In House Test Report - Aurora Caskets Company

Objective

Find a flap disc that could produce a better cut than the current product, with a good finish and a smaller grinding footprint.

 

Summary

ARC’s recommendation of materials for this application is a 4” Predator flap disc. 

Testing showed that the 4” Predator flap disc can get a faster cut with a smaller grinding footprint than the 3M 747D disc could get.

Our testing has shown that it is also possible to completely skip the 36 grit flap disc, dropping the process down from three discs to only two discs.

A faster and higher cut is achieved in the first 20 minutes with the 4” Predator flap disc than either of the 4 ½” 3M discs.

 

Products Used

3M 4 ½” 36, 60, and 80 grit 747D flap discs ARC 4” 36, 60, and 80 grit Predator flap discs

4-1/2 x 7/8” 4 x 5/8”

 

Results

An automated grind test was performed on all of the flap discs. The automated test consists of a test machine, with a Suhner flex shaft machine attached into it.

The machine was running at a speed of approximately 11,000 RPM, with the flap disc at a 10 degree angle, and a counterbalance of 1538 grams. The cut of each disc was measured throughout the test and the disc weight (life) was measured at the beginning and end. The 36 grit test was performed for 20 minutes and the 60 and 80 grit tests were performed for 25 minutes each.  The test was performed on the edge of mild steel, stopping every minute to weigh the metal.

Conclusions

Our recommendations based on these results are to use ARC’s 4” 60 and 80 grit Predator flap discs.