Grinding tips for professionals - Part 4

Sep 12, 2019

Speed is everything when it comes to processing stainless steel weld seams. Thanks to its aggressive grain and multibond, the SMT 636 Supra impresses with a fast, cool grind.

It simply stays cool

Speed is everything when it comes to processing stainless steel weld seams. Thanks to its aggressive grain and multibond, the SMT 636 Supra impresses with a fast, cool grind.

 

The choice of a suitable grinding tool is extremely important in the processing of stainless steel weld seams. The passive layer makes the stainless steel corrosion-resistant. If the material gets too hot during processing, however, this effect is lost and the stainless steel can rust. During weld seam processing especially, it is therefore essential to avoid excessive thermal stress which can lead to the workpiece developing a blue discolouration. If the stainless steel is already discoloured, the ground point must be reprocessed so that the chrome contained in the stainless steel returns to the surface and a passive layer can form.

Aggressive abrasives have proven their effectiveness at preventing this time-consuming additional work and at keeping the grinding temperature low. Anton Bodrin, Team Leader Product Management at Klingspor, explains: “The more aggressive the abrasive, the faster they achieve the desired degree of removal. And the shorter the processing time, the lower the temperature.”
The speed plays a particularly important role when it comes to avoiding annealing colours on stainless steel, says the expert. At low speeds, the processing time is prolonged and the thermal heat stress increases. The formation of annealing colours is the result. Shorter processing times are achieved with an aggressive abrasive. This is because, the shorter the contact time between the workpiece and the tool, the lower the penetration of heat into the material. The combination of these two parameters alone can level out the weld seams in stainless steel such that the temperature remains below the critical threshold.
There are also specialist products that make the processing of stainless steel more convenient even over larger areas. One example is the SMT 636 Supra abrasive mop disc from Klingspor. “This is our stainless steel specialist. The great thing about the SMT 636 Supra is the combination of the self-sharpening zirconium corundum and multibond, a special layer of grinding slats. This ensures a cool grind”, explains Bodrin

Detailed view: the multibond (green layer) prevents
high temperatures during stainless steel grinding.

The removal and finish can be carried out in just a single step with the SMT 636 Supra. The curved design is especially ideal for weld seam processing

 

Advice from the expert:

"Anyone wanting to remove stainless steel weld seams should ideally use products with multibond”, says Anton Bodrin, Team Leader Product Management at Klingspor

 

 

 

 

Bildmotiv Innovation

Conventional abrasive mop disc without multibond:
Higher grinding temperature leads to annealing colours.Time-consuming and costly reworking is required.

Bildmotiv Innovation

 Abrasive mop disc with multibond:
Cool grind thanks to special multibond application. Prevents the formation of annealing colours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Pro tips: