Endless abrasive article with non-striping functionality

Abstract

An endless abrasive article comprising a substantially constant width, a flexible backing, and an abrasive layer comprising a layer of abrasive grains fixed onto the backing by an adhesive make coat, wherein the abrasive layer comprises a plurality of cavities arranged in a series of parallel rows, the cavities being substantially free of the adhesive make coat and substantially free of abrasive grains fixed onto the backing, individual cavities in a row are separated from each other by a first distance, adjacent parallel rows are separated from each other by a second distance in a direction parallel with the width, and wherein the parallel rows defining an inclined direction wherein an angle between the inclined direction and the edges of the abrasive article is substantially 8°, preferably in a range of 7.8 to 8.2°, which provides inclined segments of abrasive layer uninterrupted by any cavity between adjacent parallel rows.

1 . An endless abrasive article suitable for use in machine abrasion with a belt sander, the endless abrasive article comprising
 a substantially constant width defined by a first edge and a second edge,   an antistatic, flexible backing, and   an abrasive layer comprising a layer of abrasive grains fixed onto the backing by means of an adhesive make coat,   
       wherein
 the abrasive layer comprises a plurality of cavities arranged in a series of parallel rows, the cavities being substantially free of the adhesive make coat and substantially free of abrasive grains fixed onto the backing, 
 individual cavities in a row are separated from each other by a first distance, 
 adjacent parallel rows are separated from each other by a second distance in a direction parallel with the width, 
 
       and wherein
 the parallel rows defining an inclined direction wherein an angle between the inclined direction and the edges of the abrasive article is in a range of 7.8 to 8.2°, which provides inclined segments of abrasive layer uninterrupted by any cavity between adjacent parallel rows. 
 
     
     
         2 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , wherein ratio of the first distance to the second distance is in the range of 1:2 to 2:1. 
     
     
         3 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , wherein the abrasive grains have a grit designation in the range of P40-P3000, the grit designation being determinable according to FEPA standard 43-2:2017(en). 
     
     
         4 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1  comprising a slurry coating or an electrostatic coating, whereby the layer of abrasive grains is electrostatically oriented, such that the abrasive grains comprise tips which point away from the make coat in a substantially horizontal direction. 
     
     
         5 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , wherein the antistatic, flexible backing is made of paper. 
     
     
         6 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , wherein the abrasive grains are surrounded by an adhesive size coat adhered on top of the make coat. 
     
     
         7 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , wherein individual cavities of the plurality of cavities are identical with each other, preferably wherein the cavities have a circular shape. 
     
     
         8 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 6 , wherein the adhesive size coat comprises an electron beam curable composition comprising
 at least one unsaturated oligomer in an amount of up to 80 wt-%,   at least one unsaturated mono-, di-, tri- or poly-functional monomer in an amount of up to 90 wt-% of the total weight of the electron beam curable composition prior to curing.   
     
     
         9 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 6 , wherein the component is a filler in an amount of up to 60 wt-%, such as in the range of 20 to 60 wt-%, of the total weight of the electron beam curable composition prior to curing. 
     
     
         10 . A kit-of-parts comprising an apparatus and an abrasive article according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         11 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , wherein ratio of the first distance to the width of the abrasive article is in the range of 1:1 to 1:800. 
     
     
         12 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , wherein the width of the abrasive article is in the range of 5 mm-3000 mm. 
     
     
         13 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , comprising an electrostatic coating wherein the abrasive grains have a macrogrit designation range of P40-P220, the grit designation being determinable according to FEPA standard 43-2:2017(en). 
     
     
         14 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 1 , comprising a slurry coating wherein the abrasive grains have a microgrit designation range of P240-P3000, the grit designation being determinable according to FEPA standard 43-2:2017(en). 
     
     
         15 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 6 , wherein the adhesive size coat comprises at least one component selected from a solvent, a filler, a surface modifier, an adhesion promoter, an antistatic agent, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 15 , wherein the component is an antistatic agent selected from the group comprising graphite, carbon black, soot, metal particles, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 16 , wherein the antistatic agent is graphite in the form of particles having a diameter in the range of 1-15 μm. 
     
     
         18 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 8  which comprises the at least one unsaturated oligomer in an amount in the range of 20 to 80 wt-%, of the total weight of the electron beam curable composition prior to curing, and wherein the at least one unsaturated oligomer is aromatic or aliphatic. 
     
     
         19 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one unsaturated oligomer is selected from the group comprising polyurethanes, polyesters, polyethers, polyetheresters, epoxies, polysiloxanes, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The endless abrasive article according to  claim 8  which comprises the at least one unsaturated mono-, di-, tri- or poly-functional monomer in an amount in the range of 20 to 90 wt-% and wherein the at least one unsaturated mono-, di-, tri- or poly-functional monomer is selected from the group comprising acrylates, methacrylates, and any combination thereof.