Method for Treating an Abrasive Article, and Abrasive Article

Abstract

A method for treating an abrasive article includes applying a release agent dispersion onto at least one surface, which is provided for abrading, of the abrasive article in order to produce a cover layer. The release agent dispersion includes at least one anti-adhesion agent. The release agent dispersion further includes at least one film-forming agent.

Claims

1. A method for treating an abrasive article, comprising: applying a release agent dispersion at least to a surface of the abrasive article in order to produce a covering layer, wherein the surface is configured for grinding, wherein the release agent dispersion comprises at least one anti-adhesion agent, and wherein the release agent dispersion further comprises at least one film-forming agent.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the release agent dispersion further comprises at least one surfactant.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein applying the release agent dispersion comprises: applying the release agent dispersion to the surface of the abrasive article at a temperature of the abrasive article in a range from 0° C. to 100° C.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the release agent dispersion has a solids content in a range from 20% to 60%.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein applying the release agent dispersion comprises: applying the release agent dispersion to the surface of the abrasive article using pulsed spraying.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein applying the release agent dispersion comprises: applying the release agent dispersion to the surface of the abrasive article during a production process for the abrasive article, after a process step for heating the abrasive article, and before a process step for cooling the abrasive article.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: drying the covering layer using an air stream in a process step for cooling the abrasive article.

8. An abrasive article, comprising: a surface configured for grinding, a covering layer configured to cover the surface, the covering layer formed by applying a release agent dispersion to the surface, the release agent dispersion comprising (i) at least one anti-adhesion agent, and (ii) at least one film-forming agent.

9. The abrasive article as claimed in claim 8, wherein the film-forming agent is a filming agent and/or a gap filler.

10. The abrasive article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the film-forming agent is a filming agent and/or a gap filler.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0019] The invention is explained in more detail in the following description on the basis of embodiments depicted in the drawings. The drawings, the description and the claims contain numerous features in combination. A person skilled in the art will also advantageously look at the features individually and assemble them to give useful further combinations. Identical reference numerals in the figures denote identical elements.

[0020] The figures show:

[0021] FIG. 1 a part of an illustrative embodiment of an abrasive article according to the invention with abrasive grains in a schematic sectional view;

[0022] FIG. 2 a process flow diagram for depicting the method of the invention for treating an abrasive article;

[0023] FIG. 3 a process flow diagram for depicting an illustrative integration of the method of the invention as per FIG. 2 into a manufacturing process for an abrasive article.

[0024] FIG. 1 shows a part of an illustrative embodiment of an abrasive article 10 according to the invention with abrasive grains 12 in a schematic sectional view. In the embodiment depicted, the abrasive article 10 is a coated abrasive article 10 having an abrasive article substrate made of vulcanized fiber. The abrasive article substrate 22 made of vulcanized fiber serves as flexible substrate for the abrasive grains 12. Vulcanized fiber is a composite material composed of cellulose, in particular cotton or cellulose fibers, and is adequately known to a person skilled in the art as flexible substrate for abrasive articles from the prior art. The abrasive grains 12 are fastened by means of a binder 20, in particular a base binder 24, in the form of, for example, phenolic resin, to the abrasive article substrate 22. The layer of base binder 24 and abrasive grains 12 is additionally coated with a covering binder 26 (the covering binder 26 likewise represents a binder 20), in particular likewise composed of phenolic resin.

[0025] The abrasive article 10 has been treated by the method according to the invention for treating an abrasive article 10, by a further covering layer 30 being applied to the surface 28 intended for grinding of the abrasive article 10. The application of the covering layer 30 is carried out by use of the method 100 according to the invention, cf. FIG. 2.

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a process flow diagram to depict an embodiment of the method 100 according to the invention for treating an abrasive article 10, with a release agent dispersion for producing a covering layer 30 being applied to at least one surface 28 of the abrasive article 10 in the treatment of the abrasive article 10.

[0027] In a first method step 102, a release agent dispersion comprising at least one anti-adhesion agent is provided. In this embodiment, the release agent dispersion further comprises a surfactant. This release agent dispersion here comprises, for example, water as dispersion medium, a stearate, in particular a calcium stearate, as anti-adhesion agent. The release agent dispersion here has a solids content in the range from 30% to 40%, for example 35%.

[0028] In method step 104, the release agent dispersion provided is admixed with at least one film-forming agent. Admixing is carried out, in particular, by blending or stirring the mixture of release agent dispersion and film-forming agent. The film-forming agent comprises, in particular, a filming agent and/or a gap filler. In an embodiment, the film-forming agent is a mixture of lactic acid and polyethylene glycol. In method step 106, the release agent dispersion which has been admixed with the film-forming agent is applied to the at least one surface 28 of the abrasive article 10. Application is carried out in this embodiment by pulsed spraying onto the surface 28 of the abrasive article 10 using at least one atomizer nozzle (not shown in more detail here). The pulsed spraying is carried out here by repeated intermittent spraying at an average frequency of 20 Hz, with valve opening times of about 20 milliseconds.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a process flow diagram to depict an exemplary integration of the method 100 according to the invention as per FIG. 2 into a manufacturing process 200 for an abrasive article 10. The manufacturing process 200 comprises at least the following process steps.

[0030] In process step 202, an abrasive article substrate 22, for example composed of vulcanized fiber, is provided. In process step 204, a base binder 24 is applied to the abrasive article substrate 22, for example by doctor blade coating or rolling-on. In process step 206, abrasive grains are sprinkled, for example by means of electrostatic sprinkling as is known from the prior art, onto the abrasive article substrate 22 which has been covered with base binder. In process step 208, the base binder 24 is firstly cured and subsequently coated in process step 210 with a covering binder 26, in particular by rolling-on or brushing-on. In process step 212, the abrasive article 10 obtained in this way is dried/cured (in particular the covering binder 26 is also cured) by conveying it through a heating oven and thus heating it. The heating oven is, for example, heated to 120° C. In parallel to these process steps 202 to 212, the method steps of the method 100 according to the invention can be carried out, in particular carrying out the method steps 102 to 104, as depicted in FIG. 3 (as an alternative, these method steps 102 to 104 can also be carried out before or after the process steps 202 to 212 are carried out). After heating and drying/curing the abrasive article 10 in process step 212, the release agent dispersion is applied to the surface 28 intended for grinding of the abrasive article 10 in process step 214, i.e. method step 106 of the process of FIG. 2 is carried out. At this point in time, the release agent dispersion comprises at least one anti-adhesion agent and a film-forming agent, optionally a surfactant. At the point in time of application of the release agent dispersion, the abrasive article 10 has a temperature of about 50° C. As described, application is carried out by means of pulsed spraying (cf. above in respect of method step 106). The covering layer 30 produced by application of the release agent dispersion to the surface 28 of the abrasive article 10 is dried by means of an air stream in a process step 216 for cooling (cooling process step) the still hot abrasive article 10, with the still hot abrasive article 10 being cooled at the same time and the dispersion medium water of the release agent dispersion applied to the surface evaporating at the same time. As a result of the residual heat, the film-forming agents, i.e. the gap filler and the filming agent, react and form an optically homogeneous, i.e. streak-free, covering layer. Finally, the abrasive article 10 obtained in this way can be finished, for example by stamping or laser cutting, in process step 218.