Home / News & Blog / Abrasive Blog / The Role of Fused Alumina in Modern Abrasive Tool Manufacturing
In modern industrial production, abrasive manufacturing is an indispensable part of many processing technologies, and fused alumina, as one of the important raw materials for abrasive manufacturing, occupies a pivotal position in the entire abrasive industry with its excellent performance and wide application fields. Fused alumina plays an important role in modern abrasive manufacturing and has the following main functions:
Grinding Applications
Due to its unique physical properties such as high hardness and heat resistance, fused alumina is widely used in grinding operations. It can be applied to the grinding of materials like glass and jade, as well as for ceramic and precision workpieces. For instance, in glass processing, fused alumina effectively removes surface imperfections, enhancing the smoothness and quality of the glass. Its high hardness and wear resistance make jade carving an ideal grinding material, enabling the intricate carving of complex patterns and fine details.
Abrasive Tool Manufacturing
Fused alumina also has important applications in abrasive tool manufacturing, especially in the production of resin abrasive tools. It is used in the production of various sandpapers, grinding wheels, and gauze together with other types of abrasives (such as brown fused alumina and black fused alumina). The high purity and uniform particle distribution of fused alumina enable it to provide better cutting performance and longer service life in abrasive tools. For example, grinding wheels made of fused alumina can maintain stable cutting force when grinding high-hardness materials, reduce abrasive tool wear, and improve production efficiency.
Sandblasting For Rust Removal
Fused alumina can also be used for sandblasting rust removal, resulting in a cleaner and more compact metal surface that enhances coating adhesion and corrosion resistance. During the sandblasting process, fused alumina particles effectively remove rust, oxidation scales, and old coatings from the metal surface without causing excessive damage to the metal substrate. The treated metal surface achieves a moderate roughness, which allows for better bonding with new coatings, thereby improving adhesion and enhancing the coating’s corrosion resistance.
Waterjet Cutting
In high-pressure hydraulic jet applications, fused alumina is used as an abrasive to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of waterjet cutting. It is widely applied in cutting pipelines and steel structures. Fused alumina particles, carried by the high-pressure water stream, generate powerful cutting forces capable of quickly cutting through various materials, including metals, stone, and ceramics. Compared to traditional cutting methods, waterjet cutting offers advantages such as no heat-affected zone, high cutting precision, and smooth cutting edges, making it suitable for high-precision and complex cutting tasks.
Filter Media
Fused alumina, as a filter media, can enhance filtration efficiency in water treatment and contribute to water purification. Alumina filter cartridges are widely used and technologically mature ceramic filtration elements. Due to the excellent properties of the material, these cartridges offer advantages such as high-pressure resistance, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance.
Alumina filter cartridges provide high filtration precision, making them suitable for precision filtration of various media, with an ideal filtration accuracy reaching 0.1 μm and a filtration efficiency exceeding 95%. In addition, the cartridges have high mechanical strength, making them suitable for filtering high-pressure fluids, with an ideal working pressure of up to 16 MPa. Their excellent thermal stability also enables them to filter high-temperature gases, such as flue gas, with an ideal working temperature of up to 900°C.
Through these applications, fused alumina not only demonstrates its fundamental role as an abrasive but also plays a critical role in enhancing production efficiency and product quality across various fields. With continuous technological advancements and growing market demand, the applications of fused alumina in modern abrasive manufacturing hold even greater potential for the future.
