Industrial Brushes

About Industrial Brushes and Industrial Brushing Including: Brush Suppliers, Power Brushes, Spiral Brushes, Strip Brushes & Wire Brushes.

Industrial brushes are devices with bristles fastened or mounted to a handle or holder of some sort. These industrial brushes are incorporated into an industrial process. Manual hand brushes are also considered industrial brushes if they are essential to the industrial or manufacturing process. Industrial brushes are made of natural, synthetic or wire materials. Industrial brushes and industrial brushing tools are produced in all shapes and sizes, including spiral brush design. This design flexibility makes industrial brushes extremely versatile and useful in a variety of applications, such as applying, pushing, removing, cleaning, spreading or acting as a barrier. Brush stiffness is determined by the diameter of the fiber, the length of the fiber and the brush density (how closely the fibers are packed together). The difference in stiffness ranges from the soft bottle brush to the very stiff wire brush.
 
Industrial brushes come in many kinds. Cleanroom brushes are either shaped like a pencil or a toothbrush and are used to eliminate electrostatic discharge. Flow-thru brushes come in several different designs, one of which is the syringe design. The bristles in this design are attached to a ferrule where a syringe needle with a connection is embedded. Hand-held brushes, with filaments that are stapled, hand-tied, glued or stamped to the core, are often used in applications where the product is difficult to reach. Twisted-in-wire brushes, also known as bottle brushes, are smaller brushes that are ideal for industrial and domestic applications, such as bottle cleaning, pipe and tube purging and refrigerator and radiator cleaning. Spiral brushes are self-cleaning, create a definite wind pattern and are easily cleaned after prolonged use. They are ideal for removing undesirable particles from a moving web.
 
Industrial brushing machines come in a variety of shapes, including wheel brush, cup brush, end and spiral brush or tube brush design. Machine brushes are attached to grinders or other machinery that spin at high speeds to remove material or other debris. Brush bristles are typically made of metal (e.g. stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, brass, etc.) as typically seen used in wire brushes. Industrial brushes can also be made from tampico or other synthetic fibers, such as nylon as typically used in creation of bottle brushes. Strip, or channel-back, brushes are machine brushes that can be customized to fit a wide variety of applications, such as sealing, conveyor cleaning, surface roughening, dusting and many, many more. The channel size (the metal back), fill material and brush configuration (e.g. straight, coiled, wound or cup-like) determine the size of the brush. Trim length possibilities are nearly limitless. Channel sizes are arranged by number; the smaller the number, the smaller the base width.
 
In choosing the right kind of industrial brushing tool, it is important to consider the bristle trim length and the handle materials. Short bristle trim makes for a much stiffer brush, as used in wire brushes. These shorter bristles are useful for tough cleaning jobs, such as trimmed lead removal. If used on sensitive surfaces, great care must be taken. Long bristle trim produces a softer brush. There is less risk of damage on sensitive surfaces with these kinds of industrial brushes. Handle materials include wood, aluminum, dissipative plastic, zinc-plated steel, stainless steel and delrin. Wood is an inexpensive material suitable for anti-static areas, if the industrial brush is utilized in applications in which fluids are part of the process. Aluminum is a versatile material that is suitable for anti-static and conductive environments, such as cleanrooms. Dissipative plastic has higher resistivity than conductive materials, but is conductive enough to prevent any static buildup. Zinc-plated steel is also economical and is typically used in applicator brushes. Stainless steel is a fairly versatile material that is used with cleanroom and applicator brushes. It has greater quality and durability than zinc-plated steel. Delrin is a synthetic material suitable for cleanroom use, as well as autoclave/high-heat environments.

Industrial Brushes and Industrial Brushing Image Provided by Braun Brush Company	Industrial Brushes and Industrial Brushing Image Provided by Schaefer Brush Manufacturing

Industrial Brushes and Industrial Brushing Image Provided by Spiral Brushes, Inc.

Types of Industrial Brushes

• Artist brushes have the ability to form a sharp tip, allowing for precisely placed paint, have elasticity of the hair, which allows the brush to return to its original shape after a stroke, and have the ability to hold and dispense paint predictably, allowing for good paint flow control.
  
• Brass brushes are made from brass, which is a softer wire than stainless steel; the wire diameters range from extremely soft to still. Brass brushes are perfect for use in applications that require burnishing, polishing, non-sparking static spark removal and some deburring and material removal.
  
• Brush seals are contacting seals that have centerpieces of very flexible pack consisting of thousands of wires or fiber bristles, which constantly adjust to the moving surface. Brush seals are utilized in static and dynamic applications.
  
• Brush suppliers are manufacturers of industrial brushes.
  
• Cleanroom or ESD (electrostatic discharge) brushes are resistant to electrostatic buildup and are an important component in electronic manufacturing or industries where static electric buildup or charges are detrimental to the manufacturing process.
  
• Cylinder brushes or roller brushes are strip brushes wound around a core or shaft and secured by welding or mechanical fastening. Cylinder brushes, the most commonly used brushes, can be a variety of sizes and made with different filament materials.
  
• Detail brushes, made with nylon bristles, are able to remove wax and dirt build-up from crevices. Brass bristles are useful for removing corrosion from hard-to-reach places, and stainless steel bristles can be used to remove rust from metal or chrome surfaces.
  
• Nylon brushes have abrasive threads for fast and simple removal of paint, rust, scale and other contaminants.
  
• Pencil-shaped applicator brushes have nylon bristles and are useful in applications that require the cleaning of fine areas. These round brushes work well for applying liquids and fluids.
  
• Power brushes, also called wheel or machine brushes, are any power-driven, wheel-shaped brushes powered by a machine at variable speeds. Power brushes are used for metal deburring, removing rust, paint or coatings, gear and thread cleaning, surface preparation for welding or painting and surface finishing on a variety of materials.
  
• Spiral brushes are small brushes used for cleaning, bottles, pipes, and tubes.
  
• Stave brushes are long, rectangular wooden or plastic blocks with one or more rows of tufts.
  
• Steel brushes are non-shedding brushes that are highly corrosion-resistant, rust-proof and very strong. Stainless steel brushes have bristles that range from extremely soft to stiff and are used where contamination or rust is a problem, to prevent harmful ferrous deposits from building up and for burnishing without removing the base material.
  
• Strip brushes are metal channel brushes that clean products on a conveyor system.
  
• Tin acid brushes have extra stiff black horsehair bristles with a tin handle and are utilized in soldering applications that include mucilage and with acid.
  
• Twisted in wire brushes, also known as bottle brushes, are smaller brushes that are basically pieces of doubled-over-wire with bristle material inserted between the fold of the wire stem. These hand-held or machine-powered brushes are smaller than the wheel brushes, so they are useful to reach smaller areas that need to be deburred or finished.
  
• Vacuum brushes are brushes usually made with soft, natural material, such as camel hair, goat hair or sable hair, but may also be made with nylon and other synthetic materials. Vacuum brushes vary in size and shape depending on the work surface from which removal of excess materials is required.
  
• Wire brushes come in a variety of sizes with either crimped or twisted wire bristles. Wire brushes are ideal for removing rust, paint or welding splatter.

Terms Related to Industrial Brushes

Abrasive Nylon - Long-wearing material available in several filament diameters and grit sizes. Abrasive nylon is excellent for surface finishing applications.
 
African Bass - A light brownish, very coarse fiber that is typically used in street brooms.
 
Arbor Hole - The diameter of the brush-mounting hole.  
 
Bore - Inside diameter of a core or hub for a roller brush.
 
Brass Wire - Rust-proof and spark resistant, brass provides gentle brushing action.
 
Bristle - The material that does the actual cleaning or cutting.  Bristles can be made of natural, synthetic or metal material.  
 
Bronze Wire - Stiffer than brass with the same non-sparking benefits as brass.
 
Brush Part - The length of the brush area on a core.  Brush parts can be the same or shorter than the overall length
 
Conductive Nylon - A non-marking synthetic brush fiber that can take the static charge created by the brushing action and send it to the ground.
 
Core Diameter - Diameter of a cylindrical brush core.
 
Crimped - Filament that has been composed with a wave pattern and is measured by amplitude and frequency.  
 
Cut End - Part of a twisted in wire brush where the wire has been flush cut at the brush part end.
 
Cylinder - A drive shaft that powers cylindrically shaped brushes.  The brushes are part of an industrial or manufacturing process that requires a clean conveyor or product at a particular point in the process.  
 
End Tuft - A twisted in wire brush where the filament has been gathered to create a tuft parallel to the twist wire.
 
Face Width - Width of the brush face when the brush is in operation. Filament is usually stiffer acting and eliminates streakage.
 
Ferrule - A seamed or seamless steel tube that gathers and binds bristles in paint brushes.
 
Filament - The synthetic fibers that are used to create a brush tuft.
 
Fill Material Size - Thickness of a single filament or wire size in inches.  Nylon ranges from .003 to .125 and wire from .003' - .020'.
 
Flagged - Filament whose ends have been splintered by a series of knives to produce a softer-tipped brush.
 
Goat Hair - Very fine and soft animal hair that is used for very short trim brushes.
 
Hog Bristles - Animal hair that has soft to slightly stiff texture. The natural flagging of hog bristles allows the brush to fit into cracks to remove fine dust.
 
Horsehair - A resilient and long lasting fiber that is excellent for sweeping polished surfaces.
 
Level Fill Material - The straight filament or wire of a brush.
 
Nylon - The toughest and longest wearing synthetic filament available. Nylon is excellent for industrial and food service applications.
 
Oil Tempered Wire - Also called “flat wire,' it is a stiff, hard-working, resilient wire used in hand-scratch and power-driven brushes.
 
Overall Diameter (OD) - The diameter of a cylindrical brush measured at the filament ends.
 
Overall Length (OAL) - The length of a brush, usually measured as the length of the core.  
 
Palmyra - A medium stiff to stiff textured vegetable fiber made from the leaf stalks of the Palmyra Palm of India. Palmyra can be mixed with Tampico to produce Union Fibre.
 
Palpro - A synthetic, long-wearing alternative to palmetto that resists acids, alkalis and organic solvents better than any natural bristle material.
 
Patent - A slightly stiffer, more durable selected grade of polished tampico.
 
Pattern - The distance between the tufts usually given by a row and column distance measurement for block brushes and by tufts per circumference and spacing for cylindrical brushes.
 
Phosphorous Bronze - A non-ferrous, non-corrosive material with more temper than brass.
 
Pitch - The distance between wraps on a coil brush.
 
Poly Bass - A synthetic brush material that is large in diameter and resistant to abrasion and most solvents and acids.
 
Poly Core Roller - A cylindrical brush that has a plastic core.
 
Polyester - Heat and moisture resistant synthetic filament. Polyester is also resistant to petroleum products, acetones, ketones, alcohols and weak acids.
 
Polypropylene - A material that has excellent wet stiffness and is resistant to most petroleum solvents, oils, greases, most acids and chemicals.
 
Power Brushing - Any process that uses a power-driven, rotating industrial brush to deburr, clean or finish a metal part.
 
Stainless Steel Wire - Rust-proof and very strong, stainless steel is used to prevent harmful ferrous deposits on brushed parts.
 
Steel Low Carbon Wire - A soft, magnetic material used for light material removal and for surface finishing of soft materials. Steel low carbon wire will rust easily.
 
Tampico - A natural vegetable fiber that can be used wet or dry for scrubbing, washing and dusting applications and can be treated for applications of grease or abrasives.
 
Trim - Length of brush filament from the core.
 
Ultrasonic Welding - A process that utilizes high frequencies of sound to weld the base of a brush to the fill material.