You can use lapping abrasives to produce finished products with accurate dimensions and better-quality surface finish. Depending on the type of component and application requirements, you can use abrasives comprised of different materials such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, boron carbide, diamond powder, alumina powder and cerium oxide.

Various industries that use abrasive for lapping are aerospace, automotive, electronics, building and construction and semiconductors. Some important parameters you must consider before you select lapping abrasives are:

1. The surface you want to abrade
2. Degree of precision required for surface flatness
3. Grit size of lapping abrasives
4. Type of lapping process: dry lapping or wet lapping
5. Type of carrier chemical for wet lapping process: oil, water or synthetic chemicals
   
6. Required quantity of lapping abrasives

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy lapping abrasives from a reputable lapping abrasives manufacturer

Once you understand your requirements, you can go to a specific manufacturer to buy lapping abrasives.

I recommend: Stahli USA, a leading industrial lapping abrasives manufacturer, also offers a range of surface measuring and testing equipment. United States Products, another leading manufacturer of lapping, grinding and polishing compounds, provides abrasives made of different materials such as diamond, boron nitride, norbide, silicon carbide and corundum in various grit sizes.

Buy lapping abrasives from a reputable lapping abrasives distributor or retailer

You can buy lapping abrasives from lapping abrasives vendors after comparing lapping abrasives prices offered by different manufacturers. You can also buy lapping abrasives online at retailers' website.

I recommend: Abrasive Specialties provides heavy duty lapping abrasives of various leading manufacturers such as 3M, Amplex Abrasives, Arc Abrasives, Boride Abrasives, Formax and Spirakut. AGSCO is another reputable abrasive supplier that offers commercial lapping abrasives for polishing, lapping and refractories. KBC Tools and Machinery offers lapping abrasives to the manufacturers of brake cylinders, pneumatic cylinder and small engines.

Buy specialty or customized lapping abrasives from a custom manufacturer

If standard products available in the market do not meet your specific requirements, opt for customized or specialty lapping abrasives offered by custom lapping abrasives producers.

I recommend: Composition Materials is a custom manufacturer that offers abrasives made of different materials, including plastic, steel, aluminum and glass. Micro Abrasives is another custom manufacturer that provides lapping abrasives that you can use to abrade extra soft metals as well as extremely hard metals.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You can also opt for abrasive lapping service providers. Check for standard certifications such as ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001, ISO 13485:2003, and ISO/TS 16949:2002 for your lapping service provider.
• •  Use various measuring equipment such as monochromatic lights, optical flats and gauss gauges to measure the surface flatness and roughness of lapped components.