Saint-Gobain Abrasives has announced the introduction of Norton Quantum Prime Grinding Wheels featuring new, proprietary nano-crystalline ceramic grain which offers unprecedented productivity gains across a wide range of applications. The new Quantum Prime grain delivers exceptionally high grinding efficiency and part quality, as well as significantly longer wheel life than traditional ceramic grains.

“We are excited to offer our customers with a superior grinding solution which is producing substantial productivity increases,” said Rama Vedantham, director of product management, bonded and superabrasives, Norton | Saint-Gobain Abrasives “In an Outer Diameter (OD) Bearing Grinding application, the Quantum Prime Wheel resulted in 150% more parts per dress than a previous generation ceramic wheel, and also resulted in 300% faster rough/ finish infeed for a plunge face grinding application compared with a competitive ceramic OD wheel.”

Norton Quantum Prime Wheels have several important advantages including a new micro-fracturing grain that has unparalleled sharpness and cutting efficiency which reduces power draw and cycle times, while increasing material removal rates. The unique grain is free cutting, which combined with advanced bond technologies such as Norton Vitrium3, allows Quantum Prime to wear more consistently, improving part quality, geometry and finish even at high material removal rates. Also, Quantum Prime has a more friable self-sharpening grain technology so grinding wheels stay sharper longer, reducing dress requirements and drastically improving wheel life.

Applications for new Norton Quantum Prime are diverse including OD, Centerless, Internal Diameter (ID), Gear, Toolroom, Disc, Surface, Flute and Creepfeed Grinding and Mounted Wheels. Also, newly introduced Norton IDeal-Prime ID Wheels for precision applications feature Quantum Prime grain embedded in an optimized matrix of Norton Vitrium3 bond. The combination of the micro-fracture properties of the new ceramic grain and the retention capability of the bond, ensures long wheel life, excellent grinding efficiency and consistent part quality which results in substantial cost savings.

Key industries for Norton Quantum Prime include automotive, aerospace, energy, primary steel, gear, bearing, cutting tools, and metalworking/engineering. Quantum Prime Grinding Wheels are made-to-order to meet customer requirements. The grain blends are available in all standard grain combinations, and bonds are organic or Vitrium3 vitrified.