Grain types

The term grain types in the area of abrasives signifies the different types of minerals used during the manufacture of abrasive tools. Since the essential portion of the grinding process, namely the machining of the material to be processed, is performed by these minerals, the grain type used has a major impact on the suitability range and performance of a abrasive.

An overview of the different grain properties and the typical wear characteristics of the most commonly used grain types is given in the diagram below.

Historically, grain types fall into the two major groups of natural and synthetic grains. Subsumed in the category of natural grain types are, in particular, flint, garnet and emery; however, these grain types are barely used any more in the production of abrasives. Instead, the abrasives produced today are usually made with synthetic grain types such as aluminium oxide, zirconia alumina, silicon carbide and ceramic aluminium oxide. Compared to their natural siblings, synthetic grain types offer significant advantages in the areas of hardness and toughness; they, furthermore, offer greater uniformity across their properties, which is the defining attribute that qualifies them for demanding industrial applications in the first place.
In order to offer their customers a broad range of possible applications and perfect suitability for their specific purpose, Klingspor sells abrasives (belts, rolls, sheets, discs, strips, fibre discs, resinoid cutting-off wheels and grinding discs, abrasive mop discs, abrasive mop wheels and abrasives with an elastic bond) with different grain types. This approach ensures that customers will always achieve the perfect grinding result by selecting the grain type that is right for the material and work piece they need to process and the result they wish to accomplish.

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