Finished stainless steel.
The complete Hermes programme
for finishing stainless steel sheets, coils and panels
Design and brightness are the priority in surface finishing. Different stainless steel surfaces are required by stainless steel finishers depending on applications and requirements. A distinction is made here between ground, brushed and duplex (ground and brushed) finishes.
The surface finish of cold and hot-rolled stainless steel sheets, coils and panels is usually applied in service centres, but in some cases directly at steelworks. The surface finish is usually created by dry grinding, but for certain applications, also using a coolant additive such as emulsion or oil.
Product line
Finishing with HERMESIT abrasive belts
The HERMESIT® principle
HERMESIT® longlife grinding belts have special hollow spheres covered with grain and produce the typical HERMESIT® finish, the so-called "HERMESIT® bright effect". When grinding with HERMESIT® abrasives, the roughness depth of the surface of the ground workpiece is the same through out the entire lifetime of a belt.
Compared to that, an even surface quality can be achieved for only a relatively short time when grinding with conventional abrasives. The abrasive grain becomes blunt and the desired initial roughness depth drops considerably.
As the hollow spheres coated in abrasive grain wear down, new grain is constantly being exposed.
Product benefits
Consistent surface finish and roughness values on workpiece, throughout tool life
3 to 5 times the tool life improves economy compared to conventional grinding belts:
>>> reduced grinding belt change times
>>> reduced disposal costs for used grinding beltsLower grinding temperatures
HERMESIT® types in detail
For dry and wet grinding
HERMESIT RB 535 X
Heavy and semi-flexible waterproof abrasive cloth with aluminium oxide grain for producing the matte HERMESIT® bright effect with low grinding pressure
more information ...
HERMESIT RB 545 X
Heavy and semi-flexible waterproof abrasive cloth with silicon carbide grain for producing the brilliant HERMESIT® bright effect with low grinding pressuremore information ...
For dry grinding only
HERMESIT RB 530 X
Heavy and semi-flexible abrasive cloth with aluminium oxide grain for producing the matte HERMESIT® bright effect with low grinding pressure
more information ...
HERMESIT RB 540 X
Heavy and semi-flexible abrasive cloth with silicon carbide grain for producing the brilliant HERMESIT® bright effect with low grinding pressuremore information ...
Recommended use
When using new HERMESIT® grinding belt, Hermes recommends the belts are dressed prior to full production runs. This can be achieved by grinding two sheets, for example, in order to dress the hollow spheres and achieve the desired fi nish and optimum performance. When grinding different widths of sheet metal, the wider sheets should be ground fi rst to prevent running-in tracks.
Warning:
Sheet metal thicknesses < 0.6 mm cannot be machined with HERMESIT® grinding belts.
Finishing with paper-backed Hermes abrasive belts
In metal grinding, paper grinding belts with particularly strong paper backings are used for surface grinding/finishing. These stable backings are primarily beneficial with wide belts for dry grinding. Because of their oil resistance, paper grinding belts can be used even when oil is used as cooling lubricant.
Hermes paper-backed abrasive belts for decorative finishing stainless steel surfaces:
BW 110
Flexible abrasive belt with aluminium oxide grain for producing a bright matte decorative finish.
more information ...
BW 116
Abrasive belt with high-performance aluminium oxide abrasive grain and with a additional Procut coating for cool grinding to reduce the risc of sheet metal rejections when grinding thin sheets (thicknesses < 1 mm).more information ...
BW 184
Heavy high-performance abrasive belt with zirconia alumina grain, especially suitable for achieving surfaces with a coarse grinding structure.
more information ...
BS 118
Abrasive belt with silicon carbide grain and with a with a good edge stability for producing everything form a brilliantly bright decorative finish to so-called "mirror-finish surfaces".
more information ...
Finishing with cloth-backed Hermes abrasive belts
The applications for cloth grinding belts are similar to those of paper grinding belts. However, they are even more robust and in addition to dry grinding, can also be used for wet grinding (resistant to water, emulsion and oil).
Hermes cloth-backed abrasive belts for decorative finishing stainless steel surfaces:
RB 377 YX
High-performance and durable standard cloth-backed abrasive belt for producing the finest surfaces with a very even grinding pattern.more information ...
RB 315 YX
Extremely stable cloth-backed abrasive belt with silicon carbide abrasive grain for producing brilliant bright stainless steel surfaces.more information ...
CR 454 Z
Very heavy, stiff and high-performance cloth-backed abrasive belt with ceramic grain.
more information ...
Bright results with cork
For an extraordinary finish!
Elastic particles of cork on the polishing belts allow “cushioned” grinding and produce a polishing effect. This allows the mirror-finish surfaces desired by many customers to be produced in stainless steel finishing.
Cork polishing belts can be used universally in dry and wet grinding (resistant to water, emulsion and oil).
RB 515 X
Flexible cork polishing belt with silicon carbide abrasive grain for producing very bright or mirror-finish surfaces with a fine-structured grinding pattern.more information ...
RB 515 Y
Very tear-resistant cork polishing belt with silicon carbide abrasive grain for producing very bright or mirror-finish surfaces with a fine-structured grinding pattern.more information ...
Finishing with webrax Abrasive web tools
3 good reasons for webrax abrasive webs
1. Backing
webrax Abrasive webs are manufactured from high-quality, three-dimensional special fibre web. The abrasive grain is firmly anchored by a bond to make it correspondingly durable.
We supply the following variants for finishing stainless steel sheets, coils and panels:
For webrax Abrasive web flap rollers:
- Abrasive web
- Abrasive web, high density
For webrax Abrasive web belts:
- Abrasive web, laminated onto a heavy, semi-flexible and waterproof Xw-cotton cloth
- Abrasive web, reinforced with cloth
2. Types of grain
The abrasive webs for finishing stainless steel are available in the grit range 80 to 800.
Warning: the abrasive effect and the grain details quoted are not comparable with those of grinding papers and cloths: for the same grit size, webrax Abrasive webs generally grind finer. Aluminium oxide and silicon carbide are generally used as the grains.
3. Bonding
The abrasive grain is firmly anchored to the synthetic fibres by resins. The resin bond allows use under both dry and wet conditions. Benefits you will appreciate.
Grinding with style ...
webrax Abrasive web flap rollers
webrax Abrasive web flap rollers produce an ideal brushed finish.
We make these products in four different densities:
- 1 = soft
- 2 = medium
- 3 = hard
- 4 = very hard
The rollers are also available with additional impregnation to increase tool life. webrax abrasive web rollers are supplied with a maximum external diameter of 450 mm and in widths up to 2050 mm. Universal use in dry and wet grinding (resistant to water, emulsion and oil).
webrax-OA 710
Durable abrasive web with aluminium oxide abrasive grain for producing bright matte stainless steel surfacesmore information ...
webrax-OS 715
Durable abrasive web with silicon carbide abrasive grain for producing stainless steel surfaces with greater brightness and with finer brush patterns
more information ...
webrax Abrasive web belts
webrax Abrasive web belts are used specifically for the decorative finishing of stainless steel coils and panels, but are equally suitable for keying or cleaning stainless steel surfaces. When working with webrax Abrasive web belts, the grinding zone should have no sharp-edged openings and be free of surface faults. The belts can be used universally for dry and wet grinding (resistant to water, emulsion and oil).
webrax-AN 701 50
Compact, intensive-grinding abrasive web with aluminium oxide grain for structure grinding stainless steel coils and sheetsmore information ...
webrax-AN 702
Open but rigid abrasive web with aluminium oxide grain for fine grinding stainless steel coils and sheets
more information ...
webrax-MAG
Open and soft abrasive web with aluminium oxide grain for fine and finest finishing stainless steel coils and sheets, especially suitable for finishing sensitive surfaces
more information ...
webrax-MSG
Open and soft abrasive web with silicon carbide grain for fine and finest finishing stainless steel coils and sheets, especially suitable for finishing sensitive surfaces
more information ...
Application engineering
Grinding machines
Wide belt and brush-grinding machines are used to achieve an ideal, even surface finish. These can be arranged both individually or as a combined unit
(grinding/brushing) in one machine or as consecutive grinding
stations with separate individual machines.
Common machine parameters
Back-up roller | Rubber, profiled |
Cutting speeds | vc Belt: 18 - 25 m/s |
Feed speeds | vf Belt: 8 - 16 m/min. |
Values for roughness depth
It is possible to achieve the roughness depth values shown in the table to the right using standard aluminium oxide grinding belts when grinding coils and sheets, taking account of grit size when setting the customary machine parameters.
The values quoted on the right are guide values only. Deviating values may result from modified parameters such as grit size, cutting speed, feed speed, back-up roller hardness, abrasive grain (aluminium oxide or silicon carbide) and type of grinding belt (standard or HERMESIT®) as well as from dry or wet grinding conditions.
Grit size | Ra [µm] | Rz [µm] |
P 80 | 1.5 - 2.5 | 12 - 16 |
P 150 | 1.0 - 1.2 | 7 - 9 |
P 180 | 0.8 - 1.0 | 5 - 7 |
P 240 | 0.6 - 0.7 | 5 - 6 |
P 280 | 0.5 - 0.7 | 4 - 5 |
P 320 | 0.4 - 0.5 | 3 - 4,5 |
P 400 | 0.35 - 0.45 | 2.5 - 3.5 |
Surface structures
Different surfaces are produced depending on customer requirements. Cold-rolled 3-D materials serve as the starting material in most cases. The surfaces produced are generally identified by quoting the grit size used in the grinding process. Variations on this arise from the type of abrasive grain and from machine parameters such as feed, cutting speed and design of back-up roller (e.g. hardness, grooves).
