Polishing & Grinding Cloths from Metkon Technologies

Any high quality microscopic or analytical sample preparation usually requires several phases of grinding and polish to bring out the best surface possible. Whether a sample is metallographic, petrographic, or somewhere in-between, Metkon Technologies' polishing & grinding cloths sold by MSE Supplies offer a vast array of performance capabilities that are sure to meet your specimen preparation needs.

These cloth pads do not have their own internal abrasive, so one must be added in the form of a diamond suspension/lubricant, also available through MSE Supplies. The end-user can choose the grain size they would like to add to a pad; however, once an abrasive is applied to a cloth, it may only use that size abrasive for the rest of its lifetime, or else the pad will become contaminated.

Deciding on a cloth and abrasive combination can be intimidating given the diversity of choice. Thankfully, Metkon has listed what abrasive they believe pairs best with each cloth, as highlighted below;

Four types of polishing cloths are offered by MSE Supplies - Woven, Non-woven, Flocked, and Chemo-textile. The scenarios each cloth variant excels in are described below:

• Woven [METAPO-x, WOOL] cloths are best for hard surfaces and guarantee flat pre-polishing without edge deterioration.
• Non-woven [NOWO] cloths should be used on very hard materials such as glass, quartz, sapphire, etc. for a high precision surface finish.
• Flocked [FEDO-x] cloths provide a super-polished finish, and can compliment a coarser cloth.
• Chemo-textile [COLLO, PETRI] cloths are suggested for chemical mechanical applications, such as using a colloidal silica suspension for non-ferrous metal polishing. 

As a general rule, more rigid cloths are used with larger diamond abrasives between 9 - 15 microns. Softer cloths lend themselves to working well with small and medium grain sizes. There are plenty of exceptions to this rule based on material type. Harder, non-homogenous materials may experience rounding due to uneven erosion rate across its surface if a softer cloth & fine abrasive are used for the final polish. 

To alleviate this problem Metkon Technologies and MSE Supplies provide many options for surface types, such as the METAPO-V which is conducive to fine polishing while being relatively rigid. NOWO pads have a large selection of abrasives that it can function well with, depending on the sample's material. 

If you are looking for high-quality consumables to satiate your sample polishing & grinding needs, look no further than Metkon Technologies polishing pads, offered for the best price by MSE Supplies!