Recommended Sanding Speed for Abrasives

If you talk to our technical team here at Abrasive Finishing Systems you will soon realise that we talk about recommended sanding speeds and sanding machine speeds a lot. The question is why?

The simple truth is that abrasives are no different to any other cutting tool. If you use your abrasives at the wrong speed, at best they will under-perform and wear out too quickly, at worst they just won’t do the job at all. The correct machine speed for abrasives is a function of the abrasive grain type, the material being sanded and the finish required. increasing sanding speed will create a finer finish but it will also increase the grinding temperature.

So What is the Recommended Sanding Speed?

Below is a summary table showing the recommended surface speed in metres per second for a range of materials.

Material to be Processed	Surface speed ms^-1
Stainless steel, tool steel, high speed steel	18 – 30
Cast iron, carbon steel	25 – 45
Non-ferrous metals, copper, brass	25 – 35
Aluminium, zinc	18 – 30
Hard and hardened steel	8 – 15
Titanium and titanium alloys	10 – 25
Glass, ceramic materials and stone	8 – 14
Acrylics	5 – 14
Plastic and rubber	10 – 18
Wood	15 – 25
Lacquers & varnishes	8 – 15

All recommended abrasive sanding and grinding speeds are detailed in metres per second

That is all well and good but in the real world most people work in rpm so we have also prepared a small guide below for commonly used machines.

Recommended Sanding Speed for Angle Grinders, Sanders & Polishers:

Material to be processed	4″ dia	4 1/2″ dia	5″ dia	7″ dia
	100mm	115mm	125mm	178mm
Stainless steel, tool steel, high speed steel	3,500 – 6,000	3,000 – 5,000	2,750 – 4,600	1,900 – 3,200
Cast iron, carbon steel	4,800 – 8,600	4,100 – 7,500	3,820 – 6,900	2,650 – 4.775
Non-ferrous metals, copper, brass	4,800 – 8,6000	4,100 – 5,800	3,820 – 5,350	2,650 – 3.700
Aluminium, zinc	3,500 – 6,000	3,000 – 5,000	2,750 – 4,600	1,900 – 3,200
Hard and hardened steel	1,500 – 2,900	1,300 – 2,500	1,200 – 2,300	850 – 1,600
Titanium and titanium alloys	1,900 – 4.800	1,650 – 5,800	1,500 – 3,800	1,050 – 2,650
Glass, ceramic materials and stone	1,500 – 1,900	1,300 – 2,500	1,200 – 2,300	850 – 1,600
Acrylics	955 – 1,500	830 – 1,300	760 – 1,200	530 – 850
Plastic and rubber	1,900 – 3,500	1,650 – 3,000	1,500 – 2,750	1,050 – 1,900
Wood	2,850 – 4,800	2,500 – 5,800	2,300 – 3,800	1,600 – 2,650
Lacquers, varnishes	1,500 – 1,900	1,300 – 2,500	1,200 – 2,300	850 – 1,600

Recommended abrasive disc sanding and grinding speeds in revolutions per minute (rpm)

Recommended Sanding Speeds for Powerfile Machines

Powerfile machines vary widely in terms of their performance capabilities. Most fixed speed machines operate at the equivalent of 32ms^-1 whereas variable speed machines operate from 0 – 32ms^-1 . We have therefore given a recommendation below on whether fixed speed or variable is required for a particular material.

Material to be Processed	Machine Recommendation
Stainless steel, tool steel, high speed steel	Variable speed, Beltit SH
Cast iron, carbon steel	Fixed speed, Beltit BG or BF
Non-ferrous metals, copper, brass	Variable speed ideal, Beltit SH or BF
Aluminium, zinc	Variable speed, Beltit SH
Hard and hardened steel	Variable speed with low speed option, Beltit SH
Titanium and titanium alloys	Variable speed with low speed option, Beltit SH
Glass, ceramic materials and stone	Variable speed with low speed option, Beltit SH
Acrylics	Variable speed with low speed option, Beltit SH
Plastic and rubber	Variable speed with low speed option, Beltit SH
Wood	Variable speed with low speed option, Beltit SH
Lacquers, varnishes	Variable speed with low speed option, Beltit SH