Grinding stainless steel, high-alloy steels and other hard-to-grind materials can challenge both abrasive life and productivity. As fabrication demands increase, manufacturers need abrasives that can maintain a fast cut and deliver consistent performance without requiring excessive operator pressure.
Precision-shaped ceramic grain is designed to help meet those demands. Its self-sharpening structure continually exposes new cutting edges as the grain wears, helping resin fiber discs maintain cutting efficiency throughout their usable life.
In this article, you'll learn:
- How precision-shaped ceramic grain maintains a sharp cutting edge during grinding
- Why grain retention can improve resin fiber disc life and performance
- How Metalynx 3D MAX resin fiber discs perform on steel, stainless steel and other hard-to-grind materials
- How efficient grinding can reduce operator effort and costly changeovers
- Where ceramic resin fiber discs can improve heavy weld and material removal
| Precision-shaped grain discs, like Metalynx 3D MAX ceramic resin fiber discs, deliver high performance on demanding materials such as this welded stainless steel bracket. |
Today, the next generation of ceramic abrasive products has been developed to avoid the disadvantages of conventional ceramic abrasives when tackling difficult materials. Weiler Abrasives has introduced an optimal combination of new 3D precision ceramic grains and an improved adhesion process to provide continuous cutting efficiency and extend abrasive life.
Metalynx 3D MAX ceramic resin fiber discs deliver high-performance grinding on steel, stainless steel and other hard-to-grind materials, including high-alloy steels, Inconel and titanium. The discs are designed for applications in general heavy metal fabrication and industries that require multi-pass welding, such as shipbuilding, oil and gas, tank and pressure vessel manufacturing, and heavy equipment fabrication.
Ceramic grains feature thousands of fracture points that break down, extending their life. This unique structure allows the grains to self-sharpen, exposing new, sharp cutting edges as they wear and maintaining sharpness and efficiency. However, traditional ceramic grains can become too dull to fracture, leading to faster wear and poor life.
“With the 3D MAX discs, the triangular-shaped grain has many more micro-fracture points than a traditional ceramic grain,” says Jay Owings, district sales manager, Weiler Abrasives. “It has the ability to sharpen itself even more than a typical ceramic grain, so it lasts longer and cuts faster – and is phenomenal for the customer.”
The innovative resin fiber discs feature not only precision-shaped ceramic grains but also improved grain retention.
| Metalynx 3D MAX ceramic resin fiber discs are designed for general heavy metal fabrication and industries that require multi-pass welding, such as shipbuilding, oil and gas, tank and pressure vessel manufacturing, and heavy equipment fabrication. |
“Part of why the product works so well is the way the triangle-shaped ceramic grain is adhered to the backing,” Owings says. “The way it’s bonded, it stays in place with the flat side toward the backing and the sharp end toward the workpiece. When the tip breaks off, it exposes multiple sharpened points and continues fracturing until the grain is fully used.”
It really comes down to grain retention, he adds.
“If you’re paying the money for a precision-shaped grain, you want it to stay on the disc as long as possible,” Owings says. “Our discs provide higher grain retention so you’re able to use the ceramic grain all the way down instead of it falling off.”
Metalynx 3D MAX ceramic resin fiber discs are designed to deliver high-performance grinding across steel, stainless steel and other hard-to-grind materials, giving fabricators a versatile abrasive option for demanding material removal applications.
More efficient grinding also reduces operator fatigue. Because the ceramic grains continue to fracture and sharpen themselves, the operator does not have to push hard to keep the disc sharp and cutting. And because sharp cutting points are continually exposed, loading on the disc is reduced whether working on stainless steel, high-alloy steels or other hard materials. This provides superior durability and fewer changeovers.
| Metalynx 3D MAX ceramic resin fiber disc grinding a weld on a roller coaster steel beam. |
Owings says heavy material removal is an ideal use for 3D MAX discs, such as removing large welds. The disc allows the weld to be quickly ground flat to the surface of the two workpieces that are welded together.
The ceramic resin fiber disc is also well suited for welding applications compared to a typical grinding wheel because it reduces the risk of gouging the workpiece.
“A great example of an application is a customer that puts roller coaster frames together, including big I-beams,” Owings says. “The welds must be super flat so the coaster wheels can roll over them. With the resin fiber disc, you can’t easily gouge the workpieces that are welded together. You can just grind down that weld to the face you need it to be without ruining the rest of the material.”
By combining precision-shaped ceramic grain with improved grain retention, the discs offer longer abrasive life, especially on hard-to-grind materials, along with high cutting efficiency.
“Essentially, if you’re trying to remove material at a high rate of speed with a precision grind, the 3D MAX disc is going to perform substantially better,” Owings says. “It’s going to last longer, so you aren’t spending as much money. You cut the time spent fabricating, so labour savings really go up, and you reduce downtime for operators.”
| Heavy material removal, such as removing large welds, is an ideal application for Metalynx 3D MAX ceramic resin fiber discs. |
Extensive testing shows the new discs deliver improved abrasive life while providing faster cutting speeds. This supports the goals of the Weiler Consumable Productivity program, which helps fabrication operations identify opportunities to improve total operating costs.
“At Weiler, we like to do a site visit with the customer and see their applications and then make recommendations,” Owings says. “For example, if they’re using a grinding wheel and we think another abrasive is going to be better for them, we’ll do testing on-site and then present the results for what they’re using now and what we think would be better for them.”
Real-World Results
See how Metalynx 3D MAX helped a metal fabricator increase material removal by 32%, reduce abrasive use by 48% and achieve €44,919 in annual savings.
“It’s really a teaching moment,” he concludes. “We know they’ve been doing this for 30 years, but innovations can help them work better. They’re absolutely open to learning about new products. But it goes beyond that. We’re a strategic partner dedicated to helping customers achieve their goals.”