Finishing Abrasives

Stainless Steel A Beautiful Finish If Done Properly

The steel fabrication industry is a challenging one where the stresses and strains of finding continuing work for employees is counterbalanced by the excitement of the signing of a new contract that will guarantee work for months or perhaps years ahead. It is an industry where engineers and administrators backed by skilled tradespeople create everything from small components and pipes to large machines. While the work can be hot and dirty, and sometimes boring and repetitious, there is also enormous satisfaction when a contract is successfully completed, and immense pride among the workers who take great care to create a fine finish to their work.

Steel fabricators finishing methods vary depending on the type of product being finished, and the requirements of the client. Some materials require more attention to finishing than others, especially if appearance is a key feature of the completed work. To illustrate, the smooth glowing lines of stainless steel Brisbane is a feature of the material, and is achieved through a variety of finishing methods.

Finishing operations for stainless steel have certain characteristics that need to be considered and will determine the power needed to remove materials, the types of abrasive to be used, precautionary measures regarding excessive temperatures and proper grinding techniques.

Grinding, i.e. the process of removing metal under control to smooth away rough material that the production process might leave, is a key step in finishing stainless steel. Grinding can be done in grades from fine grinding to course or rough. Coarse grinding is used to remove excess metal from weld beads, flash on forgings or run-outs on castings. Fine grinding is the finishing step.

Some grinding is done progressively using a series of wheels of decreasing grit size to fix an existing surface condition. The initial size is selected on the basis of the coarseness of the abrasive necessary to remove the unwanted material. The bulk of the work is done with the course grits and the finer grits used for the finishing.

Welds are cleaned with stainless steel wire brushes and the excess metal in weld beads removed by grinding. The work is protected from flying pieces of metal cuttings by shields of paper or other materials. On light grade steel fabrication Brisbane work, thermal distortion can occur if wet rags are not placed around the work to reduce heat.

Skill and experience are the keys to finishing stainless steel. Just the grinding alone needs some experienced in selecting the correct wheels at the right time and to specific grades. A smooth and professional finish will result if the job is giving to an experienced professional.

3M Abrasives — Right Angle Finishing – Indapac Ltd East Branch