What are the material and structure of a sanding belt, and how do they affect its grinding effect?

The material and structure of abrasive belts
An abrasive belt is mainly made up of three parts: the base material, the abrasive, and the adhesive.
Base material: The base material is like the "skeleton" of the abrasive belt, holding the abrasive and the adhesive. Common base materials include cotton cloth, synthetic fibers, and paper. The quality of the base material directly affects how flexible, wearable, and long-lasting the abrasive belt is. For instance, abrasive belts with a cotton cloth base are really flexible and good for grinding curved surfaces. But those with a paper base are lighter and cheaper.
Abrasive: The abrasive is like the "teeth" of the abrasive belt and it's directly involved in the grinding process. Common abrasives are aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, zirconium corundum, and so on. Different abrasives have different hardness and wear resistance, and they're suitable for different materials to be ground and different grinding needs. For example, aluminum oxide abrasive has medium hardness and is good for grinding metals and wood. Silicon carbide abrasive is harder and is suitable for grinding hard-to-process materials like hard alloys.
Adhesive: The adhesive is there to stick the abrasive firmly to the base material and stop the abrasive from coming off during grinding. Common adhesives are animal glue and resin. The type and performance of the adhesive also affect how well the abrasive belt grinds and how long it lasts.
The structure of the abrasive belt is also important. The abrasive should be spread evenly on the base material, and the size and shape of the abrasive particles should be the same. This makes sure the grinding effect is even and stable. Nowadays, a lot of abrasive belts use electrostatic planting technology to plant the abrasive particles evenly and orderly on the base material. This greatly improves the grinding efficiency and quality of the abrasive belt.

How abrasive belts do the grinding through rolling
The process of abrasive belt grinding is actually pretty simple. It's done by the rolling of the abrasive belt on the workpiece. Specifically:
Installing the abrasive belt: Put the abrasive belt on the drive wheel and the tensioning wheel, and adjust the tension. Usually, the drive wheel is rotated by a motor to give power to the abrasive belt. The tensioning wheel is used to keep the abrasive belt tight and stop it from loosening or slipping during grinding.
Contact with the workpiece: Put the workpiece under or beside the abrasive belt to make the abrasive belt touch the surface of the workpiece. Based on the grinding needs, you can adjust the contact pressure and angle between the abrasive belt and the workpiece.
Rolling grinding: When the drive wheel starts to rotate, the abrasive belt rolls too. During the rolling, the abrasive particles rub and cut the surface of the workpiece, gradually removing the material on the surface and getting the grinding done. Because the abrasive belt is kind of elastic and flexible, it can handle workpieces of different shapes and curved surfaces.
During the whole grinding process, the material and structure of the abrasive belt are really crucial. For example, the flexibility of the base material decides if the abrasive belt can handle complex curved surfaces. The hardness and wear resistance of the abrasive determine the grinding efficiency and effect. The firmness of the adhesive makes sure the abrasive doesn't come off during grinding. At the same time, parameters like the rolling speed and contact pressure of the abrasive belt can be adjusted to get different grinding effects.