Grinding equipment uses abrasives as consumables. Each abrasive material has its own characteristics, characteristics and operational properties, allowing it to cope with a certain range of tasks. In turn, the grinding belt forms one of the widest segments in the group of abrasive consumables. It is efficient in workflow and convenient in physical handling.
Assignment of ribbons
There is a whole class of machines - grinders that use grinding skins (tapes) as a working tool. The rotation of the electric motor with the shaft achieves high speeds, which makes it possible to process different surfaces - from soft wood to hard stones and even concrete. But most often a grinder with belts is used in the refinement of soft-bodied workpieces. Another thing is that the equipment itself may have different designs.
In addition to machines, there is a wide category of manual grinders. These are small-sized devices, which are also complemented by tape abrasives. They provide a low rotational speed, but due to the small area of the tooling, they make it possible to accurately adjust the edges of smallwooden products. It is obvious that the grinding belts for the grinder themselves are designed specifically for a certain type of equipment.
Varieties of ribbons
As for compatibility with machines, narrow belts and wide belts can be distinguished. Accordingly, they are suitable for a compatible landing socket. However, there are also universal machines in which the bearing mechanisms allow you to adjust the width of the abrasive. The grinding belt also differs in the type of material used in the base. The most commonly used cloth and paper, although specialists for special purposes may use combined and polyester abrasives. From a performance point of view, the rough coating itself is more important, which is what makes the belt abrasive. Typically, silicon carbide or electrocorundum is applied to the surface of the base. The first option is optimal in terms of reliability, wear resistance and mechanical impact, but it negatively affects the structure of adjacent machine parts. Silicon can corrode metal surfaces. As for electrocorundum, this material is good for its electromechanical protection, which is important in certain operating conditions, but as an abrasive as such, it is far from the best option.
Size specifications
When choosing a sanding paper, you should focus on two main parameters - length and width. As for the length, it can be 400-600 mm on average. That is, in essence, a circle is formed,which is fixed as a snap on a manual grinder or machine. The width of the sanding belts varies from 30 to 140 mm on average. The most popular width format is 76 mm. Under it, both hand-held devices and machine-tool equipment are guided. In the marking for grinding skins, you can also find such a characteristic as endless. This is a tape that just forms a vicious circle that rotates along with the functional rollers.
Grit characteristics
If the size of the belt determines the coverage area, then the grit directly affects the efficiency of machining. Whether it is sanding or surface grinding, a coarse abrasive can remove more particles from the surface of the target product in a shorter period of time than a fine-grained counterpart. Graininess is marked with numerical indices. For example, a sanding belt with a grit of 40-60 will provide a rough cleaning. This option is suitable if you need to remove a layer of old paint without worrying about the condition of the base. Skins with a grain size of 80-100 are considered universal. They are used to level the surface by getting rid of pronounced defects - tubercles or pits.
Fine finishing is done on belts with a grit of 120 to 300. The higher the value, the finer the finish. A value above 300 indicates that a grinder with such a belt will be able to perform almost a jeweler's surface finish with micron accuracy. Such tapes are used on professional equipment.when making small parts.
Types of tape connections
It has already been said that the tape can form an endless processing strip. But in order to make the segment infinite, it is necessary to connect it. Various methods are used to accomplish this task. For example, overlapping allows you to get a strong seam, but in this system a wave will inevitably form due to two layers superimposed on each other. There are models of machines and grinders that are tolerant of this shortcoming, but they do not include machines designed for fine finishing. The point is not even in the machine, but in the surface of the skin itself, which will not be able to provide optimal cleaning. The sanding belt for machine tools can also be joined using the butt method. In this case, the quality of material processing will be significantly higher, but the strength of the blade in the machine, on the contrary, will decrease.
Conclusion
When choosing a grinding tool, one should proceed from two main factors - the requirements of the machine and the parameters for cleaning material with a specific set of characteristics. Obviously, the choice of skin for a concrete surface and wood will be different. Just like choosing between hand grinder and industrial machine belts. The only thing that combines different types of sanding belt, regardless of the purpose, is the characteristics of wear resistance, reliability and durability. A high-quality sanding blade, even under harsh operating conditions, shows the proper processing effect, removing millimeters and microns put to it. Howeverit is hardly possible to check the quality of the tape without practical use. Experts recommend that immediately after purchasing the grinder, contact its manufacturer to test the working equipment of this brand. At a minimum, products from the same brand will be compatible in terms of key operational parameters.
