Abrasive belts must possess high strength, good heat resistance, high impact resistance, and high surface hardness. This presents a sharp contradiction with the requirement for flexibility. Mechanical bending is an effective way to resolve this contradiction.
Bending involves subjecting the abrasive belt to bending motions at different angles under tension, such as passing it through a set of small-diameter rollers-forming a bending path. The back of the abrasive tool is in close contact with the cutting edge, creating continuous, fine cracks in the abrasive layer, thus achieving a soft effect. Because it achieves continuous cracking mechanically, it is also called mechanical bending. The degree of bending indicates the extent of softness, and the bending direction indicates the directionality of the abrasive's softness.
The degree of bending depends on the radius of curvature of the bending tool and the pressure exerted by the bending tool on the abrasive belt. The smaller the radius of curvature of the bending tool and the greater the pressure exerted by the bending tool on the abrasive belt, the denser and deeper the continuous cracks, resulting in greater bending and a softer abrasive belt.
The course on flexibility is divided into 5 forms:
90° Flexibility:
Also known as unidirectional flexibility, the flexing cutter is at a 90° angle to the direction of the abrasive's movement, meaning the crack direction is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the abrasive. This is the most basic form of flexibility. An abrasive belt that has undergone 90° flexibility is flexible in its longitudinal direction.
Two 45° flexures:
Also known as bidirectional flexures, this method uses two flexure cutters, intersecting the mold's running direction at two opposite 45° angles, with the cracks running diagonally. Molds flexed in this way are flexible in the direction at a 45° angle to their longitudinal direction.
Three-dimensional curvature, i.e., 90° + two 45° curvatures:
This curvature form is the sum of the first two. A mold shaped in this way is flexible in both its longitudinal direction and in the direction at 45° to the longitudinal direction.
Multidirectional bending (Q-bending):
This bending form is achieved through a special process that allows the mold to be bent well in all directions, resulting in excellent bending effects.
0° flexure (L-flexure):
This is also a type of unidirectional flexure, where the crack direction is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the abrasive. Abrasives flexed in this way are flexed in their transverse direction. This flexure is achieved through special equipment and is often not used alone, but in combination with bidirectional or tridirectional flexure to achieve better results than multidirectional flexure.
