3M™ Boron Carbide Abrasive Powders

Consistently High Surface Quality
3M™ Boron Carbide Abrasive Powders deliver high surface quality and allow high removal rates in lapping, wire sawing and ultrasonic drilling operations. The advantage of using 3M boron carbide grits instead of silicon carbide, tungsten carbide or titanium carbide is that, unlike these other lapping agents, boron carbide has substantially higher hardness. It allows rapid machining, making it a timesaving option for machining wear-resistant materials such as tungsten carbide and technical ceramics, including alumina (Al2O3), zirconia (ZrO2) and silicon carbide (SiC). Boron carbide gives a matte appearance to the lapped surface. 3M boron carbide powders are available in grit sizes according to FEPA standards.

A Preferred Choice for Various Applications

Lapping
Lapping is the most common final machining method for flat and plane surfaces. 3M boron carbide has a much higher hardness (Mohs 9.5+) than tungsten carbide (WC), titanium carbide (TiC), alumina (Al2O3), zirconia (ZrO) and silicon carbide (SiC). This high hardness allows fast and easy machining of wear-resistant hard metals and ceramics.

Ultrasonic Drilling of Glass, Semi-Precious Stones and Ceramics
Ultrasonic boring is suitable for creating almost any desired profile in hard and brittle materials. 3M boron carbide has a narrow grain size distribution which allows for dimensional stability, contour fidelity and sharp angles at all corners in a single machining operation.

Wire Sawing of Ceramics with Boron Carbide
3M boron carbide is harder than alumina (Al2O3), zirconia (ZrO), silicon carbide (SiC) and synthetic sapphire. Due to its exceptional hardness, 3M boron carbide is well suited for wire sawing of oxide and non-oxide ceramics, and especially sapphire. When 3M boron carbide is used to saw ceramic materials, the cut surfaces have excellent quality with a planarity of ±5 μm, which makes lapping much easier and more cost effective.

About 3M Advanced Ceramics
These advanced ceramic products are manufactured at ISO 9001 and 14001 certified facilities. Our manufacturing processes are optimized for quality, efficiency and consistency – helping ensure reliable and repeatable product performance. We have more than 85 years of experience in designing and manufacturing cutting-edge ceramic solutions, and we continually work to develop new applications for ceramic materials in cooperation with our customers and with research institutions.