Abbe Miller, Editor-in-Chief, FAB Shop Magazine Direct
Originally published in FAB Shop Magazine Direct. Reproduced with permission.
A new line extension of mini abrasive discs delivers a user-driven breakthrough in deburring and finishing.
When a major aerospace manufacturer approached Norton two years ago with a problem, they weren’t necessarily looking for a new product, they were just looking for a solution. The manufacturer was machining fuselage pockets for aircraft bodies and was unhappy with the time and cost involved with deburring and finishing. Each component took eight hours of labor and eight abrasive discs to get the job done.
To say the least, the work was slow and difficult – the discs the operators were using were too big to get into the tight geometries the job demanded. The folks assigned to the task felt fatigued at the end of each day.
According to Mike Radaelli, senior product manager at Norton | Saint-Gobain, that conversation inspired the development of the new Norton Vortex Rapid Prep mini flap discs, providing a compact, high-performance non-woven abrasive solution engineered for faster, more ergonomic deburring across a wide range of materials and industries.
“The customer told us what they needed, so we made the product,” he says. “Usually that’s how great products happen – when the customer tells you they need something.”
Building on a Foundation
While Radaelli makes the process of introducing a new product sound easy, there was more to it than just announcing its availability. Beyond the investment in new equipment to produce the new 2-in. and 3-in. flap discs, extensive testing was involved with aerospace customers as well as several additional beta users.
The process to develop the product was, however, made easier thanks to the fact that the new discs are made using Norton’s pre-existing Vortex grain technology, an engineered agglomerate designed to expose new cutting points as the abrasive fractures as it is used. Instead of a single abrasive particle dulling and losing efficiency, Vortex grains essentially renew themselves.
“When one piece breaks off or wears off, what’s left behind are more sharp points,” Radaelli explains. “It cuts like a coarse abrasive but finishes like a fine grit.”
The entire Norton Vortex Rapid Prep flap disc line is available in 2-in., 3-in. and 4.5-in. stock sizes and in coarse, medium, fine and very fine grits; the discs can run on standard rubber backup pads and significantly benefit from the inherent dampening effect of their flap structure. Norton also offers 6-in. and 7-in. made-to-order versions.
The technology works on carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum and Inconel, making it an adaptable option for a wide range of applications. It’s also produced with plant-based lithium stearate and materials typically approved for medical applications – a welcome advantage in sustainability and safety for a broad range of applications.
One Disc Instead of Two
Overall, the user benefits of the new mini flap discs are wide-ranging, but in a nutshell, they encompass increased speed and longevity, better operator ergonomics and, in the end, cost savings. In terms of speed, traditional abrasives often require a first pass with a coarse grit abrasive for burr removal followed by a medium or fine grit to achieve the desired radius and final finishing. With the new discs, those steps converge into one.
“The aerospace customer serves as a great example for all of the benefits users can expect,” Radaelli says. “Previously, it took four coarse discs and four medium discs in an eight-hour shift, but we eliminated that two-step process with just one medium disc that operates in half the time.”
Combined, the increased speed, longevity and ergonomics create a much better work environment for operators. Because of the fracturing technology behind the Vortex grains, operators can continue cutting without putting any increased pressure into the job.
“We tell people, let the disc do the work,” Radaelli says. “With traditional abrasives, the operator has to push harder as they dull and wear out. With Vortex technology, they can apply constant pressure throughout the job, and it just keeps cutting.
“For internal testing, we compared the 2-in. and 3-in. discs to a leading competitor’s disc on carbon and stainless steel,” he recalls, adding that “their disc lasted 10 min. while ours lasted 75 min. and kept cutting. Our operator finally stopped testing at 220 min. – not because the disc failed, but because he had to go home.”
Operators appreciate the reduced exertion required as well as not having to change out the discs as often. They also appreciate the fact that the smaller and lighter the discs are, the better the ergonomics. If that weren’t enough, the way the abrasives are adhered to the disc helps reduce vibration, which also improves the operators’ overall health and well-being. Norton’s flap discs are placed on an extra pad that creates a dampening effect, which absorbs some of the vibration that can fatigue operators and produce long-term side effects, such as hand-arm vibration syndrome.
In terms of the potential cost savings the mini flap discs can deliver, Radaelli says that despite the higher cost per disc, the overall savings can be significant. He uses the example of a large customer that was spending $350,000 per year on conventional abrasives. After switching to the new discs, the customer saw $50,000 in savings – a more than 25 percent improvement – based on the halved cycle times. And those savings didn’t even factor in labor savings or the major reductions in operator injuries and fatigue.
Shining Applications
Although aerospace remains one of the largest markets for the new discs, they are proving incredibly productive for a wide variety of materials and applications. Radaelli says the new product is being adopted by several industries and metalworking segments.
For automotive manufacturers, robotic deburring of aluminum transmission castings is becoming a common application for the new discs. In foundries, they’re being used to remove gates and risers on cast iron pans produced in the casting process. Finishing stainless steel sinks and faucets is also made easier with the new discs, as is the processing of aluminum and stainless components in marine applications.
And, as mentioned, medical component manufacturers appreciate the eco-friendly, medical-grade materials used as well as the fact that the smaller sized discs can reach into tight areas and complex, contoured parts where larger discs can’t go.
Pull-Strategy Product
As a reminder, the mini flap discs weren’t the result of an internal brainstorming session – the idea came directly from the aerospace customer that was simply asking about the availability of smaller flap discs. Seeing the opportunity to help the customer and potentially the entire industry, Norton responded with a significant investment in time and research to develop the correct flap angles, secure new manufacturing equipment and create prototypes. Once the first samples proved useful, Norton expanded testing.
“Before we even went to the first prototype, we identified about 100 customers that could test it,” Radaelli says. “That told us not just that there was demand, but how big the opportunity was.”
Beta testing was extensive, spanning multiple industries and applications. Even the packaging was redesigned to meet customer needs, particularly shops that use vending systems to distribute consumables to their operators. Instead of only offering one type of disc in each box or kit, Norton listened to beta users and discovered that operators could benefit from kits that included multiple grit types.
“We created new kits because operators need multiple grits at their stations,” Radaelli says. “We even designed the box to survive vending machine drop tests.”
When all was said and done, the new 2-in. and 3-in. flap discs reflect Norton’s iterative, user-centric approach to product development. It’s a rare case where customers shape not only the development of the abrasive itself, but also its format and packaging.
Changing Expectations
Across a range of industries, operators are discovering the value of switching to the new Norton non-woven flap discs – but Radaelli notes that the true advantage becomes clear over time. Because Vortex grains are designed to continually resharpen as they wear, the disc’s performance is best evaluated across its full life, not in a brief trial.
Radaelli explains that some customers expect instant results, which is why his team encourages longer, real-world test periods that reflect how the product is actually used. In one case, an operator who typically spent an entire day finishing a single part with a competitor’s disc decided to put the new Norton flap disc through a full-shift evaluation. Before reaching the halfway point of his shift, the operator told his supervisor that with the new disc, the job would be finished by noon – demonstrating how the disc’s extended life and consistent cut can significantly change productivity over time.
“The supervisor didn’t believe it,” Radaelli says, “but when he inspected the part, he turned to our sales rep and said, ‘I want it.’”
For operators, the difference is immediate. For businesses, the ROI adds up quickly. And for Norton, the Vortex Rapid Prep mini flap discs are a prime example of what happens when a product is built directly for the needs of the people who use it.