With so many cutting wheels available, choosing the right cutting wheel for your angle grinder, and for cutting the material you&#;re working with, can be a challenge. In this article, we&#;ll review the characteristics of a cutting wheel to consider when you choose a cutting wheel for your application.
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What is A Cutting Wheel?
Cutting wheels, also known as cut-off wheels, typically make narrow, precise cuts into a material at 90° angles. Cutting wheels cut into a material, as opposed to abrasive grinding wheels that grind large pieces of material off a workpiece from a shallow angle. Cutting wheels differ from grinding wheels in both their function and their structure. The largest advantage to using a cutting wheel and angle grinder is that they are easily configured to cut when needed.
Which Cutting Wheel, when?
.045 cutting wheels are designed specifically for cutting metal and have a much thinner thickness (known as &#;Kerf&#;) than grinding wheels (1/4&#;) and pipeline wheels (1/8&#;). This is because grinding and pipeline wheels are designed primarily for grinding metal as opposed to cutting. The added thickness of a grinding wheel makes it difficult for cutting jobs, as the user would need to remove more material in a cut, leading to frustration and a longer, less efficient cutting time.
.045 Wheels
United Abrasives best choice for efficient cutting. Note that .045 wheels.045 wheels are the. Note that .045 wheels
should never be used for deburring metal after cutting or grinding, as this type of misuse could result in wheel failure and in severe injury.
- United Abrasives
.090 Wheels:
.090 wheels are designed for cutting and notching metal.
Notching is a shearing process during which a metal scrap piece is removed from the outside edge of a metal workpiece prior to welding.
- United Abrasives
.095 Ultimate Combo Wheels:
most versatile cutting wheel is the
Ultimate Combo
Wheel, featuring a .095 thickness
. This unique thickness of this abrasive wheel allows operators to cut, notch, deburr, and light grind
without the need to change the wheel.
types of Cutting Wheels
There are two basic configurations of cutting wheels:
Type 1 / Type 41:
This is a flat cutting wheel that allows for a maximum depth of cut.
The main disadvantage of using a Type 1 wheel is that they mount closer to the guard making it more difficult for the user to see what they are cutting.
Type 27 / Type 42: Originally developed and patented by United Abrasives, this design features more of a rigid feel while cutting, enhanced operator visibility of the cut, and the ability to flush cut (as the raised hub allows for the locking nut to be recessed). These cutting wheels are also available from United Abrasives with a 5/8-11 quick change hub for ease of mounting.
Abrasive Grains
Abrasive grains are hard, sharp materials that can be used to wear away another material when one or the other is moved in pressurized contact. The most widely used abrasive grains include:
Aluminum Oxide: the most common and popular abrasive used in grinding wheels, aluminum oxide is the grain of choice for grinding high speed steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, annealed malleable iron, wrought iron, bronze and most metals. Aluminum oxide typically has a lower initial cost for the user, and delivers very good cut rates and reliable durability. Within the United Abrasive product line, the A60S and A46N feature aluminum oxide grain.
Ceramic Aluminum Oxide (Alumina Ceramic): this industrial synthetic grain fractures at a controlled rate at the submicron level, constantly creating thousands of new cutting points. Exceptionally strong, ceramic aluminum oxide is primarily used for precision grinding and high performance applications on steels, alloys, and hard-to-grind materials. Ceramics also tend to cut cooler, minimizing discoloration while maximizing product life. Within the United Abrasive product line, the SAITECH and the Ultimate Ceramic cutting wheels both feature ceramic grain technology.
Zirconium (also known as Zirconia Alumina or Zirc): made from a mixture of both aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide, this tough abrasive grain works well in high performance grinding applications, including cut-off operations, on a broad range of steels and steel alloys. Zirconium grain has an extremely durable design that allows long life and a low cost-per-cut ratio. Within the United Abrasive product line, the Z-Tech cutting wheels feature zirconium.
So, What Cutting Wheel do i use?
Ultimately, the right choice of cutting wheel to use with your angle grinder depends on what you&#;re cutting and your preferences. Use the United Abrasives chart below to help you determine the appropriate wheel.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Hengxuan Abrasive.
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Need More help selecting the right Cutting Wheel?
Download the United Abrasive Technical Info & Safety Guide for comprehensive selection charts and technical data on their wide offering of cutting wheels, flap discs, grinding wheels and more.
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About 80% of the shops I've walked into use a cut off wheel that was either just laying in the shop, in someone else's toolbox or whatever was on sale! So how do you know your using the right tool for the job? There is a variety of cut-off wheels here is a list of different types:
- Type 1 Small Diameter Cut-Off Wheel
- Type 1 Cut-Off Wheel for Angle Grinders
- Type 27 Cut-Off Wheel for Angle Grinders
Now there is 2 Wheel Types, the first is Type 1 where the wheel is flat and used primarily for cutting see image below.
Type 1
The next is Type 27 which is also used for cutting but can also be used for grinding and notching as it has a depressed center see image below.
Type 27
Small Diameter Cut-Off Wheels come in a variety of different sizes, grains and grits ranging from 2" - 4" in size. Grit range is from 36, 46 and 60 grit and can be found in Ceramic, Zirconia and Treated
Aluminum Oxide grains. These wheels are used traditionally on a pneumatic (air) straight shaft air tool or electric cut-off tool. Some companies have engineered newer tools such as this Aircat In-Line Cut-Off Tool.
So how do you choose the right cut-off wheel? How do you know which grit and grain cut-off wheel you are currently using? Well get to that soon on how to read the markings on your wheels. Let's talk about application and choosing the right wheel for your job!
Here's a list of questions you can ask yourself.
- What am I going to cut?
- Is it a ferrous or non-ferrous?
- Do I want minimum burring?
These questions should help you decide the right cut-off wheel for your application.
Let's start with the first question what material are you going to be cutting?
If you are going to be cutting ferrous metals such as welds, steel and Iron. You can use your most common abrasive grain which is Aluminum Oxide and any grit range should suffice for these metals. Aluminum oxide cut-off wheel with 60 and 46 grit are ideal for sheet metal with minimum burring.
A great secondary application for this abrasive grain and grit would be stainless steel and high tensile alloy for fast burr free cutting use 60 girt.
The only exception for non-ferrous metals with Aluminum Oxide would be copper we would recommend a 36 grit cut off wheel.
Stainless steel is treated different than any other metals due to it's properties. For this particular application we would move up to a higher grade abrasive called Zirconia. Zirconia grain
cut-off wheel would best be suitable for stainless steel and high tensile as primary application, the wheels typically come in 1/16 and 1/32 thickness with medium (46 grit ) to fine (60 grit).
The next abrasive grain is ceramic, now one of the key components in using a ceramic cut-off wheel is it's contaminate-free cutting of stainless steel. No iron, sulfur or chlorine. It's wheel life is going to be superior to that of any other grain it well outlast aluminum oxide and zirconia wheels. It's designed to cut all forms of stainless steel, high tensile alloys, chrome and
Inconel alloys. If your not on a budget and performance is a must a ceramic cut off wheel well surely impress.
So how do you know what you are currently using? The wheels you have should have ANSI identification marker to help identify the wheel below in the image as you can see under "Spec" it has TA60U
TA = Treated Aluminum Oxide
60 = Grit
U= Bond Hardness
Now your wheel might just have an "A'" which means it's just your regular Aluminum Oxide not Treated. Yes, there is different grades of grains we can discuss that topic on another day! To wrap up choosing the right small diameter cut-off wheel here's a snapshot from good, better and best.
- Good - Aluminum Oxide - Primary Application = Welds, Iron and Steel , Secondary = Stainless Steel & High Tensile
- Better - Zirconia - Primary = Stainless Steel and High Tensile Alloy
- Best - Ceramic - Primary = Contaminate Free , Stainless Steel and High Tensile Alloy
- Higher the grit minimum burring.
Small diameter wheels are not made for cutting non-ferrous metals for information on cutting non-ferrous such as Aluminum see part 2 of this blog.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website cutting disc.
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