Are Curved Flap Discs Worth Buying?

What goes around comes around, including curved flap discs. 10 years ago Cibo looked at the option of making flap discs with a curved edge for grinding fillet welds. They're a great idea. The curved edge grinds into the face of the fillet. The fillet weld is shaped to a neat radius. But are curved flap discs cost effective?

Advantages of Curved Flap Discs

The obvious advantage of the curved flap disc is being able to grind into the corner of the weld in the way that a standard flap disc can’t.

Working on the edge ensures a high grinding pressure and therefore rapid metal removal. And curved flap discs are much more comfortable to work with than grinding discs. .

But….

Disadvantages of Curved Flap Discs

Whilst in principle they will work quickly and save labour time, there are 4 significant disadvantages to curved edge flap discs.

Curved edge flap discs are much more complicated to manufacture. Often products such as the Pferd Polifan flap disc can be more than twice the price of a premium performance flap disc.
The hard edge created by bonding the curve means it is easy to undercut the weld when trying to blend into a radius.
In order to create the curve it is necessary to reduce the number of abrasive flaps in the disc. Fewer flaps = reduced life. Reduced life means increased cost per metre of ground weld.
Making a curved flap disc is tricky. So they are expensive.

The Cibo Solution?

Sometimes it is better to go back to the drawing board and start again. What is the problem we are looking to solve? On structural steel fabrication or in large vessel manufacturing it is often necessary to grind and shape the mig welds to create a curved fillet. When manufacturing larger vessels dressing fillet welds without undercutting the weld is essential. And shaping mig welds without losing structural integrity is essential.

The aim. To make a flap disc that will grind fillet weld curves and dress flat surfaces.

Making a flap disc that will grind and shape a fillet weld to a neat radius. This is a regular problem for steel fabricators, aluminium fabricators and for stainless steel vessel production.
Supplying a flap disc that will grind fillet welds and dress butt welds on flat surfaces.
With a disc that will work well on steel, stainless steel and aluminium.

So Cibo set to work and came up with a neat and simple solution. A disc with super fast performance and a longer disc life. And just as important. A disc which will grind and shape fillet welds with ease. Reduce the backing plate diameter whilst maintaining the flap size and you create a flexible edge.

The result: Cibo EXTENDED Flap Discs

Premium performance Cibo Ceramic Abrasives
Super fast metal removal when grinding on the edge of the disc.
More flaps on the disc.
And longer disc life.

How To Use the EXTENDED Flap Disc

Use the Cibo X-Tend flap discs like any other flap disc.

Grinding butt welds. X-Tend flap discs perform like any other flap disc, but with the added grinding power and flexibility. Grind the top of the weld and allow the flexible edge of the disc to improve the quality of the blend and prevent under-cutting.
- Recommended – FOV 40 grit 115mm or FOV 40 grit 125mm
Grinding fillet welds. Press into the weld and allow the flexible edge to shape around the curve. Working into the curve allows the same high pressure grinding power that you would get with a curved disc.
- Recommended – FOV 40 grit 115mm, FOV 60 grit 115mm, FOV 40 grit 125mm, FOV 60 grit 125mm
Dressing Edges. Run along the external edge and allow the disc to follow a natural curve which will create a smooth radius without facets.
- Recommended – FOV 60 grit 115mm, FOV 60 grit 125mm, FOV 80 grit 125mm

Not convinced? We are so confident in the extra performance that you will get with the Cibo X-Tend discs that we are offering a 100% money back guarantee. The first time you buy the X-Tend discs. If they don’t do the job. Send them back to AFS to receive a 100% refund on your purchase. You can’t say fairer than that.