1/670. Independent tests also are carried surface area, which accelerates solubility and
out to assure compliance with ZH 1/670. chemical reactions. Because most of the grind-
EC standards concerning the safety of ing debris originates from the work material,
bonded, coated, and diamond/CBN abrasives are primary interest resides in its composition, solu-
in preparation [52]. bility, and toxicity, with secondary emphasis on
Another potential risk involves the effect of those properties of the bonded or coated abra-
breathing dusts generated during abrasive opera- sive used in the operation. Knowledge of such
tions, such as grinding and polishing or blasting, factors is required to determine the method of
particularly when done in a dry operation. disposal that will not have an adverse impact on
“Ventilation Control of Grinding, Polishing the environment.
and Buffing Operations,” ANSI Z 43.1−1966, Disposal of organic-bonded wheels and
21 p., is of particular interest because it covers coated abrasives is also becoming a problem as
exhaust hoods and enclosures, with minimum they release phenol when leached by rain water
exhaust volumes specified for various opera- in open landfills.
18 Abrasives

11. References 15. Norton Co., US 2 426 643, 1947 (R.

R. Ridgway).
1. P. B. Gove (ed.): Webster’s Third New 16. Norton Co., US 2 579 885, 1951 (J. A. Upper).
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2. T. J. Drozda, C. Wick (eds.): Tool and 18. Norton Co., US 3 216 794, 1965 (S.
Manufacturing Engineers Handbook, 4th ed., J. Roschuk).
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11 – 1 to 11 – 15, 11 – 49 to 11 – 130. G. R. Watson).
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1st ed., Coated Abrasives Manufacturers’ Ueltz).
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Materials Applications Technology, vol. 1, inclusive, and 250 to 252 incl., 1960 (various
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Industrial Diamond Division, Ascot, England 3 902 873, 1975 (F. H. Hughes). ASEA, US
1982, p. 1 – 63. 3 904 391, 1975, US 3 957 461, 1976 (O.
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Polishing Theory and Practice, 1st ed.
H. Wentorf, Jr.).
(English), Portcullis Press, Redhill, England
29. General Electric Co., US 3 645 706, 1972 (H.
1981, esp. 47 – 239.
P. Bovenkerk, W. A. Berecki).
9. F. T. Farago: Abrasive Methods Engineering,
30. ANSI, standards available from American
Industrial Press, Inc., New York 1980, vol. 1,
National Standards Institute, Inc., 1430
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Ascot, England 1978, esp. 39 – 290.
Reille, F-75014, Paris, France; Internet:
11. K. B. Lewis, W. F. Schleicher: The Grinding
http://www.fepa-abrasives.org.
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England. (Includes articles on the application 34. T. N. Loladze, G. V. Bokuchava, G.
of diamond and CBN as well as a section E. Davidova in J. H. Westbrook, H. Conrad
devoted to abstracts relating to various aspects (eds.): The Science of Hardness Testing and Its
of diamond, cubic boron nitride and other hard Research Applications, Am. Soc. for Metals,
materials), published1940 – present. Metals Park, Ohio 1973, p. 251 – 257.
13. V. L. Eardley-Wilmot: “Artificial Abrasives 35. T. N. Loladze, G. V. Bokuchava, G.
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Their Uses,” Abrasives, Canada Dept. Mines, (eds.): The Science of Hardness Testing and Its
no. 699, part 4, Ottawa 1929. Research Applications, Am. Soc. for Metals,
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 Abrasives 19

36. L. Coes, Jr.: Abrasives, Springer Verlag, New 45. OSHA Safety & Health Standards (29 CFR
York-Wien 1971, p. 154 – 163. 1910), OSHA 2206, U.S. Department of Labor
37. E. I. du Pont, US 3 179 631, 1965 (A. Occupational Safety & Health Administration,
L. Endrey). Washington, D.C., July 1997, esp. Subpart G,
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330 – 334, 400 – 405, 417, 465, 519 – 521, CFR 1910–1200) and material safety data
589 – 591, 663, 683 – 703. sheets available from chemical manufacturers.
39. Industry and Trade Summary: Abrasives, U.S. 48. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (ed.):
Dept. Commerce, International Trade Maximum Concentrations at the Workplace
Commission, Washington, D.C.1995, 30 and Biological Tolerance Values for Working
pages. Materials 1995 (MAK), VCH
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Industrial Hygienists. (ACGIH) (ed.): (1998); EN 13236: Safety of Diamond/CBN
Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Abrasives (in preparation); Safety of Coated
Substances 1998 – 99, (TLV), Cincinnati, Ohio Abrasives (in preparation).
1998, esp. pp. 15 – 86.

ABS → Polystyrene and Styrene Copolymers