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7 Types of Grinding Wheels on the Market Today

Grinding wheels are common in manufacturing industries. You see them in automotive shops, construction sites, tool shops, medical manufacturing industries, etc. 

They are also extremely dangerous if you don’t know what you are getting into. Fortunately, there are two ways to avoid catastrophe: 

1.     Have a clear understanding of wheel grinder safety

2.     Get the right kind of wheel for both the job at hand and the material worked. 

The second part is a bit more difficult because there are many types of grinding wheels. But don’t despair, we can teach you everything you need to know!

Read on to learn more. 

Types of Grinding Wheels

Grinding wheels come in a variety of shapes and sizes and each wheel has a different purpose. Some sharpen and cut, while others polish and smooth. 

The wheel shape you choose should match the type of application. 

1. Straight Grinding Wheels

You see them all the time. The most basic grinding wheels are in workshops across the world. They are most commonly used to sharpen tools like chisels and lawnmower blades. You probably have one yourself at home. 

2. Large Diameter Grinding Wheels

Large diameter wheels are like straight wheels, but they are much larger. These wide-surfaced wheels grind down the outside of round objects like carbide blanks.  Also, used for OD grinding especially in Oil and Thermal spray Industry.

Large diameter grinding wheels are manufactured up to 36 inches.

3. Grinding Cup Wheel

One of the most familiar applications of Grinding Cup Wheels is to polish stone or concrete. But with a small enough grit, cup wheels can take on delicate jobs like paint and adhesive removal. 

Cup wheels are often used for re-sharpening and finishing for some applications depending on abrasive size. 

4. Grinding Dish Wheel

Dish grinding wheels look like cup wheels but are shallow and have a thinner surface edge. Their narrow shape allows them to fit into tight crevices a cup wheel would never be able to reach. They are otherwise used for the same applications as a cup wheel. 

5. Segmented Grinding Wheel

Segmented wheels can be manufactured in various styles; 6A2, 1A1, 2A2T.   The major difference for this wheel is instead of having a continuous abrasive rim, the abrasive sections are segmented and applied to the wheel.  ASA offers the following shapes-Hexagon, Pellets and Pie segments.  Contact ASA to discuss in more detail.

When used with cooling or lubricating fluids, these grinders remove large amounts of material fast without damaging the surface of your work. Each segment creates a canal that uses centrifugal force to carry the fluids where it’s most needed. 

6. Cutting Face Grinding Wheel

Cutting face grinding wheels cut through objects by grinding away material. The width of the grinding edge is usually very narrow and takes a lot off at once. 

These precision tools get used for everything from cutting tile to shaping saw teeth. 

Grits Sizes

Grinding wheels use abrasive, like diamond and Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) to grind away an object’s surface area. 

The grit size defines how large the abrasives are.  Finer abrasives polish and sand.  Coarse abrasive are used for aggressive grinding or stock removal.

Types of Bond

There are various types of bonds for applications. Bonds play a huge part in determining what your wheel can do.  As the abrasive wears and dulls during the grinding process, the bond breaks down to regenerate new cutting edges. 

Electroplated Bond

Electroplated wheels use a single layer of abrasive adhered by a thin layer of nickel. This type of bond rapidly sheds hard material without needing to be re-dressed. 

Instead of buying new wheels, you can save by sending in your wheels to be stripped and re-plated.  

Advantages

No truing required

Strong Bonds

High stock removal

High Wheel speeds

Form Grinding

Resin Bond

Resin bond is mostly comprised of resin (surprise!) and fillers. It’s one of the most common types of bonds for Diamond and CBN abrasives. 

When used with CBN-Great for working with steels that have a 45Rc hardness rating or more.

When used with Diamond-Great for Quartz, Ceramics, and HVOF applications. 

Advantages

Resilient Systems

Good Finish

Adaptable Wet or Dry

Polyimide Bond

Polyimide is a type of resin created with temperatures around three times hotter than what it takes to make standard resin bonds. This resin is a perfect companion for Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machines. 

Because they can work at lower power levels, they can remove material at a very rapid rate.

Polyimide wheels can be re-dressed. 

Vitrified Bond

For cutting quality and resistance to wear and grooving- vitrified wheels would be your choice for precision applications especially for the Medical and Dental Industry.  Vitrified bonds use reduced force to give you higher control over deflection. 

Advantages

Porous System

Strong Bond/Abrasive interface

Free Cutting

Low Dressing Forces

Low grinding Forces

One step conditioning

Need More Guidance? 

Not to worry. Action Super Abrasive is with you all the way. 

We are ISO 9001 Certified and we have 34 years of experience on our side. So you can rest assured we know our stuff. Plus our primary goal is your satisfaction. 

If you have any other questions about the types of grinding wheels you have to choose from, please contact ASA: 

·       Monica Hughes -hughesm@actionsuper.com

·       Joe Haag- joe.haag@actionsuper.com

·       Dan Noonan- noonand@actionsuper.com

Or if you are ready to make a decision, request your quote today

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