Endless Abrasive Article With Inclined Cavities for Stripe Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional abrasive articles face issues with reduced tensile strength, excessive raw material use, stripe formation, inefficient debris collection, and high energy consumption in production, along with environmental and health hazards due to water-based adhesives and thermal curing processes.
Innovation Solution
An endless abrasive article with an antistatic, flexible backing and abrasive layer featuring cavities arranged in parallel rows, produced using UV curing and screen printing, which minimizes stripe formation and enhances debris collection while reducing material waste and energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If cavities are produced by cutting blades through abrasive layers, then debris collection is enabled, but tensile strength is reduced and blade sharpness deteriorates rapidly
Solution Approach 1:
The cavities are formed in the backing layer before the abrasive layer is applied, rather than cutting through the abrasive layer after production. This preliminary formation of cavity structures in the backing allows debris collection while preserving the integrity and sharpness of the abrasive grains in the upper layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The cavity formation is segmented from the abrasive layer cutting process. Instead of using blades to cut through both layers simultaneously, the backing is pre-formed with cavity structures, separating the cavity creation step from the abrasive layer application step.
2Reliability
If adhesive coating extends to the bottom of cavities, then bonding is improved, but free volume for debris collection is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive coating is applied partially, covering only the upper portions of the backing where abrasive grains are attached, while deliberately excluding the cavity bottom areas. This partial application maintains sufficient bonding strength for the abrasive layer while preserving maximum free volume in the cavities for debris collection.
3Reliability
If conventional thermal curing is used, then adhesive bonding is achieved, but energy consumption is high and environmental impact increases
Solution Approach 1:
The curing method is changed from conventional thermal curing to UV curing. This parameter change in the curing process (from thermal to photonic energy) significantly reduces energy consumption and eliminates the need for high-temperature ovens, while still achieving effective adhesive bonding of abrasive grains to the backing.
4Ease of manufacture
If post-processing is used to create cavities, then debris collection is achieved, but raw material is wasted and production complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity structures are formed in the backing layer during the initial production process before the abrasive layer is applied. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent post-processing steps to create cavities, reducing raw material waste and simplifying the overall production process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a smooth, scratch-free abrasion result with reduced stripe formation and improved debris collection, using UV curing to enhance energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
The make coat is cured by UV irradiation
Implementation Method 2
a pattern of an adhesive make coat is applied on top of a flexible backing, the pattern defining a plurality of uncoated areas that will not receive the adhesive make coat
Implementation Method 3
Abrading or abrasion refers to surface treatment that aims at altering a surface. Abrading may cause a smoothening effect or a roughening effect on a surface of a workpiece
Implementation Method 4
The cavities are configured to collect abrasion debris during use of the abrasive article
Implementation Method 5
an antistatic, flexible backing
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention relates to an endless abrasive article comprising a substantially constant width, a flexible backing, and an abrasive layer comprising a layer of abrasive grains fixed onto the backing by means of an adhesive make coat, wherein the abrasive layer comprises a plurality of cavities arranged in a series of parallel rows, the cavities being substantially free of the adhesive make coat (11) and substantially free of abrasive grains (15) fixed onto the backing (BCK1), - individual cavities (14) in a row are separated from each other by a first distance (d1), - adjacent parallel rows (Rk, Rk+1) are separated from each other by a second distance (d2) in a direction (Sx) parallel with the width (WB), and wherein - the parallel rows (Rk, Rk+1) defining an inclined direction (DIRIN) wherein an angle (α1) between the inclined direction (DIRIN) and the edges (EDGE1, EDGE2) of the abrasive article is substantially 8° preferably in a range of 7.8 to 8.2°, which provides inclined segments (REG1) of abrasive layer (ABR1) uninterrupted by any cavity (14) between adjacent parallel rows (Rk, Rk+1).