Know-how
Our knowledge of abrasives is second to none – and has been for over 155 years. Your company can also benefit from our experience in the production and application of flexible coated abrasives.
A champion ceramic grain meets made-in-Germany quality
An abrasive grain developed and made entirely in-house
Did you know that VSM produces its own ceramic grain at its Hanover site? This makes us one of only a handful of ceramic grain manufacturers worldwide. By producing our own abrasive grain, we can significantly influence the performance characteristics of our abrasives. We also utilize our wealth of technical know-how to develop, produce and continuously optimize new grain technologies in-house – such as the geometrically shaped ceramic grain used in ACTIROX abrasives, for example.
Backing materials finished on-site
We finish the backing materials for our abrasives ourselves, in our own cloth finishing plant. Why go to all this trouble? Because backing material quality is not only essential for abrasive grain adhesion but also applies the stock removal forces to the respective workpiece. By adjusting the backing material characteristics to perfectly match our abrasives, we can significantly influence both the performance and the service life of the abrasive.
The perfect bond for VSM abrasives
Synthetic resin bonds ensure the best possible adhesion of abrasive grain to the backing material. The use of active abrasive fillers keeps grinding cool or improves chip clearance. These bonds are also manufactured and actively developed at VSM in Hanover. For high-performance high-quality abrasives – Made in Hanover.
Our quality promise
Finished goods and pre-assembled articles are subjected to continuous quality assurance testing in-house to verify their grinding performance and belt joints. These tests are carried out in our purpose-built, state-of-the-art Grinding Unit as well as our VSM Competence Center. We have also been certified to the ISO 9001:2008 standard for many years, and are a member of FEPA, oSa and VDS.
Our Competence Center in Hanover
Grinding processes put through their paces
Looking to optimize your grinding process and check your process steps in advance under real conditions? Need to achieve a specific, defined finish but lack your own machines in-house to test out the grinding process? All of this – and much more – is possible in the Competence Center at our company head office in Hanover.
Webinars – live from our Competence Center
In just 30 to 60 minutes, our live webinars will give you useful tips and tricks for your everyday work, plus valuable insights into metalworking with any kind of abrasive. All streamed live from our Competence Center studio, where we have all the resources we need to simulate grinding processes and carry out tests.
Technical abrasives seminars in Hanover
The classroom seminars held in the VSM Competence Center give you hands-on experience with abrasives. Short theory sessions on our seven-station grinding circle are followed up with detailed practical blocks. Tailor-made to our users and dealers.
On-site consultations at your company
Your worldwide partner
Our detailed application-specific abrasive expertise distinguishes us as a company! We view ourselves as a "sparring Partner" of our customers. Thanks to our close cooperation with machine manufacturers, suppliers of machine parts, experts for lubricants and research institutes, we ensure that our customers benefit from the latest technological advances at an early stage. This is the reason why VSM customers may rely on their grinding processes to always be “state-of-the-art”.
A global network of VSM experts is available for you to contact worldwide. They are there for you irrespective of whether you run a medium-sized company or an international group with production sites across the world.
Individual advice and after-sales support
The individual advice offered by VSM of course extends beyond the point of purchase. Regular visits to our customers ensure collaboration based on trust. Furthermore, our applications engineers always suggest improvements, for example, if new products come onto the market that would better fit the respective grinding process than the solution that is currently being used. By providing intensive training and expert staff, we are perfectly placed to support you in achieving your quality and performance goals.
Optimizing the grinding process
Cost savings of up to 40%
Having the right abrasive is not enough. All components involved in the grinding process have to be perfectly adjusted as well. Cost savings of up to 40% have proven to be realistic. They can be achieved by reducing the amount of rejects, reducing cycle times and the amount of machine downtime.
All process parameters, such as contact wheel, feed rate, cutting speed and the right lubricant have to be optimized to enhance the operation of the abrasive in use. Only by taking all these factors into account can a sustainable reduction of costs be achieved.
VSM Process Cost Optimizer
The VSM Process Cost Optimizer is a tool that is easy to use. It helps to set and change process parameters for different types of abrasives so that the costs and benefits derived from using abrasives with changing settings can easily be compared. This leads to finding the best solution for a given application, which is always tailored to the customers’ needs.
Application expertise
Flat grinding
Slabs
While the requirements for slab descaling are some of the toughest for any type of job in terms of removal rate for grinding belts and the durability of backings, this is an area where VSM abrasives offer impressive performance throughout.
Coils and sheets
For wide and long belt grinding, VSM abrasives with paper backings result in a uniform surface finish as well as reproducible surface roughness values.
Square steel
Square tubes are often used in the furniture industry. VSM abrasive belts are used here to achieve a uniform scratch pattern and a long service life.
Die-cut and laser parts
From deburring and rounding corners to a defined finish: VSM has a broad and well-established portfolio for any task.
Cylindrical grinding
Wire
One of the many applications of cylindrical grinding is the processing of wires. VSM abrasive belts have flawless joints that ensure the high quality of your wire products. A precisely defined surface finish works to maximize your process reliability.
Tubes
Whether your tubes are welded or drawn, grinding the workpiece reliably removes the surface defects that occur during the manufacturing process. VSM abrasives also ensure that the scratch pattern is consistent and reproducible.
Cylindrical workpieces
Cylindrical workpieces can be machined by means of through-feed centerless grinding, grinding between centers or by using a clinch process. This eliminates surface defects as well as removing layers of scale.
Off-hand grinding and power tools
Backstand grinding
Backings with various levels of flexibility are required for finishing punched or cast workpieces. VSM abrasives adapt to the contours of the workpiece to ensure that the abrasive grain is ideally aligned and achieves maximum efficiency.
Power tools
VSM offers professional abrasives for almost any type of hand-held machine, including angle, disc, portable belt or dynafile grinders. These abrasives are just as useful for levelling welds as they are for removing surface imperfections or achieving a perfect scratch pattern and a high-gloss finish.
Off-hand grinding
VSM hand-held abrasives are ideal for the grinding and intermediate or finish grinding of edges, contours, rounded edges or hard-to-reach areas. The range of flexibility offered by the backing materials ensures that these adapt perfectly to the shape of the workpiece.
Materials
Steel
From stainless steel to unalloyed steel or superalloys: VSM abrasives are the ultimate specialist when it comes to metalworking. These abrasives offer high-performance abrasive grains, rugged backing materials and secure belt joints.
Non-ferrous metals
From hard to soft or tough: non-ferrous metals can have a very wide range of properties. VSM has an extensive product range that is capable of grinding almost any non-ferrous metal successfully. Although high stock removal rates are possible with aluminum, clogging of the abrasive is a key problem to avoid. This is where VSM STEARATE products really shine.
Composites
Composite materials are characterized by a wide range of properties. Grinding composites presents no problems with the extensive range of abrasives from VSM.