New Foundry Wheels Reduce Shipyard Grinding Time
New Norton Abrasives BlueFire Portable Foundry Wheels Reduce Grind Time More Than 40%.
Norton, an abrasives manufacturer and provider of metal fabrication abrasive products, has introduced Norton BlueFire zirconia aluminum portable foundry wheels for the metal fabricating industry. BlueFire Portable Cup Snagging Wheels provide exceptional performance improvements over conventional zirconia products in foundries, welding shops, fabrication facilities, steel mills, and shipyards, including a reduction in grind time of over 40% and an increase of almost 130% in G-ratio.
Norton’s BlueFire portable snagging cup wheels are positioned as Norton’s “better” choice for steel, iron and graphite foundry snagging jobs. More friable zirconia alumina grain and durable resin bond technologies provide higher metal removal rates than standard zirconia alumina blends and enable the grain to stay sharper and free-cutting longer, for increased wheel life on high- and medium-pressure applications. The wheels enjoy a strong operator preference due to the fact that less pressure and exertion is needed to complete the job, which reduces jamming and gouging of the work piece.
“Our new BlueFire portable foundry wheels for the metal fabricating industry provide the ideal balance of performance and price for steel, iron and graphite applications such as removing gates and risers, flaws and cracks from a workpiece, smoothing weld seams, cleaning casting and rough beveling,” said Mr. David Long, Director of Marketing and Strategy at Saint-Gobain Abrasives.
BlueFire portable foundry wheels are available in 4NZ for tough metal removal jobs as well as NZC and NZAC for steel and dirty, scale-covered castings. An extended cutting capacity ensures less down time and higher productivity with less operator time required to remove more material. Wheels are available in many stock sizes from 4/3 x 2 x 5/8-11 to 6/4-13/16 x 2 x 5/8-11. Wheels can also be made-to-order in grit sizes 14-36 and grades N-T in the following categories:
- Portable Type 01 Straight Wheels - reinforced and non-reinforced, 4” – 10” diameter
- Portable Type 06 Straight and Type 11 Flaring Cups - Anchor back and full steel back bushings, 4” -8” diameter
- Cones and Plugs - Type 16, 17 and 17R cones; Type 18, 18R and 19 plugs