Abrasives
3M meet the latest technology developments. Important features are outstanding performance, long life, high stock removal and superior surface finish. Abrasives are a product of three basic elements: Mineral, bond, backing:
Minerals Aluminium Oxide: a synthetic mineral that has a very tough structure and is used in woodworking, metalworking and composites (gel coat, fibreglass, etc...) applications. Silicon Carbide: Hard, sharp and friable, this synthetic mineral is used on products for sanding paint or lacquer, plastics, glass& composites. Aluminum Zirconia: A very tough and sharp synthetic mineral, which has a unique self-sharpening characteristic. This material is suitable for heavy grinding and high rates of stock removal under pressure, on a variety of hard metals. Cubitron: A tough long lasting material. Cubitron abrasives grains have a unique "stay sharp" microscopic crystalline structure. Because it stays sharp, it cuts at a higher rate than other abrasives. Recommended on stainless steel. A proprietary abrasive mineral manufactured by 3M
Abrasive Grain Size: after the crude abrasives have been crushed, the grains are separated (graded) into standard particle sizes using screens carefully made from silk threads of exact size and number per square inch to ensure extreme accuracy. The grit number appearing on the coated abrasive backing represents the number of openings per linear inch in the final screen. The European standard of grit sizes is the FEPA grading system. All FEPA grit sizes are preceded with the letter P, ie P220, etc....There are two levels of abrasives grain-coating - Open and Close coat. The coat refers to the spacing of the abrasive grain on the product. Open coated abrasives are made resistant to clogging and are mainly for sanding operations on woods or any loading substrates. Closed coated abrasives are generally used to provide a superior finish.
Adhesive Bond: this adhesive is applied to the backing followed by the abrasive mineral, which is then locked in place using a second adhesive coating - the size coat. The four principle types of bond are: 1- Glue over glue. This bond makes for a flexible construction and is used primarily for paper products for hand sanding applications.2- Resin over glue (Resinite abrasive products). A combination of a glue make adhesive and resin size coat. The latter has increased head resistance, and reduced clogging whilst the glue make imparts a degree of flexibility.3- Resin over Resin. Uses a full resin system ideally suited to the more heavy-duty applications where good mineral anchorage is essential.4- Waterproof (Wet or dry(tm) abrasive products). Full resin construction on a waterproof backing for use wet or dry on metal, paint, plastic and glass. N.B many of the modern resin bonded products can be used wet, though not referred as Wet or dry.
Backing used for 3M coated abrasives are classified as paper, cloth, fibre and film.1- Paper. The paper backings vary with intended applications. A, C, D, E and F weight papers are used. A weight in fine grades for finishing papers through to E and F weight for machine use. C and D weight papers are used both by hand and for some machine applications.2- Cloth. Most modern backings are synthetic fibre rather than cotton fibre based and are broadly classified as : J weight flexi-ble cloths for contour works weight are stiffer products where only limited conformity is needed. Y weight products are heavy duty and primarily produced in coarser grades for heavy duty work3- Fibre. Vulcanised fibre is used as a backing for grinding discs. Two thickness are used, 0.75mm and 0.65mm.4- Film. Film is used as a backing for very fine grade products to ensure high quality, consistent finishes. Certain products receive a further coating to enhance performance for particular applications.5- Fre-Cut(tm) coatings lubricate and reduce clogging caused by oils or resins in the work place.6- Many of the Cubitron coated abrasive products have an additional coating of a grinding aid which lubricates and reduces grinding temperatures, particularly on traditionally hard-to-grind alloys.
3M offer a range of abrasives from sheets to rolls to discs: see below for information on abrasive paper and grinding discs
Technical Sheets
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3M™ Abrasive Sheets & Rolls
Technical Information Acrobat PDF File | Size: 21k | Click here to download |
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Dry Sand Paper Sheets Acrobat PDF File | Size: 40k | Click here to download |
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Abrasive Rolls Acrobat PDF File | Size: 38k | Click here to download |
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3M™ Hookit™ Sanding Discs & Accessories Acrobat PDF File | Size: 63k | Click here to download |
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Scotch-Brite™ Technical Information Acrobat PDF File | Size: 85k | Click here to download |
 To save the PDF to your computer, please right-click (PC) or control-click (Mac) the link on your mouse. Select the option to 'Save to...' |
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