In the operations of grinding, polishing and cleaning various surfaces, special materials are usually used, which are called abrasives. These can be devices of different designs and shapes, but they are united by a rough coating or a completely granular structure. For example, sandpaper and a file are classic abrasives. It can also be mechanical devices that implement the function of surface treatment in automatic mode without muscle effort.
Abrasives
In nature, you can find a lot of natural abrasives that are distinguished by a granular or porous structure. These include minerals, including garnet, quartz, some varieties of iron ore, pumice, etc. Some of these rocks are used whole in production, while others are used in processed form. For example, powders resistant to wear and friction are the same abrasives. In most cases, these are crushed rocks or metal particles, which can be used in different ways in the finalization of products. But here it is worth moving on to another group of abrasive materials - synthetic. It includes artificial diamond, mineral slag, steel shot, etc. With the help of such materials, it is possible to performthe most difficult polishing and deburring tasks.
Abrasive tools
Unlike abrasives, tools are ready-to-grind fixtures. The most common product of this type are nozzles for grinding and cutting machines. These include saws, grinders, all kinds of carvers and polishing machines, which use an abrasive as a working head. Circles are perhaps the most effective processing component. Moreover, their effectiveness is determined by the structurally most advantageous placement in the composition of the power tool.
Also popular in the industry are sanding belts used on machine tools. With their help, in-line processing of standard products is implemented - often right on the conveyor. Now it is worth considering household abrasives. It can be the same file with sanding paper, or an abrasive stone in the form of a bar, which sharpens the blades of a cutting tool.
Abrasive properties
A high-quality abrasive is characterized by such indicators as wear resistance, hardness, absence of interactions with chemicals, etc. At the same time, hardness and wear resistance do not always indicate that the abrasive is able to quickly eliminate unnecessary layers from the surface. The tool can be durable and resistant to damage, which is due to the high density and content of fine grain in the structure. But too hardGrinding abrasives tend to last longer on target workpieces. On the other hand, a coarse grain contributes to the accelerated execution of the same grinding, but it has two drawbacks. Firstly, a large fraction implies rapid wear. Secondly, with the help of such an abrasive, you can only count on rough processing, which excludes the polishing effect.
Types of abrasive processing
The simplest abrading techniques involve the use of non-mechanized hand materials. Basically, these are bars made of rocks, which are used in the refinement of pliable surfaces - for example, wood. More technologically advanced methods involve working with hand-held electric devices. These are small grinding and polishing machines that allow the use of nozzles of various characteristics. In professional areas, sandblasting abrasive is also used, which is fed through a special nozzle. Sandblasting equipment works by supplying air under high pressure. In the process of performing operations, the jet injected by the compressor literally blows out abrasive particles at high speed, affecting the target surface. Carrier flows can also be formed from water, but additional containers will be required to store it.
Fields of application of abrasives
All abrasives are designed to perform, by and large, the same tasks. They consist in removing a certain layer of material from a particular surface. Another thing is that the liquidation itselfunnecessary coating can pursue different goals - giving the desired shape to the product, eliminating irregularities, cleaning, etc. These operations can be used both in everyday life and in workshops of various kinds, as well as in construction and production. So, in the household, regular grinding of wooden floor coverings is often required. For parquet and some types of laminate, a polishing abrasive is used. Material in the form of sand and metal particles is used as a consumable for sandblasting. This highly effective method has found application in the work of auto repair shops. For example, pneumatic machines are used to strip old paintwork. Powerful units powered by compressors can remove stagnant corrosion damage and even scale by spraying metal chips.
Conclusion
Today, there are practically no alternative methods of grinding and cleaning surfaces in relation to abrasives. Only high-precision cutting methods can be mentioned, but their function can be replaced by rough processing with the same sandblasting. From the point of view of production processes at many large enterprises, abrasives are an indispensable technological stage that allows you to give products the necessary parameters. And if in construction, craftsmen can deal with labor-intensive, but rough in nature, methods of cleaning and grinding, then in industry, precision molding operations are implemented. Moreover, they are performed with solid stone and metalstructures, which requires the use of special abrasive machines and machines.