Featured End User 3 - Metallic Surface Finishing

Weld Removal

We met with the Paint Manufacturing Engineer, who handles all of the abrasives and the evaluations of all finishes, ensuring this End User is always striving for the finer and more consistent finish for their customers. There were two main discs being used for weld removal: Sia Zirconia in 24 and 36 grit, and Norton Greenlyte 24 and 36 grit. Ron made it clear to us that getting to one disc would be key to obtaining a finer finish for the polishing steps.

 

Weld Removal, Cabs/Doors Initial Evaluation - 7” Resin Fibre Disc

Our initial review showed that this End User used 2 different grits on 2 different discs. They had just switched to the Sia Zirconia discs for aluminum grinding and were still using the Norton Greenlyte for all stainless grinding. As it turned out, many of their operators were using the Norton Greenlyte for aluminum applications due to its increased life compared to the Sia Zirconia disc.

In the door section, the operators were using the Sia Zirconia discs as suggested, but they noticed life was not what it should be. Both the cab and door areas had to use a steady flow of polishing oil to get maximum life out of their discs. Because aluminum is such a soft metal, it tends to load abrasive products when heat is generated. The polishing oil keeps that heat down, but is extremely messy for the operators and cost manufacturers thousands of dollars on an annual basis. Another observation of the polishing oil, was the amount of Tyvek suits being used due to the mess the oil presented. This ultimately results in more unnecessary spending.

 

Suggested Arc Product

Since heat generation is always the problem when working with aluminum plate material, ARC developed a disc specially suited for this particular application. We applied an extra layer of grinding aid to an Aluminum Oxide Resin Fibre Disc, which has many of the same characteristics as wax and is baked directly into the disc. Initial in-house testing of this product showed serious improvements in grams removed, as well as finish. Only 36 grit was tested to help this End User achieve a finer finish right away.

 

Conclusion for Weld Removal, Cabs/Doors Initial Evaluation - 7” Resin Fibre Disc

It was evident in our in-house and direct shop floor testing that our waxed disc was able to easily outperform the Sia Zirconia 24 and 36 grit discs. In the door area, the waxed disc was outperforming the Sia disc by at least 2 to 1, and some operators were seeing triple the life. In the cab area, the waxed disc was as good as, or better than Norton Greenlyte, according to operator feedback. The 36 grit cut like a 24 grit disc and left a better finish. The End User requested a finer finish with more productivity and the ARC 36 grit waxed disc delivered.

 

Metallic Surface Finishing

Again, we met with the Paint Manufacturing Engineer to find the best way to cut down on their abrasives usage. As it stood, they were using 7 grits on 4 abrasive products when polishing. Our intention was to take that number to 1 grit on 2 abrasive products.

 

Metallic Surface Finishing, Cabs/Doors Initial Evaluation - 5” and 8” PSA

We observed a few different abrasive products being used based on the cabs and doors. Since there are many different cabs and doors in production, it was our intention to use the wax once again to help with life and finish. The use of wax will play a key role in making polishing oil obsolete, which is a big plus for all operators that helped out with testing.

The main disc being used was the Norton R228 in 5 and 8” discs. Grits used in these sizes are 50, 60 and 80. This disc is used on aluminum as well as body filler. The other products being used were the Norton BlueMag in 100 grit, 3M Imperial in 120 grit and 3M Exodust Purple in 100 grit. All of these products require polishing oil, which again presents needless mess, and the primary metal is aluminum, so the discs wear out prematurely before providing maximum life.

 

Suggested Arc Products

Wax PSA discs will be the key to aluminum finishing. By waxing the discs, operators will be able to go directly from a 36 grit to a 100 grit Resin Fibre Disc. This will cut out the 50, 60 and 80 grit steps needed to get to that 100 or 120 grit finish.

We suggested our 8” Aluminum Oxide waxed disc in 100 grit to replace the 8” Norton R228 in 50, 60 and 80 grit. Plant testing showed that life was 2 to 3 times longer on doors and up to 5 times longer on cabs, based on operator feedback. The operators were also able to work quicker and not change out as many discs, because the wax kept the heat generation to a minimum - providing the maximum life of the product.

For the 5” discs we suggested the use of our PREDATOR™ 100 grit. PREDATOR™ is a heavyweight PSA that is designed for long life and rapid metal removal. This disc will replace the 50, 60 and 80 grit Norton R228 and the 100 grit 3M Exodust Purple/Norton BlueMag. According to operator feedback, the PREDATOR™ 100 grit finished very well and had a good resistance to tearing on sharp corners. It also outlasted the current PSA offering 3 to 4 times the life. For areas that are being polished on plain aluminum, the use of waxed PREDATOR™ will help immensely. For body filler sections, unwaxed PREDATOR™ is the best option.

Another 5” disc being suggested is our Aluminum Oxide 100 grit. This would replace the same items listed as replacements for the PREDATOR™ 100 grit disc. We are giving the operators the option to pick and choose which one they like the best. This product will perform very well and should show productivity improvement, but the amount of increased productivity will have to be shown with further plant testing. Our in-house testing shows this product is very comparable to the current product being used. The same also applies for the Aluminum Oxide disc as the PREDATOR™ disc on plain aluminum and body filler polishing; Waxed for plain aluminum and unwaxed for body filler.

 

Conclusion for Weld Removal Cabs/Doors Initial Evaluation - 5” and 8” PSA

The ARC waxed PSA definitely showed a performance increase and finer finish in less steps. The End User asked us to find cost savings, productivity improvements, and a finer finish, and all of this was achieved by suggesting a waxed and unwaxed version of PREDATOR™ and Aluminum Oxide PSA Discs. The use of polishing oil will also be substantially reduced, resulting in less spending on Tyvek suits. Operators were extremely happy to see the oil eliminated.