Abrasive Cutting Wheels

The choice of an Abrasive Cutting Wheels for a production cutting applications

The choice of the correct cutting wheel for a particular application is very important to obtain a high quality cut surface without burning and with minimal burr. The choice of abrasive, grit size, type of bonding wheel speed and wheel thickness are the contributing factors to the performance of a cutting wheel.

Abrasive Cutting Wheel

Aluminum Oxide is the usual abrasive for cutting ferrous material e.g. stainless steels, inconel, waspalloy nimonics, high speed steels, case hardened steels.

Silicon Carbide is preferred for cutting non-ferrous materials e.g. titanium, copper.

Diamond cutting wheels, called superabrasives, are used for ceramics, glasses, carbon fibre composites, fibreglass

Abrasive Cutting Wheels

There are two methods for bonding Aluminium Oxide or Silicon Carbide particles in the abrasive blade: RUBBER BONDING & RESIN BONDING. Rubber bonded cutting wheels are always used with coolant. They have close tolerance thickness and can be used with carbide guides. Resin bonded cutting wheels can be used with or without coolant and generally do not have the tolerance on thickness to be able to use wheel guides.

As a general rule small diameter thin cutting wheels give a higher quality finish than larger diameter thicker wheels. However wheel wear has to be considered in the choice of wheel size. Similarly fine grain wheels give a better surface finish but wear faster than course grit wheels.

There is an optimum wheel speed for cutting a particular material cross section. If the wheel is run faster then this it acts as if it is harder wheel. An inverter is recommended on and abrasive cutting machine so that the correct spindle speed can be determined

Summary of Tips for successful cutting

  • In general ferrous materials are cut with a bonded aluminium oxide cutting blade whereas bonded silicon carbide cutting blades are used for non ferrous materials
  • Always clamp the material on both sides of the cut
  • A courser wheel will remove material faster but give a lower quality surface finish
  • A finer grit wheel will wear faster but give a higher quality surface finish
  • The thinner the cutting blade, the better the surface finish but the more fragile in use
  • Use a soft blade (more abrasive particles, less bond) for hard materials and a hard blade for soft materials
  • The cutting machine should have a speed inverter to select the optimum for a particular cutting wheel
  • Wet cutting using coolant is always preferred to cutting without coolant. Wet cutting reduces burning of the cut surface and generally gives reduces burrs
  • WHEEL WEAR considerations for production cutting will often affect choices based on the above criteria
  1. Choose a cutting wheel for an application

    2. Choosing a cutting wheel from the tables listed below does not always give satisfactory results. The table below lists the actual materials to be cut and the approximate size of the pieces. The user could find this a simpler method of choosing the correct cutting wheel.

    Material Dia. < 25mm/1in Dia. < 50mm/2in Dia. < 75mm/3in
    Stainless Steels 01-4280 01-4281 01-4282
    Inconel 01-4285 01-4286 01-4287
    Haselloy 01-4290 01-4291 01-4292
    Waspalloy 01-4295 01-4296 01-4297
    Nickel Superalloys,Nimonic, Kovar, Stellite 01-4300 01-4301 01-4302
    Mild Steels 01-4305 01-4306 01-4307
    Cast Iron 01-4310 01-4311 01-4312
    Austenitic Steels  01-4315 01-4316 01-4317
    High carbon steel 01-4320 01-4321 01-4322
    Medium carbon steel 01-4325 01-4326 01-4327
    Low carbon steel 01-4330 01-4331 01-4332
    Tool Steel, High Speed Steel, Die Steel 01-4340 01-4341 01-4342
    Cast Iron, Grey cast Iron,Chilled Iron, S.G.Iron, Linear bars, Camshafts 01-4345 01-4346 01-4347
    Titanium blades, Titanium implants 01-4350 01-4351 01-4352
    Molybdenum, Tungsten, Silicon, Iridium 01-4355 01-4356 01-4357
    Aluminium,  Brass, Copper,  01-4360 01-4361 01-4362
    Bronze, Phosphor Bronze, Gunmetal Bronze, Aluminium Bronze 01-4365 01-4366 01-4367
    Metal Matrix Composites, Carbon Fibre Composites, Kevlar  01-4400 01-4401 01-4402
    Non-Metallics, Concrete, Plastic, Ceramics, PCB material, Fibre Glass 01-4405 01-4406 01-4407
    Rocks samples 01-4410 01-4411 01-4412
    OTH ER- please specify 01-4500 01-4501 01-4502

    Trial Cutting Service
    Many cutting applications in the materials laboratory require cutting blades outside the standard range described above. In order to determine which blade is optimum for the user's application a cutting service is provided. This service is free and sufficient material should be sent to us so that a number of different blades can be trailed.

  2. Range of Standard Cutting Wheels

    3. Standard Cutting Wheels- for wet or dry cutting
    Resin bonded Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) or Silicon Carbide (SiC) cutting blades (wheels) with 32mm/1 1/4in central hole can be used with or without coolant. They are arranged in terms of hardness of material to be cut. The ultra thin cutting blades are most suitable for applications where a high quality cut surface is required with a minimum of kerf removal.

    Cutting wheels are packed in quantities of 10

    Description Abrasive 230 x 1.6mm 9in x 0.060in 250 x1.6mm  10in x 0.060in 300 x 2.0 mm 12 x 0.080in 350 x 2.4mm 14 x 0.095in
    Very hard ferrous, case hardened RC 60+  Al2O3 01-1230 01-1250 01-1300 01-1350
    Hard ferrous materials RC50-60 Al2O3 01-1231 01-1251 01-1301 01-1351
    Medium ferrous materials RC35-50 Al2O3 01-1232 01-1252 01-1302 01-1352
    Soft non ferrous materials SiC 01-1233 01-1253 01-1303 01-1353
    Hard non ferrous SiC 01-1234 01-1254 01-1304 01-1354
    Ultrathin cutting blades for Delicate cutting   01-1238 01-1258 01-1308 01-1358
    *Cutting blades with 1 1/4in holes are available to special order

    Smaller Diameter Resin Bonded Cutting Wheels
    A range of small diameter cutting wheels for compact bench top cutting machines including low speed saws. Hole size is 1/2 inch but 32mm is available to special order. Can be used for wet or dry cutting.

    Description Abrasive 125 x0.5mm 5 x 0.020in 150 x 0.5mm 6 x 0.020in 175 x 0.8mm 7 x 0.030in 200 x 0.8mm 8 x 0.030in
    Very Hard ferrous materials RC60+ Al2O3 01-1125 01-1150 01-1175 01-1200
    Hard ferrous materials RC50-60 Al2O3 01-1126 01-1151 01-1176 01-1201
    Medium ferrous materials RC35-50 Al2O3 01-1127 01-1152 01-1177 01-1202
    Non ferrous materials SiC 01-1128 01-1153 01-1178 01-1203

    Precision Cutting Wheels – for wet cutting
    These rubber bonded cutting wheels can be used only for wet cutting. They are manufactured to higher tolerances than resin wheels both on flatness and thickness. Their reduced thickness means that they are good for cutting materials, both ferrous and non ferrous metals where loss of material is important and quality of finish needs to be very good .The cool cutting gives a high quality finish and saves time on grinding and polishing. These wheels are especially useful for cutting stainless and titanium tube samples.

    Wheel size Rubber Abrasive 230 x 0.8mm 9 x 0.030in 250 x 1mm 10in x 0.040in 300 x 1 mm 12 x 0.040in 350 x 1.2mm 14 x 0.050in
    Hard ferrous materials RC50-60+ Al2O3 01-2231 01-2251 01-2301 01-2351
    Medium ferrous materials RC35-50 Al2O3 01-2232 01-2252 01-2302 01-2352
    Non ferrous materials SiC 01-2235 01-2255 01-2305 01-2355

    Smaller Diameter Precision Cutting Wheels

    Wheel size Type 100 x 0.3mm 4 x 0.012in 125 x 0.5mm 5 x 0.020in 150x 0.5mm 6 x 0.020in 175 x 0.5mm 7 x 0.020in 200 x0.8mm 0.030in
    Hard ferrous materials RC50-60+ Al2O3 07-2100 07-2125 07-2150 07-2175 07-2200
    Medium ferrous materials RC35-50 Al2O3 07-2101 07-2126 07-2151 07-2176 07-2201
    Non ferrous materials SiC 07-2105 07-2129 07-2155 07-2179 07-2205

    Hole Adapters for other spindle diameters
    The above range of cutting blades have 32mm holes. To fit them onto smaller spindles an adapter is required to effectively reduce the hole size.

    Size Product code
    Wheel Adapter 32mm to 12.7mm/ 1/2in 01-2500
    Wheel Adapter 32mm to 22mm 01-2501
    Wheel Adapter 32mm to 25mm 01-2502
    Wheel Adapter 1 1/4in to 1/2in 01-2505
    Wheel Adapter 1 1/4in to 1in 01-2506
    specify outer diameter and inner diameter required Other sizes:01-2510

  3. Wheel Wear considerations

    4. Some general considerations on wheel wear. If a cutting wheel wears down from it’s diameter D0 to a maximum worn diameter D1 (i) when cutting a bar of diameter d then the number of cuts n from the wheel is given approximately by:

    n . πd2 = Kπ (D02 - D12 ) = Kπ(D0 - D1) (D0 + D1) therefore:

    (ii). n = K (D0 + D1) (D0 - D1) / d2

    where K is a constant which varies between 1 and 2 for bar

    For tube of outside diameter d0 inner diameter d1 and wall thickness w, then the number of cuts from a given cutting wheel diameter Do:
    (Do is really D subscript 0)

       n( d02 - d12 ) = K(D02 - D12)
    n = K.(D02 - D12)
    ( d02 - d12 )
    n =    K.(D02 - D12)
    ( d0+d1) ( d0 -d1)

    For thin walled tube, since d0 & d1 are similar (d) and therefore 2w = d0 - d1

    n = K (D02 - D12) / 2d . 2w

    (iii). n = K (D02 - D12) / 4dw

    Where K is a constant generally between 1.5 and 3.

    All of the above formulas are based on the theoretical situation of constant peripheral speed as the wheel wears down. The constant K takes the real situation into account.

  4. Accessories

    5. Coolant Tanks & Coolant
    2 sizes of recirculating coolant tanks are available for converting machines for wet cutting. The powerful 55lit/min recirculating pump is fitted on the tank lid and supplies coolant via 12.7mm/ 1/2 in tubing.

    Product   Code
    Coolant tank, liquid capacity 18lit/4gal 220V 1 phase 01-3000
    Coolant tank, liquid capacity 18lit/4gal 110V1phase 01-3001
    Coolant tank, liquid capacity 18lit/4gal 380V-415V 3 phase 01-3002
    Coolant tank, liquid capacity 18lit/4gal 220V 3phase 01-3001
    Coolant tank, liquid capacity 45lit/10gal 220V 1 phase 01-3005
     Coolant tank, liquid capacity 45lit/10gal 110V 1phase 01-3006
    Coolant tank, liquid capacity 45lit/10gal  380V-415V 3 phase 01-3007
    Coolant tank, liquid capacity 45lit/10gal 220V 3 phase 01-3008

    Coolant
    A non frothy coolant which is Eco friendly. Request the MSDS sheet Dilution is approximately 40:1 water : coolant.

    Product Code
    Emulself Eco EDC 1 litre 01-3120
    Emulself Eco EDC 5 litres 01-3121

    Particle extraction during cutting
    In general it is not necessary to use an extraction unit when cutting with coolant. However for dry cutting the situation is different. Dry cutting machines are fitted with a spark chute/extraction manifold which leads to an adapter on the rear panel of the canopy. An external extraction unit can be connected via ducting to this adapter.

    Quick Lock Vices RH & LH
    Right hand or Left hand quick lock cam operated vices which have T bolts M6 to secure to a base plate. Front and rear jaws are detachable.
    Two sizes are available:

    Product Code
    RH Vice 63mm/2.5in capacity 03-3220
    LH Vice 63mm/2.5in capacity 03-3221
    RH Vice 95mm/3.75in capacity 03-3222
    LH Vice 93mm/3.75in capacity 03-3223

  5. Diamond Tipped Cutting Blades

    6. All blades in the range have continuous rims which are diamond tipped. They are used to cut materials which cannot be cut with an alumina or silicon carbide cutting wheel. Examples are ceramics, PCBs, composites, glasses. They cannot be used for cutting ferrous metals and alloys. Three types of diamond coating are available:

    Metal Bonded Diamond Wheels
    For the hardest sample cutting. 32mm/1 1/4in hole size unless different hole size specified. Applications include: Composite materials, geological materials, ceramics.

    Resin Bonded Diamond Cutting Wheels
    Give a very high quality finish 32mm/1 1/4in hole size unless a different hole size specified. Applications include: Carbides, ceramics, glasses.

    Electroplated Diamond Wheels
    Suitable for Dry cutting, economically priced 32mm/1 1/4in hole size unless different hole size is specified. Applications include: Composite materials, resin mounted samples, fibreglass.

    Ordering Information

    Blade Diameter mm 150mm   175 mm   200mm    250mm   250mm  
    Inches 6 in -||- 7 in   -||- 8in -||- 10in -||- 10in -||-
    Metal Bonded Diamond Wheels 02-1150 1mm 02-1175 1mm 02-1200 1.2mm 02-1250 1.5mm 02-1253 1.1mm
    Resin Bonded Diamond Wheels 02-1151 1mm 02-1176 1mm 02-1201 1mm 02-1251 1.2mm    
    Electroplated Diamond Wheels 02-1152 1mm 02-1177 1mm 02-1202 1.2mm 02-1252 1.5mm    

    Blade Diameter mm 300mm   350mm  
    Inches 12in -||- 14in -||-
    Metal Bonded Diamond Wheels 02-1300 2mm    
    Resin Bonded Diamond Wheels 02-1301 1.5mm 02-1351 1.5mm
    Electroplated Diamond Wheels 02-1302 2mm