How To Read A Grinding Wheels Specification?

Grinding wheels are expendable tools designed with an abrasive compound. These abrasive wheels, which come with multiple cutting edges, are composed of numerous hard particles. They are ideal for cutting operations, and their grains are appropriately mixed using a correct bond, which holds the wheel together when used. These wheels come in various shapes and fit different forms of machines for grinding a particular work piece. 

Grinding is a popular and crucial operation in most manufacturing industries. It’s often required for the final product.  So based on how essential grinding wheels are, it’s essential to know how to read a grinding wheel specification to find choosing the right product for the appropriate material unchallenging.

How To Read A Grinding Wheel Specification: What to Know About Grinding Wheels?

Apart from knowing the fact that grinding wheels are well-known tools in the metallurgy industry and great for cutting metals with different shapes, sizes, and efficiency, there are lots of things to understand about them.

• Grinding Wheels and their Applications 

Every grinding wheel needs a grinding machine to function. To achieve this, the operator is meant to attach the wheel to a machine on the supporting arbors to have access to the force provided by the rotary motion. You should note that this force technically applies to the wheels’ side by sized flanges. 

Grinding wheels are designed to function effectively with outstanding high tolerances. Operators use their specific dimensions to grind the work piece from both its interior and exterior. 

As far as a precision grinding wheel is concerned, operators aim to utilize the wheels of different compositions to produce metals with different shapes. These grinding wheels are available in different shapes, such as dishes, cup, square, and round. They are perfect for numerous materials and can do hard grinding of tools, including steels and any metal.

• Grinding Wheels and the Materials Used

A composite material is used in the production of a grinding wheel.  The cementing matrix (bond) helps the coarse particles to press and bond, resulting in the solid circular shape of different types of wheels. Also, the available precision grinding wheel is in several profiles and cross-sections depending on the wheel’s usage.

There are different material types used now in the production of the grinding wheel, which is determined by the wheel’s usage. Grinding wheels are generally made from aluminum steel and solid steel. The natural composite stone-like millstones help bond the particles.

How To Read A Grinding Wheel Specification: How Grinding Wheels are Made

Below are how manufacturers produce grinding wheels: 

• For industries in need of grinding wheels, what they do is make an order from a manufacturing company. The manufacturer, which may be making wheels for stock or made-to-order for a specific buyer, is meant to follow a nearly identical but more industrialized process.
• After ordering the specific wheel, the manufacturing process will begin. The abrasive grain and the chemicals that will be used for production are determined by the specification. In particular, the size informs the manufacturer of the required quantity of each raw material for production. 
• The manufacturer will then mix the raw materials in a large mixer, just like mixing cement or mortar. After meeting the needed consistency, the manufacturer will then transport the mixture to the molding presses to be measured, molded, and pressed into grinding wheels in a raw condition.
• The manufacturer will then load the raw wheels into an oven and set them on fire to cure or bake into rough but grinding products that can be used. After cooling, the wheels are transported to a finishing place to be:

• Cleaned
• Inspected for safety and quality
• Balanced
• Stenciled 
• Packaged, and 
• Shipped to the end-user.

The Specification of Grinding Wheels

Every grinding wheel is marked with type, size, restrictions for use, maximum operating speed, specification, and other non-safety-related information. Based on the focus of the content, we’ll be discussing the specification  

The grinding wheel specification is marked with a series of numbers and letters. For example, A36-L5-V. This mark represents the abrasive material type, the grit size, the grade, the structure, and the bond type 

How to Read a Grinding Wheel Specification? 

A lot of operators who use grinding wheels from time to time usually do not ruminate on the spec and what is printed on the side of the grinding wheel. All they do is ensure that what’s stenciled on the wheel matches what is needed for the operation to prevent mounting and /or using the wrong wheel accidentally.

A wheel specification contains a load of information that is perfectly understood by those that produce wheels and handle their optimization process. If you can read the spec information, you won’t have difficulties determining everything about the specific wheel.

Generally, a marking system is established by convention even though each grinding wheel manufacturer has its specific abrasive grains and bonds, and there is no existing industrial requirement or standard to follow a particular format.

Below is how to read a grinding wheel specification.

For instance, let’s use a wheel marked as A36-L5-V

How To Read A Grinding Wheel Specification: Reading A36-L5-V

1. A36-L5-V: Here, we will be identifying “A“

This is the first part of the specification. It’s a part that shows the abrasive material or grain. For each producer of wheels, there is a specific list of abrasives, but generally, the marking codes are the same. 

Note: There are times that things may become challenging.  This is when a ceramic/ceramic blend is cut out. With this, each manufacturer can become a lite creative. 

2. A36-L5-V: Here, we will be identifying “36.“

This is the second part of the specification that shows the abrasive grit size. The grits can be coarse (for rough grinding operations), medium, or fine (for precision grinding operations). 

3. A36-L5-V: Here, we will be identifying “L“

This is the third part that shows the hardness or grade of the wheel. The letters used by the marking system run between A and Z/ZZ, showing the extent to which the wheel is hard. Although every manufacturer may decide to use a similar marking system, it doesn’t imply that each of their specific grades is similar. For instance, if a manufacturer marks their product “K” and another manufacturer does the same thing, it doesn’t show that both products have the same hardness or perform the same. In general, the marking system indicates that they are both mid-range wheels. 

4. A36-L5-V: Here, we will be identifying “5“

This is the fourth part to check on the marking system when reading a grinding wheel specification. This number is usually omitted. It stands as the structure of the wheel. The wheel’s structure refers to the measurement of the relative grain porosity or spacing of the grinding wheel. It should be noted that the larger the number, the more porous and open the wheel is, but if the number is smaller, then the denser the grains will be in the wheel. So, in a situation where a manufacturer omits the number, it will automatically be considered as an “8” structure. This structure is conventionally seen as the standard or normal value. 

5.  A36-L5-V: Here, we will be identifying “V“

This is the fifth and the final part of the spec. It shows the bond type used in the wheel. There are different types of bonds, including the “B” type for resinoid bonds, the “R” type for rubber, and the “V” type for vitrified bonds. In a situation where there are numerous bonds for a specific type, which usually occurs in the “V” bond group, this marking system part will mean which specific bond is utilized from the group.

Conclusion 

A grinding wheel is an indispensable tool in several industries, and that is why they always ensure that they get the right product and give it excellent maintenance. Nonetheless, the abrasive wheel is susceptible to breakage. Therefore, it’s essential that operators always ensure that they follow the ideal working practices anytime the wheel is in use.

One of the crucial steps to take to make sure that breakage is prevented is understanding how to read a grinding wheel specification. Although many may find how to read a grinding wheel specification difficult, this content has done justice to that already. 

When you understand the marking system, you will be keenly interested in checking the grinding wheel to know if it’s suitable for a specific operation.  With this, you can have the best grinding wheel to get your job done efficiently. Besides, it can lead to end products with excellent finish materials. To know more, visit our website at agrindtool.com.