Abrasives & Allied Products

About Abrasives & Allied Products

Anabrasiveis a material, often amineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing^[1]which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away byfriction. While finishing a material often meanspolishingit to gain a smooth, reflective surface, the process can also involve roughening as in satin, matte orbeadedfinishes. In short, the ceramics which are used to cut, grind and polish other softer materials are known as abrasives.

Abrasives are extremely commonplace and are used very extensively in a wide variety of industrial, domestic, and technological applications. This gives rise to a large variation in the physical and chemical composition of abrasives as well as the shape of the abrasive. Some common uses for abrasives includegrinding, polishing,buffing,honing,cutting,drilling,sharpening,lapping, andsanding(seeabrasive machining). (For simplicity, "mineral" in this article will be used loosely to refer to both minerals and mineral-like substances whether man-made or not.)