Agglomerate

The term agglomerate (from the Latin agglomerare = amass, accumulate) in the area of abrasives signifies a combination of several same-size abrasive grains that are shaped into a larger granulate using resin in a technical process (wet agglomeration) before they are spread across a backing. Synthesised in this way, the agglomerated grains form a firm bond of roughly identical size and are then applied to and fixed in place on the corresponding abrasive backing just like any conventional abrasive mineral.

Agglomerate belts afford the user a service life that is much longer than the service life delivered by conventional, single-layer abrasive belts. This is why these belts are also referred to as long-life abrasive belts. They offer a ground surface that remains relatively constant throughout the entire grinding process in terms of scratch depth and scratch pattern (worn and dull grain is shed and substituted by a fresh grain located next to or under the old grain). Immediately apparent at first glance, the abrasive surface of an agglomerate belt is significantly coarser than that of a conventional abrasive belt due to its grain clusters. However, agglomerate belts are only suitable for finish grinding and not for applications involving high, punctual stress due to their larger-size grain granulates.

Klingspor's range of abrasive belts includes a wide selection of agglomerate belts, which carry the additional name of "Kulex" and vary in terms of bond hardness (soft – hard), grain type (aluminium oxide – silicon carbide) and backing (robust – flexible), thus making them suitable for a wide range of specific applications. Typical applications include the centreless cylindrical grinding of stainless steel pipes or the finish grinding of flat steel, metal sheets and coils.

Matching products

Back to Grinding terms and definitions