Material family
Coated Abrasives
Paper-, cloth-, and film-backed abrasives. Discs, sheets, and belts cut, perforated for dust extraction, and kiss-cut on the liner, with no die for the grain to wear out.
Also called: sandpaper · abrasive discs · abrasive belts · PSA-backed abrasive · hook-and-loop abrasive · film-backed abrasive
- Wavelengths
- CO₂ — 10.6 µm typical; the backing (paper, film, cloth) absorbs it and carries the cut, the mineral does not
- Pulse regime
- Modulated CO₂ for cutting and perforating; pulse energy set for the backing, with dwell for the grain layer
- Why the pulse regime matters →
Process data
| Edge condition (grain loss at the cut) | Trial data requiredMeasured as grain shed along the edge after cutting and after handling. |
|---|---|
| Hole diameter and pattern (dust extraction) | Trial data requiredSet digitally per disc pattern; measured per backing and grit. |
| Kiss-cut depth window on PSA-backed stock | Trial data required |
| Achievable cut speed | Trial data required |
| Fume and dust extraction requirement | Configuration-dependentAbrasive backing and resin bond produce more fume than plain film. Extraction is sized per construction. |
Entries marked “trial data required” have not been run on your specific construction. We publish only what we have measured.
Typical constructions
- Paper-backed coated abrasive, PSA or plain
- Film-backed coated abrasive, PSA or hook-and-loop
- Cloth-backed coated abrasive for belts and rolls
- Non-woven abrasive pads
- Multi-layer abrasive with size coat and anti-load coating
What usually decides it
The backing decides whether it cuts. The grain decides what the edge looks like. Aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, and ceramic grain are refractory. The beam removes the backing and the resin bond around the grain, and the grain at the cut line falls away. The process window is where the backing cuts cleanly at speed without scorching the resin beyond the edge. That window differs for paper, film, and cloth.
A die that cuts abrasive stock is cutting a material designed to wear tools down. That is the whole case for a beam. It has no edge to dull and no die to sharpen, and the last roll gets the same disc geometry as the first.
What the laser does on coated abrasives
- Disc and shape cutting — the laser contour-cuts discs, sheets, and specialty shapes from roll stock. Where the backing is printed, the cut runs in register to the print. A geometry change is a recipe change. No die is made.
- Dust-extraction perforation — the laser perforates multi-hole patterns in sanding discs. Hole count, diameter, and layout are set digitally per SKU, with no tooling change. Pattern and density are coupled to line speed. The trial establishes that coupling.
- Kiss-cutting on the liner — on PSA-backed discs, the cut goes through the abrasive and adhesive and stops at the release liner. The discs stay on the roll for dispensing. We set the depth window on your construction in the lab.
Where the trial spends its time
Three questions decide the process on abrasives, in this order. First, how much grain sheds at the cut edge, after cutting and after handling. Second, how the resin bond and any anti-load coating behave at the edge at the speed the line needs. Third, how much fume and particulate the construction produces. That number sizes the extraction.
Each is measured on your stock. Paper, film, and cloth backings behave differently enough that a result on one does not transfer to the others.
See it run
Fill in the missing numbers with your actual material.
Every trial adds to the measured record behind these pages. It also adds to the process model we are building to predict the window before the first test piece is cut.