How to Choose NamPower Composite Hub Wheels

NamPower composite hub wheel brushes feature indestructible cores, higher abrasive nylon filament densities, and a superbly balanced construction. Designed for machine-based and offhand deburring, these nylon abrasive brushing tools offer excellent surface finishing and edge radiusing capabilities.  NamPower wheel brushes are a highly-effective alternative to wire wheels and non-woven abrasive brushes, and are used with extrusion cut-offs, machine parts, shafts, steel gears, and turbine blades.

When selecting NamPower composite hub wheel brushes, manufacturers need to consider product specifications such as brush diameter, face width, trim length, and abrasive grit. Cut depth, revolutions per minute (RPM) and feed rate are key operating parameters. NamPower wheel brush users can also choose arbor adaptors in a variety of sizes. These machined components are designed to increase brush support, reduce brush vibration, and promote longer brush life.

Product Specifications

 NamPower composite hub wheels are available in standard 6-inch and 8-inch diameters. NamPower wheels with smaller diameters are less flexible and more aggressive. NamPower wheels with larger diameters are more flexible and less aggressive. When determining the required brush diameter, factors to consider include burr size, conformity and part shape, final finish and radius requirements, and the type of machinery with which NamPower wheel brushes will be used.   

In addition to brush diameter, face width and trim length are also important product specifications. As a rule, the face width must be wide enough to deburr a wide edge yet still narrow enough to access part recesses that may also require surface finishing. The length of the brush filaments, or trim length, also affects wheel brush aggressiveness and flexibility. In general, industrial brush tools with longer filaments are more flexible and better able to reach curved or recessed areas.

Like trim length, grit selection also affects filament flexibility since coarser grits have larger filament diameters. NamPower abrasive nylon wheels with coarser grits are recommended for use with heavier burrs, or when a fine surface finish is not required.  The use of a fine-grit brush tool with a coarse starting finish is less effective than a coarse-grit tool followed by a fine-grit tool. Grit selection is highly dependent on the starting surface finish as well as the amount of material refinement required.

Operating Parameters

Cut depth, revolutions per minute (RPM), and feed rate are key operating parameters for NamPower composite hub wheels. Cut depth varies with trim length and grit selection, but is not dependent on brush diameter. In other words, both 6-inch and 8-inch diameter NamPower wheels have the same cut depth for a given filament diameter/grit size.  As a rule, the standard setup is 10% penetration of the available trim length on smaller-diameter filaments and 5% penetration on larger-diameter filaments. 

Recommended RPMs vary by NamPower wheel brush diameter and under wet and dry conditions. With both the 6-inch and 8-inch diameter wheels, stay under 2,500 surface feet per minute (SFPM) for dry applications and 3,500 SFPM for wet applications.  Once wheel brush diameter, grit selection, RPMs, and cut depth are determined, choose the feed rate. As a rule, set the feed at the fastest rate for the desired level of deburring and edge radiusing. For more information, download the NamPower Resource Guide.