Help with Buffs and Buffing Wheels specifications:
Buff Type
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Buff Type | |||
Your choices are... | |||
Airway / Pleated | Buffs or buffing wheels have folds or pleats to hold the buffing compound and/or allow air circulation. Airway buffs may have a central cinch ring, sewn core, metal ring, or ventilated center. Airway or pleated buffs are also known as pocketed, folded, pleated airway, ventilated, accordion pleated, hot pleated (hot pleat), or sewn pleated (sew pleat). | ||
Bob / Mushroom Buff | Polishing bobs, felts bobs, felt cones, cylinder bobs, knife-edged bobs, mushroom buffs, or hourglass buffs are smaller buffs with specialized shapes. They are mounted on the end of a mandrel. Bob shapes include round ball shapes, cones, mushrooms, hourglass forms, knife-edge, bevel lap, split, cylindrical or square edge, bullet or rounded end cylinder, balloon or reverse cone, and custom shaped forms. | ||
Bias Buff | With a bias buff, the cloth is wound spirally around a central mandrel. Bias buffs always present strands at a diagonal or 45° angle to the part's surface. | ||
Buffing Wheel | Buffs are in the form of conventional buffing wheels. | ||
Finger Buff | Finger buffs have a series of radial slots to form fingers, tabs or sections around the buff wheel The fingers make the buff more flexible and conformable to the surface of a part with complex contours. | ||
Open / Loose Buff | The plies or layers of cloth in a loose or open-face buff are not sewn or laminated together - except at the center. Open or loose buffs are very conformable. They are also softer than sewn buffs. The high conformability of open buffs is useful for finishing irregular parts and contoured shapes. | ||
Sewn - Spiral / Concentric | Spiral sewn buffs have plies of cloth that are joined together with a stitch that starts in the center and spirals out. Concentric sewn buffs have plies of cloth that are joined together with a series of circular stitches around the center. Sewn buffs are stiffer than open or pleated buffs. | ||
String / Rope Buff | Buffs consist of loose strings or rope strands attached to a central hub or core. | ||
Polishing Disc / Buffing Pad | Polishing discs, buffing pads, buffing bonnets or polishing cloths or naps are larger wheels where the end or full-radius end is used for buffing or polishing. By contrast, the face or edge is normally used on conventional buffing wheels (pleated, open, spiral sewn, bias, etc.). Polishing discs or pads typically have a harder, short nap or tight cloth-surface or nap. Typically, buffing discs, pads or bonnets are softer or fluffier, and consist of thicker foam layers, long strings, or constructions with longer naps (fiber lengths). | ||
Polishing / Laminated Wheel | Polishing wheels consist of plies that are laminated together to form a dense, hard wheel for fine polishing applications. | ||
Specialty / Other | Other unlisted, proprietary, or specialized types. | ||
Search Logic: | All products with ANY of the selected attributes will be returned as matches. Leaving all boxes unchecked will not limit the search criteria for this question; products with all attribute options will be returned as matches. | ||
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Buff Material
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Material | |||
Your choices are... | |||
Cotton (Muslin / Canvas) | Cotton is a natural, plant-derived fiber. Cotton can be woven | ||
Hide / Leather (Chamois) | Hide, sheepskin, leather, or other animal skins are used for polishing and buffing. The hide or skin is processed to provide a soft, napped surface. Traditionally, chamois referred to goat or sheep skin. Now, chamois often refers to leatherette, suede or sheepskin leather used for polishing. | ||
Sisal | Sisal is a tough, hard, natural fiber that is used in rope construction. Sisal buffs are harder and more aggressive. Typically, they are used with cutting compounds. | ||
Synthetic Fiber (Polyester / Nylon) | Buff materials consist of a synthetic or manufactured fiber such as polyamide (nylon) or polyester. | ||
Wool | Buffs are made of wool or sheared sheep hair. Wool retains buffing compounds well, and has good water resistance. | ||
Specially / Other | Buffs are constructed of other unlisted, proprietary, or specialized fibers or materials. | ||
Search Logic: | All products with ANY of the selected attributes will be returned as matches. Leaving all boxes unchecked will not limit the search criteria for this question; products with all attribute options will be returned as matches. | ||
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Napped / Flannel? | Buff plies or ply fabrics are cloth with a soft, napped surface. Flannel is a cotton, cotton-wool blend, or wool cloth with a soft brushed or napped surface. | ||
Search Logic: | "Required" and "Must Not Have" criteria limit returned matches as specified. Products with optional attributes will be returned for either choice. | ||
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Nonwoven / Felt? | The buff material used to construct the plies or fingers is a nonwoven cloth or felt. Typically, felt consists of combed, batted and hardened wool fibers. | ||
Search Logic: | "Required" and "Must Not Have" criteria limit returned matches as specified. Products with optional attributes will be returned for either choice. | ||
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Woven Cloth? | The buff material used to construct the plies or fingers is a woven cloth. | ||
Search Logic: | "Required" and "Must Not Have" criteria limit returned matches as specified. Products with optional attributes will be returned for either choice. | ||
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Size Specifications
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Face Width: | Face width is the width of the buff or buffing wheel's other edge. This measurement can also be the face width of the abrasive belt, flap wheel, non-woven wheel or other product. | ||
Search Logic: | User may specify either, both, or neither of the "At Least" and "No More Than" values. Products returned as matches will meet all specified criteria. | ||
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Outer Diameter (OD): | The outer diameter (OD) of the buffing wheel. | ||
Search Logic: | User may specify either, both, or neither of the "At Least" and "No More Than" values. Products returned as matches will meet all specified criteria. | ||
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Shank / Bore Diameter: | The bore is the inner diameter (ID) of the center mount of the buffing or polishing product. The bore is used to mount or hold the product on a spindle or mandrel. The shank diameter is the diameter of the integral shank, pin, shaft or mandrel on mounted points or wheels. | ||
Search Logic: | User may specify either, both, or neither of the "At Least" and "No More Than" values. Products returned as matches will meet all specified criteria. | ||
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Rotary Speed: | The maximum rotary speed or speed range recommended by the supplier. | ||
Search Logic: | User may specify either, both, or neither of the "At Least" and "No More Than" values. Products returned as matches will meet all specified criteria. | ||
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Buffing Applications
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Buffing Applications | |||
Your choices are... | |||
Color Buffing | Buffs are constructed or designed for color buffing applications. Color buffing produces a bright lustrous or polished surface. | ||
Cutting / Aggressive | Buffs are constructed or designed for cutting, cut buffing or aggressive material-removal applications. | ||
Cleaning / Surface Preparation | Buffs are constructed or designed for cleaning and surface preparation applications. | ||
Satin / Brush Finishing | Buffs are constructed or designed for satin finishing or brush buffing applications. A brushed or satin finish does not have as shiny or lustrous a finish as a color-buffed or polished surface. | ||
Specialty / Other | Buffs are constructed or designed for other unlisted, proprietary, or specialized applications. | ||
Search Logic: | All products with ANY of the selected attributes will be returned as matches. Leaving all boxes unchecked will not limit the search criteria for this question; products with all attribute options will be returned as matches. | ||
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Products / Materials Finished
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Your choices are... | |||
Aluminum | Buffs are constructed or designed for finishing aluminum. Aluminum is a bluish, silver-white, malleable, ductile, light, trivalent, metallic element with good electrical and thermal conductivity, high reflectivity, and resistance to oxidation. | ||
Cast Iron | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing cast iron alloys. Iron is a heavy, malleable, ductile, magnetic, silver-white, metallic element used to as an alloying element in cast irons. The term "cast iron" refers not to a single material, but to a family of alloys whose major constituent is iron, with important additions of carbon and silicon. Cast irons are natural composite materials whose properties are determined by their microstructures - the stable and metastable phases formed during solidification or subsequent heat treatment. The major microstructural constituents of cast irons are the chemical and morphological forms taken by carbon, and the continuous metal matrix in which the carbon and/or carbide are dispersed. | ||
Ceramics / Glass | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for ceramics and the grinding and finishing of glass. | ||
Chrome / Chromium Plating | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing chrome or chromium plating, deposits or alloys. | ||
Coatings / Paint | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing coatings or paint layers. | ||
Copper / Copper Alloys | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for copper finishing. Copper is a common, reddish, metallic element that is ductile and malleable. It is one of the best conductors of heat and electricity. Copper alloys are specified for applications in which superior corrosion-resistance, electrical conductivity, and good bearing-surface qualities are desired. All copper-base alloys are easily plated, brazed, soldered and machined. | ||
Nickel / Nickel Plate | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing nickel and nickel alloys. Nickel and nickel alloys include proprietary products such as such as Monel®, Kovar®, Invar®, Inconel®, Incoloy®, and Hastelloy®. Monel, Inconel and Incoloy are registered trademarks of Special Metals Corporation. Kovar and Invar are registered trademarks of Carpenter Technology. Hastelloy is a registered trademark of Haynes International. | ||
Ophthalmic / Optical Materials | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing optical components such as lenses, mirrors, prisms, or fibers during fabrication. These buffs are also used in eyeglass or ophthalmic production. | ||
Plastics / Composites | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing plastics or composite materials. | ||
Precious Metals | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing noble or precious metals. Compounds are formulated, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing optical components such as lenses, mirrors, prisms, or fibers during fabrication. These compounds are also used in eyeglass or ophthalmic production. | ||
Semiconductors / Electronics (Wafers) | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing applications, or for planarizing silicon wafers or other semiconductor and electronic materials. For example, CMP slurries or dispersions are used for wafer planarization. | ||
Stainless Steel | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing stainless steel alloys. Stainless steel is chemical- and corrosion-resistant, and can have relatively high pressure ratings. | ||
Steel / Steel Alloys | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing steel or iron based alloys. Steel is a commercial iron based on ferrous alloys which contains carbon in any amount up to about 1.7 % as an essential alloying constituent. Steel is malleable under suitable conditions, and is distinguished from cast iron by both its malleability and lower carbon content. | ||
Stone / Masonry | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing stone or masonry materials such as granite, marble, and concrete. | ||
Titanium | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing titanium and titanium alloys. Titanium is a hard, lustrous, silvery element that is relatively abundant in the Earth's crust. It is known for its lightness, strength, and corrosion-resistance. For this reason, titanium is used widely in the aerospace industry and in medical applications (e.g., replacement joints). When alloyed with other metals (especially steel), titanium adds strength and oxidation resistance. | ||
Wood / Woodworking | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing wood or wood products. | ||
Zinc | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing or polishing zinc and zinc alloys. Zinc alloys have a relatively-low melting point compared to those of copper, aluminum and steel alloys. Their low melting points make zinc alloys easy to die cast, but detract from their creep properties. Zinc alloys do not have the strength, ductility and toughness of wrought copper, aluminum and steel alloys. | ||
Specialty / Other | Buffs are constructed, designed or suitable for finishing other specialty, proprietary or unlisted materials. | ||
Search Logic: | All products with ANY of the selected attributes will be returned as matches. Leaving all boxes unchecked will not limit the search criteria for this question; products with all attribute options will be returned as matches. | ||
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