Case Studies

The Effect of a Premium Abrasive Grain on Production Costs

In a Thin Wheels' application on 300-series stainless steel, a recent test of our MA88 monocrystalline alumina vs. commodity BFA (brown fused alumina) proved that MA88 is not only easier to use but also provides a productivity increase of 20%.  Let’s look at the numbers to see what value a more productive grain brings to the end user. 

In order to estimate the value to the end-user, one must not only know the cost of the grains in the abrasive product, but also the abrasive product cost to the end-user.  Based upon internal surveys, we find that the typical abrasive grain cost for small to medium size grinding wheels is approximately 25%. Additionally, numerous industry studies and internal research indicates that consumable tooling costs, including grinding wheels, are typically only 3% of the end-users cost to produce the final component.¹

In this case, the net effect after considering the MA88 higher price vs. BFA was an operating savings of over 12% to complete the component.   By assuming an increased abrasive cost of .8%, the end user can realize an operating cost savings of 12%. To put this in other words, let’s assume that the end-users operating cost when using commodity BFA is $10 per component. After considering the higher cost for the premium MA88 grain, the increased productivity will result in an operating cost reduction of $1.20, for a final component cost $8.80. So by a small investment in a premium grain grinding wheel, your end-user will realize significant savings through productivity increase.

Some of our premium grains, such as Cerpass and Norzon NV, can increase productivity by a factor of 2X or even higher.  Imagine the value you can bring to your customers in terms of increased throughput and significantly decreased operating costs.  Please contact us to learn how these gains can benefit your customers.