Polishing agent is abrasive plus media, media may be water, oil, alcohols and other substances, with different additives, the abrasive will be dispersed in the media, and then with polishing cloth to achieve the purpose of grinding and polishing, first of all, to understand the types of commonly used abrasives in general, said to be divided into two categories, one for the superabrasives and the other for the general abrasives, superabrasives, there are only two kinds of abrasives, including diamond and cubic boron nitride, general abrasives commonly found in silicon carbide (i.e. emery, aluminum oxide (i.e. corundum, zirconia, silicon oxide, etc.), in the grinding media and often will be used in the grinding media. Cubic boron nitride, general abrasives commonly found in silicon carbide (i.e. emery), aluminum oxide (i.e. corundum), zirconia, silicon oxide, etc., in the abrasive media and often add some acids and alkalis to achieve the effect of corrosion polishing, such as polishing stone or stainless steel will be added to the abrasive agent with a little acid (e.g. hydrochloric acid), polishing ceramics or silicon-carbide materials will be added to alkaline solution (e.g. potassium permanganate), and will even add peroxides and other process methods in the media. Adding hydrogen peroxide and other process methods to soften and activate the surface of the workpiece to achieve the effect of increasing the polishing rate and improving the surface of the workpiece, but also because of these factors, so the choice of polishing cloth is very important, different types of polishing cloth have different acid and alkali resistance, but also have different porosity and water absorption, to be able to adsorb different sizes of abrasive particles, in order to achieve optimal efficiency of grinding and polishing, such as coarse polishing is suitable for For example, in rough polishing, it is suitable to use foaming material with coarse porosity, or choose polishing cloth with a little hardness to achieve the purpose of quick removal, in medium polishing, the main purpose is to remove the traces of rough polishing and leave uniform grinding and polishing marks on the surface of the workpiece, it is suitable to use weaving with a little hardness to achieve the required surface effect, and in the final polishing, it is required to be free of traces, and do not allow the appearance of any small micro-scratches that should not appear, because Any micro-scratch will cause the whole process to be ruined, then we should choose the material with higher water content and oil content, and with porous long or short pile, because this can have enough lubrication will not be generated because of the heat generated during the grinding and polishing, resulting in dry polishing phenomenon, leading to abrasive agglomeration, and finally cause the most unwanted micro-scratch to occur. The following is a list of commonly used abrasives and suggestions for matching abrasives with polishing cloths.
superabrasive | Diamond | Diamond |
boron nitride | cBN | |
General Abrasives | Black silicon carbide | C |
Green Silicon Carbide | GC | |
Brown Aluminum Oxide | A | |
White Aluminum Oxide | WA | |
Pink Aluminum Oxide | PA | |
hybrid Aluminum Oxide | HA | |
Artificial Aluminum Oxide | AE | |
Aluminum Zirconium Oxide | AZ | |
Zirconium oxide | Z | |
silicon dioxide (SiO2) | SiO2 |
workflows | Polishing Cloth Type | Product Description | Polishing liquid/paste type | |
Material Properties | Scope of Application | |||
rough polishing | polypropylene | Hard fabric, lint-free, with adhesive backing | Iron-based and thermally sprayed metal coatings | 6μm and above Diamond |
Acetate Fiber | Rigid compressed perforated non-woven fabric with adhesive backing | Ceramics, carbides, petrographic, hard metals, glass and metal-based composites | ||
Nylon Brush | ||||
Pig Bristle Brush | Similar to human hair, from root to end is from thick to thin, good elasticity. | Ceramics, carbides, petrographic, hard metals, glass and metal-based composites | ||
Sisal Brush | Natural fiber, good water absorption | Ceramics, carbides, petrographic, hard metals, glass and metal-based composites | ||
Wool Wheel | Hardness and density can be produced according to requirements, with good abrasion resistance. | Titanium alloy, stainless steel, die steel, hard alloys, plastics, metal plating | ||
medium polish | Nylon Knitting | Medium hardness nylon fabric, oil-resistant, lint-free, with adhesive backing | Iron-based, sintered carbides and cast iron | 6μm and above Diamond |
polypropylene | Compressed nonwoven fabric with adhesive backing | Iron-based, non-ferrous metals, electronic packaging, printed circuit boards, thermal spray coatings, cast iron, ceramics, minerals, composite materials, plastics | 15-0.02μm Diamond/Aluminum Oxide/Silicon Oxide | |
Knitting Wool | Soft synthetic fabric, lint-free, with adhesive backing | Iron-based, non-ferrous metals, microelectronics, coatings | 15-0.02μm Diamond/Aluminum Oxide | |
Acetate Weave | Medium Durometer Synthetic Silk Fabric with Adhesive Backing | Iron-based, non-ferrous metals, microelectronics, coatings | 9-1μm Diamond | |
Wool Wheel | Hardness and density can be produced according to requirements, with good abrasion resistance. | Titanium alloy, stainless steel, die steel, hard alloys, plastics, metal plating | ||
Horse Hair Brush | Softness between pig bristle and wool, good toughness, polishing is recommended to use horsehair. | Titanium alloy, stainless steel, die steel, hard alloys, plastics, metal plating | ||
fine polish | Polyester Nylon | Soft plush rayon with adhesive backing | Iron-based, non-ferrous metals, ceramics, composites, printed circuit boards, cast iron, plastics, and electronic components. | 5-0.003μm Diamond/Aluminum Oxide/Silicon Oxide |
Polyester Fiber | Soft plush fabric with adhesive backing | Iron-based, non-ferrous metals | 3-0.003μm Diamond/Aluminum Oxide/Silicon Oxide | |
Foaming Neoprene | Soft, short pile synthetic velvet with adhesive backing | Soft non-ferrous metals, microelectronic packaging materials | 1-0.003μm Diamond/Aluminum Oxide/Silicon Oxide | |
Foaming Neoprene | Porous, chemically resistant synthetic fabric with adhesive backing | Titanium alloy, stainless steel, lead/tin materials, solder, electronic packaging, soft non-ferrous metals, plastics | ||
woolen brush | Soft but slightly less flexible, won’t leave brush marks | Titanium alloy, stainless steel, die steel, hard alloys, plastics, metal plating |