New Norton Vortex Rapid Finish Discs Feature Revolutionary Technology

WORCESTER, MA, May 22, 2011 (Press-News.org) Norton, the world's largest abrasives manufacturer and leader in metal fabrication abrasive products for over 125 years, has introduced Norton Vortex Rapid Finish Non-woven Right Angle Discs for the metal fabricating industry. The new discs feature an innovative, high-performance engineered grain and improved resin bond system providing aggressive, fast stock removal and a fine finish.

Vortex Rapid Finish discs are positioned as Norton's "best" choice for removing light welds and blending stainless steel, including removing weld marks and splatter, small flashings, parting lines; deburring and cleaning. The new discs prepare surfaces before coatings / plating, perform light cleaning and remove blemishes after welding stainless.

A very tight, unitized construction offers several benefits for deburring and finishing, as well as reducing cycle times. A thick nylon web gives Vortex Rapid Finish discs twice the life and the ability to do faster finishing with minimal shedding. A porous construction provides cool cutting and an improved cut rate. Vortex Rapid Finish discs are manufactured with a new curing process and bond technology to result in consistent performance from first contact to stub size for improved part quality with no smearing. The new discs offer excellent form holding, and will not break down under heavy deburring conditions.

"Vortex Rapid Finish discs provide maximum productivity with less downtime for changes, and can finish up to twice the number of pieces over conventional unified wheels," said Mr. David Long, Director of Marketing, Strategy and Marketing Information at Saint-Gobain Abrasives.

Norton /Vortex Rapid Finish Type 27 Depressed Center discs are available in sizes including 4 1/2" x 5/8"-11" and 4 1/2" x 7/8". The abrasive is an engineered aluminum oxide, grit size is 100-120 with a medium grade, and the type of backing is type 27/ fiberglass.

To learn more about the entire non-woven, right angle discs product line, visit (http://www.nortonindustrial.com/metalfab/muscle.aspx). Also, Norton recently announced the availability of a completely re-designed Norton/ Merit welding and metal fabrication eCatalog. The new catalog is available online at (http://www.nortonindustrial.com/), and is also available in print.

About Saint-Gobain
Norton is a brand of Saint-Gobain. With more than 1,000 subsidiaries in 59 countries, Saint-Gobain (http://www.saint-gobain.com/en) is the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of building materials, and a leader in the production of high performance materials, glass containers and abrasives. Founded in 1665 and headquartered in Paris, Saint-Gobain had worldwide sales of $52.7 billion in 2009 and employs approximately 209,000 people. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain employs approximately 19,000 people, and had sales of $6.8 billion in 2009. The company has approximately 150 manufacturing plants and more than 150 distribution outlets throughout North America.