Four Important Considerations When Choosing the Right Convolute Wheel for Your Next Abrasives Project

Convolute wheels, used in deburring, blending and final finishing of metal parts, have historically been gray, fairly non-descript and lacking instructions as to which wheel to use when.

Formed by wrapping non-woven material that contains abrasives around a center core so that the face of the wheel can be used for grinding, convolute wheels are commonly used in metal fabrication. These non-woven abrasives remove a small amount of material and also provide a finish on metal parts.

As ubiquitous as they are, however, Norton decided to make it easy for operators and buyers to select the right wheels for the job at hand and provide wheels with improved performance, longer life and therefore reduced cost of use. And they’re doing it in color.

Four Steps to Arrive at the Correct Convolute Wheel Product 

Here are four questions to answer to determine which convolute wheel is best for you:

1) Do you fall into the 80 percent range?

Does your application require a normal amount of deburring, blending and finishing? Is the amount of material removed fairly minimal? If you need heavy deburring or a specialty finish for your metal parts, stop here and contact Norton for additional options. If you’re within that 80 percent, move to the next question.

2) Which abrasive grain type describes your requirements?

Are you working with ferrous metals? If so, the aluminum oxide general purpose wheel with the white core is for you. In comparison, non-ferrous metals will use the silicon carbide wheel with a core that is color-coded black.

3) What grit level is best for your application?

The general purpose line of wheels come in a range of grit sizes:

• Fine grit is used for middle-of-the-road blending,
• Very-fine grit provides a delicate finish, and
• Medium grit provides the aggressiveness necessary for light deburring.

Conventional non-woven abrasive products can create smear on a workpiece surface as applying the abrasive generates heat. That heat often prematurely expends the abrasive grain early in the finishing process, which then leaves only the coated fiber. Continued use, along with the heat and the binder coating of the fiber, further breaks down and, eventually, melts the wheel's fibers and ends up on the surface as smear. But the Norton Abrasives new convolute line isn’t like conventional products.

4) Are you looking for conformability or durability?

The varied tightness of wrap around the core creates various density options:

• Lower density provides conformability, and
• Higher density provides durability.

Density, in this case, refers to the amount of fibers compressed into the abrasive material; densities of 5 (soft) through 9 (hard) are available, providing the flexibility necessary for diverse materials, including titanium, glass, stainless steel, carbon steel, non-ferrous metals, hard woods, soft woods and more.

Applications Addressed by the General Purpose Wheel

The basis for wheel choice involves application. Non-woven products are used across many manufacturing industries, including aerospace, automotive, electronics, medical products and others. Two examples of specific applications include:

When a company encountered difficulty removing the (carbon steel 1095) edge burr in its multi-head coil-polishing operation, a Norton 9SF Rapid Finish General Purpose convolute wheel was substituted for the current solution. The Norton GP wheel eliminated all burrs from the blade roll in a single pass and also eliminated lubricant application. The Norton wheel provided almost double the cut rate while shedding 30 percent less than the incumbent wheel.

In another application, the Norton Clean Bond® GP 6SVFN convolute wheel was tested in place of a comparable competing wheel to polish stainless steel 316 plates. The Norton wheel produced an improved finish (surface roughness (R_a) of 5 um vs. 9 um) and demonstrated 30 percent longer life.

Summary

The superior durability of Norton convolute wheels generates optimal cost savings and superior part quality. Consistent, reliable cut performance with less shedding, wheel wearing, dressing and reshaping, results in saved time and money. Minimal airborne dust improves operator environment, safety and part finish quality. Design conformability makes these wheels operator-friendly with less body fatigue.

Norton Rapid Finish convolute wheels are an easy choice to make, and once made, are rapidly identifiable on the factory floor. While color-coding makes visual identification simple, it’s the increased performance, longer life, smear-free results and rapid operation that will substantially impact your bottom line.

Gray wheels are not just giving way to maroon general purpose ones. Norton continues to pursue best in class performance across all of their non-woven abrasive offerings. In the near future new and improved heavy deburring and final finishing wheel types will join the maroon general purpose wheel. A brown wheel will be used for heavy deburring, while final finishing wheels will be green.