Weiler Abrasives  

One Weiler Dr
Cresco,  PA  18326-7846

United States
800-835-9999
http://www.weilerabrasives.com

• Booth: W3161

Before, during and after the weld, we have you covered.

For those who want a competitive edge and value productivity-enhancing solutions for cleaning, grinding, cutting, de-burring and finishing, Weiler Abrasives Group is a premier manufacturer who forges collaborative, problem-solving relationships with customers. We work with you to solve your challenges, enabling your business to get more done and improve your top and bottom lines.

Save more time. Be more productive. And more profitable.

That’s the Weiler difference.

 Press Releases

• Talk With an Abrasives Specialist About the Next Generation of Solutions from Weiler Abrasives, Booth W3161 at FABTECH 2024 (Oct 03, 2024)

  New Tiger® Ceramic 2.0 and Tiger INOX 2.0 cutting, grinding and combo wheels will be among the bonded and coated abrasives offerings featured

  CRESCO, Pa. — September 5, 2024 — Weiler Abrasives, a global leader in abrasives and power brushes for surface conditioning, announced it will showcase the next evolution of abrasive solutions at FABTECH 2024, to be held Oct. 15 to 17 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.  

  Changeovers cost time and money that operations don’t have to waste. Visitors to booth W3161 can find surface conditioning solutions to help them improve productivity and uptime, overcome labor challenges, and address safety issues. They can learn more about solutions for a variety of industries, including shipbuilding, metal fabrication, multipass welding and foundry applications.  

  Among the new solutions to be featured at the show will be the unique innovation in bonded formulation of the expanded Tiger 2.0 lineup, including the Tiger Ceramic 2.0 and Tiger INOX 2.0 portfolio of cutting, grinding and combination wheels. Tiger Ceramic 2.0 cutting, grinding and combo wheels offer a superior combination of life and cut rate for maximum productivity. The unique design leverages innovative new ceramic grain technology that cuts extremely cool and removes material effortlessly while providing exceptional control for an improved operator experience. Extensive testing shows that the new ceramic wheels deliver an industry-leading 20% to 30% longer product life than the leading ceramic wheels on the market, with no reduction in cut rate. The INOX 2.0 wheels are designed for high performance when cutting and grinding high-value stainless steel parts. Premium aluminum oxide grains provide a smooth cut rate and consistent performance. Both Tiger Ceramic and Tiger INOX wheels are contaminant free, so they are safe to use on stainless steel. 

  A new blending disc product lineup from Weiler Abrasives will also be featured in the booth. The blending discs, ideal for a wide range of blending, weld cleaning and polishing needs, can help operations save time and money through faster material removal and longer product life in demanding industries such as shipbuilding, structural fabrication and welding. 

  Weiler Abrasives specialists will also be scheduling consultations at the booth to help visitors understand their abrasive spend, along with ways to increase productivity and eliminate grinding and finishing bottlenecks. These essential consultations will include a thorough discussion of the steps needed to overcome surface conditioning challenges, whether related to labor, safety or increased customer demand. Specialists can also offer recommendations for better ways to grind and finish stainless steel, Inconel, aluminum and other hard-to-work-with materials — and how to choose the right abrasive for specific applications.  

  To learn more about the featured products or to schedule an in-booth consultation during the show or a phone consultation prior to the show, visit the ​FABTECH landing page. 

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  About Weiler Abrasives Group 
  As an industry leader and global manufacturer of surface conditioning solutions, Weiler Abrasives Group is dedicated to forging collaborative relationships with our customers in diverse markets — Metal Fabrication; Industrial Production; and Maintenance, Repair & Operations — to tackle their toughest cleaning, grinding, cutting, deburring and finishing challenges. 

• Weiler Abrasives Changes Industry Expectations With Tiger® Ceramic and INOX 2.0 Cutting, Grinding and Combo Wheels (Oct 03, 2024)

  A cutting-edge evolution in abrasives designed to help operators produce their best work   

  CRESCO, Pa. — Aug. 27, 2024 — Weiler Abrasives, a leading producer of abrasives and power brushes for surface conditioning, is excited to announce two upgrades in its high-performing lineup of Tiger 2.0 cutting, grinding and combination wheels. Designed to address the challenges of demanding metal fabrication industries like shipbuilding, pressure vessel and heavy equipment fabrication, the new Tiger Ceramic 2.0 and Tiger INOX 2.0 wheels help cut through inefficiencies, safety issues and labor shortages that prevent companies from doing their best work.   

  “For our new Tiger Ceramic and INOX 2.0 wheels, formulation makes the difference in overall performance. We went back to the lab and reimagined what was needed to make the best product. This was about more than adding fancy abrasive grains — this was about rethinking the entire formulation,” said Tony Hufford, category manager – Metal Fabrication at Weiler Abrasives. “The outcome is an optimized formula that combines the latest bond technology, unique abrasive grain selection and specially matched fiberglass reinforcement.”   

  Tiger Ceramic 2.0 cutting, grinding and combo wheels offer a superior combination of life and cut rate for maximum productivity. The unique design leverages innovative new ceramic grain technology that cuts extremely cool and removes material effortlessly while providing exceptional control for an improved operator experience. Wheel life has been improved by increasing grain retention and ensuring precise product wear. Extensive testing shows that the new ceramic wheels deliver an industry-leading 20-30% longer product life than the leading ceramic wheels on the market, with no reduction in cut rate.  As a result, operations can get more work done with the new ceramic wheels from Weiler Abrasives.   

  The INOX 2.0 wheels are designed for high performance when cutting and grinding high-value stainless steel parts. Premium aluminum oxide grains provide a smooth cut rate and consistent performance. Both Tiger Ceramic and Tiger INOX wheels are contaminant free, so they are safe to use on high-value stainless steel parts. 

  The Tiger 2.0 upgrade also features a QR code on the wheel for quick access to important safety information and a patent pending Optimum Use Line to help get the most out of the wheel. Using the wheel to its full life reduces changeovers, which helps users be more productive while reducing waste and abrasive spend. An advanced 2.0 bond formulation on the grinding wheels reduces uneven edge wear and chipping, improving operator experience and extending wheel life. 

  In addition to the new Tiger Ceramic and INOX 2.0 wheels, the full portfolio also includes Tiger Zirc (zirconia alumina) and AO (aluminum oxide) cutting, grinding and combo wheels in the 2.0 design. All 2.0 wheels deliver smooth, predictable cutting and grinding — making the work safer.  

  Weiler Abrasives also delivers expertise and support through safety training and consumable productivity assessments, helping ensure that operations are using the correct products for their applications.  

  Learn more about how Tiger 2.0 can cut through barriers in your operations at weilerabrasives.com/tiger-2.0. 

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  About Weiler Abrasives Group 
  As an industry leader and global manufacturer of surface conditioning solutions, Weiler Abrasives Group is dedicated to forging collaborative relationships with our customers in diverse markets — Metal Fabrication; Industrial Production; and Maintenance, Repair & Operations — to tackle their toughest cleaning, grinding, cutting, deburring and finishing challenges. 

  Weiler Abrasives, One Weiler Dr., Cresco, Pa., 18326-0149 • (800) 835-9999 • weilerabrasives.com

• Weiler Abrasives Introduces New Blending Disc Lineup (Oct 03, 2024)

  Available in several grain types and designed for improved performance and product life

  CRESCO, Pa. — July 16, 2024 — Weiler Abrasives, a leading provider of abrasives, power brushes and maintenance products for surface conditioning, has announced its new blending disc product lineup that is ideal for a wide range of blending, weld cleaning and polishing needs. The blending discs can help operations save time and money through faster material removal and longer product life in such applications as shipbuilding, structural fabrication and welding.  

  “These new blending discs improve performance and results across the entire product portfolio, including significant gains with our top-performing ceramic offerings,” says Andrew Koch, product manager, Weiler Abrasives. “Operations can make big strides in productivity because these products work more efficiently and last longer.”  

  The blending discs are available in ceramic, zirconia alumina and aluminum oxide grain options. The new ceramic discs feature a denser grain coating that provides more cutting surface area, increasing the material removal rate. In addition, an improved ceramic grain formulation is designed to micro-fracture, breaking down to provide more sharp edges for enhanced performance. In product testing, the new ceramic blending discs increased material removal by 35% and product life by 50% compared to previous offerings.  

  The improved zirconia alumina and aluminum oxide blending discs also deliver better performance and product life. In addition, the expanded blending disc portfolio provides more connection types, with all of the grain options in the lineup now available in Type S and Type R connections. All the discs are now available with a resin fiber or cloth backing. The resin fiber backing helps reduce the pressure an operator must apply to the disc to maximize the cut rate. It also helps retain the grain on the disc, increasing disc life. The cloth backing offers a more comfortable disc that gives the operator greater control of material removal. The Weiler Abrasives blending disc portfolio also includes a line of aluminum discs that remains unchanged.  

  “The focus is on helping our customers find the right disc and the most cost-effective disc for their application,” Koch says.  

  Learn more about how the new blending discs from Weiler Abrasives can improve performance and results at weilerabrasives.com.  

  # # # 

  About Weiler Abrasives Group 
  As an industry leader and global manufacturer of surface conditioning solutions, Weiler Abrasives Group is dedicated to forging collaborative relationships with our customers in Metal Fabrication and Industrial Production markets to tackle their toughest cleaning, grinding, cutting, deburring and finishing challenges. 

  Weiler Abrasives, One Weiler Dr., Cresco, Pa., 18326-0149 • (800) 835-9999 • weilerabrasives.com 

• Optimizing Bonded Cutting and Grinding Wheel Performance (Oct 03, 2024)

  Cutting wheels and grinding wheels are versatile abrasive products used across many applications in fabrication, manufacturing, foundries, construction and numerous other industries. These consumables can have a significant effect on the overall productivity and efficiency of the operation. 

  Cutting wheels are a precision product used primarily for making exact cuts, whether on structural steel, pipe or plate. Grinding wheels are used when applications call for removing a large amount of material or to clean up welds.  

  These abrasive products are available in different grains and bonds. Grain types include aluminum oxide, zirconium, ceramic and silicon carbide, with each type offering different characteristics. For example, aluminum oxide provides toughness and good performance for cutting steel. Zirconia alumina is a self-sharpening, tough, durable grain that holds up well in a range of demanding applications. Ceramic grain is self-sharpening and offers cool cutting that does not require as much pressure from the operator. Products made with ceramic grain achieve maximum performance with high-power machines. It’s important to consider the needs of the application, the type of base material and the power capabilities of the tool being used when choosing the appropriate grain.  

  Benefits of cutting and grinding wheels 

  Cutting wheels are all about efficiency. Choosing the proper thickness and dimension of a cutting wheel for the job depends on the workpiece shape, dimension and tool available. For larger profiles, larger wheels are recommended. For thinner materials, thinner products are the best choice. Thinner wheels make a quick and cleaner cut. The thinner the wheel, the faster the cut. Thicker wheels are more stable and side load resistant.  

  

  Grinding wheels are ideal for stock removal. In this photo, the operator is blending a weld on a pressure tank.

  Grinding wheels are thicker and contain coarser grains. Their main purpose is to be used over larger surface areas when there is a lot of metal to remove, and they offer a long product life.  

  Cutting and grinding wheels deliver numerous benefits, including increased productivity. With cutting and grinding wheels, there is often a trade-off between product life and cutting speed, but some products on the market today, like the Tiger 2.0 product line from Weiler Abrasives, are designed to optimize both — so operations no longer have to choose. These wheels increase wheel life by up to 40% and match industry-standard cutting speed, allowing operators to increase time spent cutting and grinding and reduce changeover.  

  Understanding wheel life 

  So how do operators know when a wheel should be changed? Typically, it’s time for a changeover when the product stops performing well or doing the work efficiently. Also, the diameter of the wheel gets smaller as it is used. When a cutting wheel gets so small that it cannot get through the workpiece anymore, that’s a sign for a wheel changeover.  

  Not using a wheel to its fullest life can cost money — both directly and indirectly. It’s throwing money away in the form of usable product, which increases an operation’s consumable spend. But it also increases downtime for the operator when changeover happens more frequently than necessary. From a sustainability perspective, it generates more waste to throw wheels away too soon.  

  The Tiger 2.0 cutting and grinding wheels from Weiler Abrasives include a visual indicator to ensure that every operator is getting the optimum product life out of every wheel. This marking diminishes as the product is used, finally wearing down to arrow indicators so the operator knows the product has been used to its full efficiency and can be changed. This takes the guesswork out of knowing when to change the wheel. It also helps ensure steady output and consistent wear of the wheels from application to application, which is important for production managers as they plan consumable inventory and budget. By removing the variables from the product’s performance, it becomes a dependable and reliable part of the production operation.

  

  A visual indicator can help users know how much life a wheel has left. Using a wheel for its full life reduces changeovers, which improve​s​ operator productivity while reducing waste and abrasive spend.

  Tips for efficiency and optimized results  

  In addition to making sure the operator is using a cutting or grinding wheel for its full useful life, following some best practices can help ensure consistent results and save time and money in the operation. Consider these tips for wheel use:  

  • Put safety first: Be sure to follow all proper safety procedures for using cutting and grinding wheels. All next-generation Weiler Abrasives cutting and grinding wheels will have a QR code printed on them that operators can scan for safety information.  
     

  • Choose the right product: First and foremost, be sure to match the speed and size of the wheel to the speed and size of the tool. Be sure the rpm rating of the tool doesn’t exceed the rating of the wheel. A cutting wheel with a depressed center (Type 27) can resist more side pressure and provide safety benefits. But a flat Type 1 wheel will allow the operator to perform deeper cuts. 
     

  • Use wheels for the application they are designed for: Don’t grind with a cutting wheel because the product was not designed for that. Grinding with a cutting wheel can lead to product breakage. Grinding requires a grinding wheel or a combination wheel. When switching between cutting and grinding applications, choosing a combination wheel will remove the time taken to switch between a cutting and grinding wheel.  

  • Watch the angle: Grinding wheels offer optimal performance when they are used at an angle of 25 to 35 degrees. Operators that grind at too flat of an angle often struggle. When too low of an angle is used, the bonds of the grinding wheel can break down, resulting in pieces chipping off. To provide a solution to this common challenge, Weiler Abrasives has developed an advanced formula for its newest wheels to prevent chipping. This provides more flexibility in the angle used, allowing operators to vary technique more without worrying about damage to the wheel. On the cutting wheel side, keep the wheel at a 90-degree angle to the surface. Using any other angle means the cut won’t be as clean and there is a chance of damaging the wheel. Thinner wheels are more sensitive to side pressure. Cutting wheels with a depressed center resist more side load.

  

  The wheel on the left shows edge chipping, which is common with grinding wheels. The wheel on the right shows the performance of the anti-chipping formula from Weiler Abrasives, which will improve user experience and extend wheel life.

  • Apply proper pressure: When using a cutting or grinding wheel, there isn’t a need to push too hard. Use light pressure and let the abrasive do the work.  
     

  • Keep it moving: Don’t dwell with the abrasive in one spot for too long; this will heat the product up and can cause it to glaze over. Keep the wheel moving back and forth with a gentle motion to make the most efficient use of the product.  
     

  • Use the correct guard: Always use the guard designed for that product type. For example, when using a Type 27 wheel, be sure to use a Type 27 grinding guard, and when using a Type 1 cut-off wheel, always use a half-moon cutting guard.  

  Value of consistent performance 

  Choosing the right cutting and grinding wheel for the job and following best practices for using the wheels will improve results. Technologies available on wheels today can also help ensure safe and efficient wheel use — to save operations time and money and increase productivity. 

  

  Cutting wheels are ideal for making precise cuts.

• Using Data To Reduce Costs and Improve Throughput in Cutting and Grinding (Oct 03, 2024)

  Manufacturing facilities wanting to find cost savings or improve throughput may overlook the cutting and grinding process — mistakenly thinking those operations are too small to make a significant impact on the bottom line.  

  Much of the time, abrasive products are simply viewed as consumables and a small piece of the overall puzzle. However, the choice of abrasive and how the product is used can have a substantial impact on production upstream and downstream because the abrasive affects operator efficiency, labor costs and overall quality of the finished product, among other factors.  

  Learn more about how studying data from the manufacturing process can help your operation choose the right abrasive product and uncover cost and labor savings.  

  Impact of abrasive products

  Some manufacturers choose abrasive products based solely on initial product cost. However, using a cheaper wheel or the wrong wheel for the job can significantly affect throughput, long-term costs and productivity. Because labor is typically the highest expense in any operation, any change that reduces downtime and improves productivity for operators has a positive ripple effect through the entire production operation.  

  Whether the work involves a grinding wheel, flap disc or cutting wheel, there are several ways that abrasive products can affect throughput, costs, downtime and productivity in a manufacturing operation. Consider these common challenges that add time and costs:  

  

  Measuring a grinding wheel to collect data can help operations determine if the wheel is being used to its optimal life. 

  • Unnecessary downtime for wheel changeover:. Choosing the wrong abrasive for the application can result in a product that doesn’t perform as needed. As a result, the operator may use the wheel incorrectly, the wheel may fail prematurely or there may be more frequent changeover. This adds unnecessary downtime, which can create bottlenecks and labor inefficiency in the operation both upstream and downstream of the cutting and grinding process. Minimizing wheel changeover reduces downtime and improves efficiency, allowing companies to reallocate an operator’s time elsewhere in the facility to help boost throughput or perhaps add another workstation.  

  • Reduced product life:. Using the incorrect abrasive for the job or the material can also reduce expected wheel life. Not only does this force operators to change the wheel more frequently, but it also drives up costs because more abrasive products are being used. Choosing the correct abrasive helps improve efficiency and allows operators to use the wheel to its full life, resulting in fewer abrasives being used and ultimately labor and cost savings.  

  • Too much rework: For many manufacturing operations, their products must be inspected or tested to meet certain specifications for customers. If the finished product doesn’t meet the standards, it requires rework and or the part could possibly be scrapped entirely. Rework adds material expenses and labor time, driving up the costs. Choosing the appropriate abrasive for cutting and grinding can help operations minimize rework and ensure quality results for the material and application needs.  

  A comprehensive review  

  If your operation could shave six minutes off every hour in the abrasives process, what would that equal in savings for the entire year? There is a way to find out. Measuring the total operating costs associated with your abrasive consumables can identify efficiency gains and time savings to help your operation optimize labor and save money. But it’s important to look at the entire operation and all the factors involved with the abrasives process to get the full picture. Even a small change in one part of the operation can have significant ripple effects throughout the entire production line.   

  For example, poor part fit-up in the material prep process negatively impacts operations downstream. Operators must spend additional time to correct the poor fit-up, and they must use extra filler metal to fill that gap. If a standard cutting wheel is used to prepare the material for production, it can potentially leave burrs and an uneven cut. A switch to an ultra thin cutting wheel delivers faster, smoother and cleaner cuts — which means the operator spends less time on burr removal and potentially uses less filler material to complete the weld. 

  Partnering with an abrasives manufacturer for this type of comprehensive review helps ensure that you’re looking broadly at all aspects of the process rather than focusing on simply swapping out your current abrasive for something else. It’s important to look beyond the specific wheel being used because perhaps the problem stems from something else.  

  It’s important to consider all factors, from the angle of the tool to the work environment where the product is being used. The analysis should also look at any challenges the operation faces, their goals and how they measure success. Considering all of this information helps ensure a comprehensive improvement plan.     

  Real-world examples

  One such offering is the Weiler Consumable Productivity (WCP) program, which helps facilities find cost and time savings in their fabrication operations when they may not have the resources or process to quantify results themselves. The process effectively and efficiently measures real-world data and can take minimal effort to deploy in a facility because abrasives experts implement it.  

  The program can help companies identify improvements by evaluating the overall operation and how abrasives are used in a facility. The approach includes an on-site assessment by abrasive experts so they can learn firsthand about the production process and collect data on how the abrasives are used. First, a baseline is established by capturing data on the current process. That is followed by testing of the current process and abrasives. The experts then calculate the estimated annual savings that a product change could provide based on labor, time and consumable consumption. They use data to build a focused plan to eliminate inefficiencies in production by using the best abrasives for the application — and potentially improve productivity and throughput.  

  

  A wheel is used in a back gouging application. In one pressure vessel application, the WCP evaluation process helped find a better abrasives solution that would hold up to the demanding work and deliver longer life — providing an expected annual abrasives savings of more than $62,000 to the customer.

  In one pressure vessel application, the WCP evaluation process helped find a better abrasives solution that would hold up to the demanding work and deliver longer life — providing an expected annual abrasives savings of more than $62,000 to the customer. In another shipbuilding case study, the customer needed to find an abrasive product that worked on steel to meet government specifications. Throughout testing, the WCP process was leveraged to accurately measure cut rate, wheel life and labor costs. This provided the company with hard data to select the wheel that offered the best productivity and total cost, delivering an annual savings of $20,000 over the other wheels tested. 

  Using data to optimize the abrasive operation  

  Whether the challenge to be addressed is a shortage of labor, a high rework rate or escalating consumable costs, any manufacturer or fabrication shop that is looking to make improvements is a good candidate for an evaluation process. Using data from all aspects of the abrasives operation provides a full picture to help uncover solutions that can deliver significant time and cost savings.  

  A cutting wheel is used to cut a steel railing section down to size. The choice of abrasive and how the product is used can have a substantial impact on production both upstream and downstream.