March, 2026- Cleaning up welds or burrs in part crevices often requires creative or unconventional solutions. Michael Radaelli, senior product manager for Norton | Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Worcester, Massachusetts, says that these types of applications are often the ones that spur “market pull” innovations, like the newest additions to the Norton Vortex Rapid Prep non-woven flap disc line. The 2-inch and 3-inch mini discs were initiated by an aerospace customer who requested smaller flap discs that would last longer in difficult-to-reach areas.
“We did some trials,” Radaelli notes. “Once we confirmed we could make the mini discs, I reached out to our salespeople and regional managers to do a market survey. That survey showed that there was a market need for smaller discs, with a few hundred initial customers thinking it was a great idea. “Sometimes, a company has a great innovation,” he continues. “They go ahead and produce it―and hope the market buys. In this case, the market was saying that it needed this. Make it, and we’ll buy it. It wasn’t something we were initially going to manufacture.”
The Vortex 2-inch and 3-inch discs are suitable for tight, hard-to-reach spaces.
REDUCE PROCESSING STEPS
Saint-Gobain Abrasives’ consistent dialogue with customers stems from its mission to constantly improve working conditions and simplify jobs, eliminating dust and noise, reducing total costs by increasing the number of parts processed, and considering the ergonomics of every application. The 2- and 3-inch discs have the same long-lasting properties as the rest of the Vortex non-woven abrasives line, which includes belts and quick-change discs, in addition to flap discs. The long life reduces the amount of time spent changing discs, as well as allowing operators to use a smaller, lighter grinder to improve ergonomics. Key deburring, blending and finishing markets include aerospace, appliances, automotive, metal fabrication, marine and rail.
RATE OF REMOVAL
The Vortex agglomerated aluminum-oxide grain technology allow the discs to provide the cutting power of a coarser grit while producing a finer finish—with one disc. Radaelli says the abrasive is structured with “many cutting points, allowing material to be removed at a faster rate. But because the particles are small, it leaves a better finish. It’s the best of both worlds.”
The multiple layers of non-woven abrasive are also forgiving when going over uneven surfaces, and the Type 27 flap disc construction reduces the vibration felt by operators. In addition, Clean Bond resins guarantee smear-free finishes, even on high nickel content alloys and reduce loading on aluminum and other soft metals.
“It’s not uncommon to have a thin piece of material to deburr,” Radaelli says, noting that using a flat disc in these applications results in bounce and extremely loud harmonics. With a flap disc, “the flaps absorb a lot of vibration and help reduce some of the noise.”
FLEXIBLE FINISH
The Norton Vortex Rapid Prep line, including the mini discs, comes in coarse, medium, fine and very fine and are color coded to facilitate recognition, even when the backing pad is rubbed off or torn. The 2-inch and 3-inch discs also can be purchased in a vendingmachine-friendly sample kit that features one of each grit size for trials or for operators who typically use multiple grits.
On the side of the box is a user guide, notes Radaelli, that offers a convenient, quick reference for application use. Norton | Saint-Gobain is passionate about educating users about abrasives―both which discs to use and how to achieve desired Ra value (the variation between the peaks and troughs on a surface). “All of our salespeople carry a profilometer,” Radaelli points out, “and if a customer isn’t measuring the Ra, we try to educate them on the benefit of putting a numerical value on their quality checks because one operator’s visual isn’t the same as another’s.”
Typically, in applications that have a large burr, “an operator will select a coarse grit to knock it down and then follow it up with a medium or fine grit to improve the finish,” says Radaelli. “The Vortex technology, however, has the capability to remove a lot of material and still finish like a fine-grit disc, cutting down a two-step process into one.”
COST COMPARISON
The aerospace customer that sparked the development of the mini flap discs was using flat discs for its tight-space applications. “The big advantage going from flat to flap is four to seven times the life and a much faster cut rate,” Radaelli says. “Typically, there is a big cost savings,” in addition to better ergonomics due to being able to use a smaller grinder.
A flap disc versus flat disc test showcased the advantages to a customer spending $350,000 per year on flat discs indicated that substantially fewer discs could be used, resulting in a 27 percent savings over the life of the product. “And that was on aluminum,” Radaelli points out. “A lot of people test on carbon and stainless, but aluminum is very difficult because it is a malleable, soft material. Typically, it becomes very hot in the grind zone, and the disc can smear or load up fast. The Vortex flap disc did not. The mini discs are a good broad utility product that can be used on almost any material―copper, stainless, aluminum, brass, carbon steel, titanium and even wood.”
Norton | Saint-Gobain Abrasives, nortonabrasives.com.
