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Introduction
This article will take an in-depth look at the Types of brushes used commonly:
The article will bring more detail on topics such as:
What is a Brush?
Types of Brushes
And much more…
What is a Brush?
When the idea of a brush comes to mind, most people think of a brush as a handle with filaments. However, a completely accurate description of all brushes is more challenging to create because of the wide variety of types, styles, uses, and designs. Simple and common tasks, such as painting a wall in a house, involve the selection of different brushes to perform specific jobs. For example, if a wall is painted with wallpaper, a wire brush would be used to shred and remove it. When selecting a painting brush, designs with angular, flat, or pointed tips can vary in size from a quarter inch to five inches or larger.
These descriptions include common brush designs, which do not include many other forms like makeup, tar, automotive, archeological, tooth, or preservation brushes. This simple, ancient tool has become a staple of our society and has drastically changed over the years. It is also being updated each year by brush manufacturers attempting to create new and unique ways of designing and using brushes. What may be presumed to be a common, ordinary tool has taken on multiple shapes, designs, and categories.
Though the filament-and-handle form of a brush is common, other forms can be referred to as brushes but fall outside the normal parameters. One unique function of brushes is to generate electricity. In electric coils, which are connected to slip rings, the coils turn inside a magnetic field to create an electrical current. The brushes brush against the slip rings, making electrical contact. This form of brush is a central part of generators and alternators. The brushed pieces of metal are named brushes for their function and not their similarity to the traditional definition of a brush.
It seems impossible to divide brushes into categories, though there are descriptive words that can be used to define a brush’s function, such as applicator brushes used to apply paint, varnish, or makeup. There are also brushes that fall outside categorization, such as the brushes at the bottom of an elevator door designed to remove dirt accumulating in the track. Essentially, brushes are difficult to categorize. If one person claims that “X” number of brushes exist, another person will protest.
To assist in developing a greater understanding of brushes, it may be helpful to cover some basic, well-known brushes as well as others that might be surprising. For example: years ago, before the mechanical application of blacktop, hardworking individuals would labor over the pungent black tar and spread it using long-handled brushes. This hot and exhausting process would have been made even more difficult without these specialized brushes. This is just one of the unusual methods this reliable tool has assisted with to make life easier.
Types of Brush Filaments or Bristles
The basic types of filaments for brushes are organic or natural, synthetic, and metal or alloys. Synthetic filaments are made from polymers and include various types of nylon, polypropylene, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). They are available in different grits from very soft and pliable like a paint brush up to very rigid and firm. Natural or organic fiber brushes are made from a variety of natural materials including horse hair, pig bristles, and plant fibers.
Metal filaments are made from a wide variety of metals including steel, stainless steel, carbon steel, hardened steel, aluminum, and brass. Although not generally true, metal brushes tend to be very aggressive brushes capable of removing layers of metal, deburring, and shaping metal and wood. Several categories of metal brushes are used in production and industrial applications.
Organic Fiber Brushes
Natural filament or organic fiber brushes are made from a wide variety of plant and animal materials. They were the original brushes and come in different textures, lengths, grits, and elasticity. They tend to be softer brushes and are used for applying paints, coatings, and surface finishes.
The various types of organic fiber brushes have been used for years due to their longevity and durability. Although they are rarely used for industrial applications, they are very commonly used for artistic, cosmetic, and DIY projects. As natural fibers, they have natural properties that make them ideal for specific and unique applications. Organic fiber brushes are resistant to acids and heat, which is a factor that contributes to their longevity.
Unlike synthetic brushes that are made from polymers, organic fiber brushes are made from materials found in nature. During the manufacturing process, organic fibers require a certain amount of processing to prepare them for being placed in a handle but do not need to have their natural resilience changed or processed.
Examples of organic fiber brushes include:
Hog Bristles: Hog bristles are hollow, curved and long tapered strands that are used for painting applications.
Horsehair: Horsehair is soft, straight, durable, and long lasting. Brushes made from horsehair are ideal for gently cleaning delicate surfaces.
Goat hair: Goat hair is very fine, absorbs color easily, and has low level elasticity. It is used in small, soft brushes for light applications.
Tampico: Tampico is a rough plant fiber that is thermal and chemical resistant and is water absorbent. It is used for polishing and buffing.
Synthetic Fiber Brushes
Synthetic fiber brushes are made from a variety of materials including polyester, nylon, lycra, and rayon. They are highly resilient brushes that are long lasting and exceptionally durable. In many instances, they have replaced organic fiber brushes because of their cost and multiple types. Unlike organic fiber brushes, synthetic fiber brushes are used in every type of application from home improvement to harsh stressful industrial applications.
There are many factors that have contributed to the shift of brush manufacturing from organic fiber brushes to synthetic fiber brushes. Aside from the cost, synthetic fiber brushes have several properties that radically differentiate them from organic fiber brushes. Synthetic brushes are resistant to chemicals and high temperatures, which makes it possible to use them in hostile and harsh environments.
Along with the basic resistance to the effects of environmental factors, synthetic fiber brushes are abrasion and fatigue resistant, which contributes to their longevity. They are highly absorbent and capable of evenly applying coatings and paint, a factor that saves time and improves efficiency.
There is an endless number of synthetic brushes with a brush that can be used in nearly every industrial and manufacturing application. Aside from the standard traditional synthetic brushes, there are custom designed synthetic brushes produced to meet the needs of a single application. This particular factor is one of the reasons that so many manufacturers depend on synthetic brushes.
Leading Manufacturers and Suppliers
Types of Brushes
Anti-Static Brushes
Anti-static brushes are made from low-charge, natural filament materials that sit near neutral on the triboelectric chart. These materials neither give nor take electrons; thus, they remain electronically neutral. Sometimes, however, a slight charge can still materialize. If the application exists in an extreme voltage situation, anti-static brushes with such a charge should only be used in a liquid environment. Natural filament materials include wood, hog bristles, horse hair, camel hair, ox hair, and goat hair. A brush with these materials may be used in an electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensitive area as long as the brush remains in a liquid environment.
Other materials from which anti-static brushes can be made include brass, stainless steel, anti-static nylon, conductive nylon, and high-density nylon. In addition, custom anti-static brush fibers are available in numerous lengths and densities. In order to maintain and lengthen the lifespan of a brush, it is best to use the softest fill material appropriate for a job.
Anti-static brushes are helpful because many equipment issues, like material flow interruption, are caused by static electricity problems. Anti-static brushes can be customized or bought from a standard stock line. Standard anti-static brush types include: applicator brushes, strip brushes, vacuum brushes, aluminum handle brushes, hand laced brushes, plywood handle brushes, curved wood scratch brushes, long handle brushes, flat scrub brushes, wood block brushes, rectangular block brushes, and upright brushes.
Applicator Brushes
Applicator brushes consist of a handle with some form of filament that is flexible and able to absorb liquid. The uses of applicator brushes are innumerable, from applying paint and wallpaper paste to putting grease on a bearing or rotor.
One of the more interesting applicator brushes is the one used to apply paint to canvas to create an artistic masterpiece. Artists are very sensitive about their brushes and hesitate to share them indiscriminately. Good artistic brushes can cost close to a thousand dollars and be so precisely designed that they can apply a minute dab of paint using only four or five filaments. Artistic brushes can also be very large and round, like the ones used for stippling a pattern. When watching an artist work, it is interesting to note how carefully they select their brushes for the piece they are creating.
Even with the advent of the paint roller and the improvement in spray painting, it is still necessary to use brushes to reach difficult areas and do trimming. An interesting factor in this is how specialized brushes have become. Each type has a special function, such as the angular trim brush versus the flat trim brush. Added to the different shapes and types are the specialization of brushes for the material they are going to apply, from ones for acrylic paints to those designed for water-based paint. Visiting any home improvement store can be a confusing business requiring the aid of a specialist when choosing the specific brush for the job.
Makeup brushes are an extremely interesting variety since they are designed to barely touch the skin but apply coloration. In the past, women would apply makeup using a soft cloth or a form of sponge. In many cases, this method did not prove precise enough and required several corrections. Since the middle of the twentieth century, a wide variety of brushes have been introduced that can apply the appropriate amount of coloration in exactly the right spot.
Oil brushes are designed to reduce corrosion and wear by applying a lubricant onto moving components and removing contaminants. The correct application can help lower operating costs by reducing friction. This type of brush is essential for chains, certain types of conveyors, and chain lifts. For most applications, an oil brush is fitted before the mechanisms sprockets, allowing the sprockets to apply the lubricant to the links or pins.
Application Brushes
There are an endless number of application brushes in various sizes, types, and configurations. Application brushes are used to apply grease, lubricants, paint, coatings, and other substances to the surface of parts, equipment, and products. The many varieties of application brushes are necessary due to the wide array of materials that are used in the production and repair of equipment and products.
The use and need for application brushes is ever changing and growing due advancements in production methods and changes in the materials to be applied or removed. Specialized application brushes have custom features that make them the perfect match for unique and unusual applications. The filaments, handles, and materials used to produce application brushes are adjusted to match the substances that need to be applied.
The flexibility of application brushes makes it possible to create the ideal brush with certain brushes manufactured to fit the needs of a single application. This is evident in wood processing where brushes have to be carefully engineered such that they apply the perfect coat without damaging the surface of the wood.
Application brushes are a necessity for many industries due to their ability to evenly apply various materials over the surface of a component. This is especially true in the operation of large machinery that has to be regularly greased or lubricated due to the constant stress such machinery has to endure. Many of the application brushes used for manufacturing and industrial applications are produced using the highest quality raw materials to ensure they can withstand constant use.
Custom Brushes
Every product on the market has been adjusted and finished using some form of brush. Brushes are an essential tool for applying coatings, cleaning surfaces, preparing materials, and gluing components. Although there seems to be a brush for every task, there are those applications that require a non-standard brush due to the nature of the process. It is in those conditions that manufacturers are challenged to create and engineer custom brushes.
The basic standard brush consists of bristles, ferrule, crimp, and handle, which is the form of brush that everyone is familiar with. Brush designers and engineers take these basic components and combine them in a unique fashion to create custom brushes. In the process, they adjust the bristles, change the ferrule, and change or delete the handle. The process is innovative and creative but is based on the application for which the brush is being prepared.
The concept of a brush is rather simple and does not seem to require a great deal of planning. This may be true, but anyone who has used the wrong brush for an application can testify that the created damage can be catastrophic, which is especially true in industrial brushes where the wrong brush can destroy a product.
Custom brushes, with their bristles and holders, provide the perfect solution for applying a coating, cleaning a crevice, preparing a unique metal, or changing the grain of wood. They are carefully manufactured and tested to ensure outstanding performance.
Sanding Brushes
Sanding brushes have become a popular replacement for traditional sandpaper. They have abrasive bristles that are continuously exposed to the surface being prepared and provide stable and reliable performance. The grits of sanding brushes vary from 500 grit, used to prepare surfaces for finishing, to more aggressive 46 grit that can cut into a surface.
The use of sanding brushes covers a wide spectrum of uses from DIY projects to preparing products for finishing. The key to sanding brushes are the different grits, which can be very aggressive in the removal of surface finishes. Industrial sanding brushes usually have filaments made of nylon, ceramic, or steel and are capable of deburring and smoothing metal surfaces.
A common form of sanding brush is cylindrical with the filaments on the surface of the cylinder. They move evenly and smoothly over a surface to create the final look for a workpiece. The various grits of cylindrical brushes make it possible to choose the best one for the material to be treated and the required finish.
Although the term sanding brush envisions one type of brush, it actually refers to a group of brushes that can perform sanding. Cup brushes, end brushes, disc brushes, and wooden handle brushes can perform sanding operations. The key to their use is selecting the correct brush for an application.
Artist Brushes
Artist brushes are high-quality brushes that offer many benefits and serve a variety of artistic and industrial applications. Artistic brushes have the ability to form a sharp tip, which allows for precisely placed painting media. In addition, artistic brushes can hold and dispense paint predictably, which allows for excellent control of paint flow. Since many of the benefits of artistic brushes are derived from their filaments, high-quality filament materials are required.
There are five main types of artist brushes: flat brushes, bright brushes, round brushes, Filbert brushes, and sable brushes. In flat brushes, the shape of the brush is relatively wide but not very thick. In addition, flat brushes can have either long or short filaments. A flat brush can produce both broad and thin brushstrokes. Also, flat brushes work best with oil, acrylics, and alkyd media.
Bright brushes have the same shape as flat brushes but typically have shorter filaments. Bright brushes create short, controlled brush strokes and work best with heavy paints such as oils. Round brushes can be either fat or fine brushes. Fat round brushes produce thick brush strokes, while fine round brushes work well for outlining and detail painting. Round brushes are greatly affected by hand pressure and provide excellent control of oil and other heavy paints. Filbert brushes are highly versatile, thick brushes with an oval-shaped top edge and flat ferrule, which is the metal band that holds the filaments to the handle.
Bottle Brushes
Also called flue brushes, Bottle brushes are a type of brush in which the filaments radiate from a central stem and are most commonly used for cleaning hard-to-reach areas in bottles. Designed for strength and long-term use, bottle brushes can also be used to clean holes after drilling and to clean air and water purification systems, as well as the interior surfaces of test tubes. Test tube brushes differ slightly from typical bottle brushes in that they offer tufted ends that effectively clean test tube bottoms.
There are a wide variety of bottle brush configurations because they are designed to work best for various bottle shapes, specifically ensuring the right size to get into the bottle's neck. Typically linear, some bottle brushes are curved to better suit the shape of the bottle. Different bottle types and shapes that bottle brushes are used to clean include water bottles, baby bottles, thermos bottles, vinegar bottles, narrow-necked bottles, coffee cups, carboys, flasks, or beakers. Bottle brushes are useful in various industries, including laboratory, pharmaceutical, residential, food processing, industrial, medical, electronics, and petrochemical.
Brooms
Brooms are long-handled cleaning brushes used for the collection and disposal of dust and debris in businesses, homes, and public spaces. Brooms are the most limited of all brush varieties in terms of their use on an industrial scale. Every broom variety must be operated manually, constraining their use to almost exclusively light-duty cleaning applications. Within that context, though, brooms are very effective and have enjoyed prominent roles as cleaning tools in homes and businesses since antiquity.
Brooms can be assembled in a few configurations. The most common variety is the traditional sweep broom. A sweep broom is a collection of filaments connected directly to a handle. The filaments can be simply tied around the handle, as is the case with besom brooms, or they can be tied around the handle and fanned out into a flat shape by weaving them. These brooms are swept back and forth manually and are a good tool for sweeping small areas. These two broom varieties are not the most ergonomic and can cause neck and back discomfort after sustained use.
Cleaning Brushes
Cleaning brushes are assumed to be the first form of brush. As civilizations developed, it became necessary to keep living spaces clean. Trying to clean a house by hand was too time-consuming and inefficient. Somewhere along the line, an inventive person took a branch and tied some form of filament to it to be used, much like a modern-day broom.
As time has progressed, more efficient methods have developed, such as the street sweeper with its array of circular brushes. For centuries, city streets were cleaned by wandering trashmen who picked up pieces of garbage and swept up dust, much like they do at Disneyland today. In 1896, an industrious gentleman from New Jersey developed the self-propelled street sweeper that is similar to the ones in use today, thus revolutionizing the cleaning of city streets.
In this age of technology, our electronic instruments have to be cleared of dust and dirt to be able to work properly. To that end, a wide assortment of brushes has been developed to clean keyboards and delicate circuit boards. As with paint brushes, they come in multiple sizes designed for specific cleaning purposes. Some of the more specialized ones are anti-static and conductive brushes developed to protect electrical components.
Other brushes that fit into the cleaning category are bottle, spiral, and pipe brushes. Bottle brushes are handy for getting into enclosed spaces with limited access, while pipe brushes are used to clean pipes with a buildup of sedimentary materials. Spiral brushes are similar to bottle brushes and come with various filaments and handles.
Conveyor Brushes
Conveyor brushes are a secondary cleaner that can normally be used on any type of conveyor belt, though they are particularly well-suited to nonskid and cleated applications. Conveyor brushes, which are tools that can either be stationary or rotary, can be positioned to contact the belt very lightly. This prevents them from wearing down belts or other raised belt components. Conveyor brushes take many forms to clean a variety of materials, like powders and dust. Such forms include spiral coils, spiral-wound cores, strips, and scrapers. Each of these conveyor brushes has a different strength.
A conveyor cleaning brush should be installed on the outlet end of the conveyor, after and below the head roller or rollers. Additionally, the brush should be mounted in proximity to a support roller for consistent brush surface pressure. The second factor to consider is design width and diameter. A conveyor brush should have enough room that, when installed, it is wide enough to overlap each side of the belt surface by half an inch. This ensures complete coverage and accommodation of normal belt weave. The next thing to consider is the size and selection of fill material. After that, a potential customer must consider brush density. Then, they must consider refillable versus replaceable and integral versus removable shafts. Finally, a customer must consider operating size and speed.
Cup Brushes
A Cup brush is used in light and medium-duty applications to clean flat or irregular surfaces and bevel buffing. There are several manufacturing styles for cup brushes. A traditional cup brush has wires extending in a circle around the head. For more heavy-duty uses, cup brushes are made with a series of spiraled wires that are more like thick cables.
Miniature cup brushes connected to a long arm are also made to clean hard-to-reach areas or components. The mounting portion of a cup brush usually has a threaded hole or a stem that can be fitted into a drill head or some other rotation machine. A cup brush with a threaded nut is usually designed specifically for use with an angle grinder for smooth and efficient operation. Most power tools used with cup brushes have varying speeds to help control the operation of the brush.
Cylinder Brushes
Cylinder brushes are typically found in industrial applications where large objects need to be cleaned using an automated system. The wires of the brush are installed all the way around a cylinder that is usually mounted on a bar, where it can rotate a full 360 degrees. Sometimes cylinder brushes are mounted directly over conveyor belts to scrub objects as they pass underneath, or they can be mounted vertically and clean objects by moving beside them. For example, an automated car wash uses large, vertically-mounted cylinder brushes to clean the sides of a vehicle.
Small cylinder brushes are used for finer applications, like cleaning the circuit board of a computer before it is installed in its plastic or metal housing and paired with the rest of the assembly. For computers to function properly once they reach consumers, manufacturers must ensure that no dirt particles have entered the components during the fabrication process. Small amounts of dirt could disrupt connections and hinder the computer’s function. A small cylinder brush can be rolled over the circuit board to remove loose particles and clean the part without damaging it.
ESD Brushes
The acronym ESD stands for Electrostatic Discharge. Many electronic products are vulnerable to damage from static electricity, so ESD brushes are made using materials that dissipate static energy and avoid producing static electricity while brushing. This is important to manufacturers who need to clean or repair electronic products without damaging their components through accidental electrostatic discharge. Not all ESD brushes are the same because the materials used to create them are chosen specifically to insulate, conduct or dissipate an electrostatic discharge.
Applications for ESD brushes include solder removal, dusting, board prep, lead trimming, edge connector cleaning, and static dissipation. Most of these brushes are very small because they are used to clean or treat very small surface areas. They are typically operated by hand using a back-and-forth or side-to-side motion. The trim can be cut shorter to stiffen the brush; in the same way, longer trim lengths make the brush more flexible.
Industrial Brushes
Custom-made brushes have become an industry necessity. When applying a liquid or malleable product, a specific type of brush is required to apply the material evenly but not damage the product. In the food industry, various brushes are used to ensure that food-producing equipment is clean and sanitized.
In any manufacturing industry, the smooth movement of raw materials from one location to another is essential to save time and keep production moving. Materials can be moved with augers. Additionally, conveyor systems use brushes to keep the belts clean and clear of obstructions. Since different fiber thicknesses and materials can be used to make brushes, it is possible to design custom brushes to clean even the most delicate electrical components. Businesses that have access to the outdoors use brushes as a barrier against pests. In other instances, they can serve as cable guides and seals.
Brushes can close gaps around doors, keeping in heat or cold and reducing electrical costs. An added feature of brushes around doors is their ability to dampen noise from vibrations and maintain a quiet environment. Since brushes help in sealing doors, they can also be used to direct airflow, aid in controlling dust, or seal gaps between moving surfaces.
Food production uses brushes for more than keeping equipment clean. Produce has to be cleaned prior to being used for a recipe. The simple process of washing raw fruits and vegetables with water is not sufficient to remove all contaminants. A variety of equipment with brushes is used to scrub the exterior of the vegetables and fruit before preparation.
In health professions, cleaning brushes increase cleanliness and ensure an antiseptic environment. Prior to putting on their surgical gloves, surgeons scrub their hands and arms with specially designed brushes using sterilized soap. This added level of protection removes the possibility of contaminating the patient or the surgical theater.
Many types of brushes are used in the construction industry since keeping work areas clean is a necessity for safety and efficiency. In the roofing industry, several types of brooms are used to clean surfaces before and after the application of roofing material. Though blowers have become popular in cleaning the work area of a construction site, some form of broom or brush is used to clean in-progress areas and prepare them for finishing.
Knot Wire Brushes
Knot wire brushes come in several forms and can be added to any of the various types of brushes, from a handheld paintbrush variety to a disk or cylinder brush. They are made of partially twisted filaments attached to a holder by a shaft or handle. They are perfect for removing slag, heavy contamination, and large burrs. In most cases, they have stainless steel filaments designed to remove stray material without leaving a residue.
One of the practical purposes of knot wire brushes is to remove slag left behind from a welding job, especially on finished surfaces. Regardless of the type of welding material, a knot wire brush is coarse and rough enough to remove it easily. However, this is not a precise tool and can do serious damage if overused.
Knot wire brushes come in a variety of sizes, from two or three inches up to several inches, and can be chosen depending on the job. Smaller versions can be attached to a hand drill for household jobs requiring stiff abrasion, while larger versions are used in industry to deburr and clean metal pieces
Miniature Brushes
Artists use miniature brushes to add the finishing touches to a craft or painting because their small tips make it possible to add very fine details. Miniature applicator brushes can be used to apply a coat of paint or sealant to a small part, and they make it easy to cover even the tiniest spaces on the surface. In industrial settings like factories and fabrication plants, miniature brushes clean equipment or restore parts to their original function and appearance. A variety of materials can be used to create the brush, from wire to plastic to synthetics. The softest material possible is usually chosen for polishing applications, while heavier and harsher materials like stainless steel wire are needed for deburring and cleaning contaminants off metal surfaces.
Nylon Brushes
Nylon Brushes refer to any type of brush with filaments made from the polymer nylon. Nylon is one of the most frequently used materials in brush creation, for good reason. Brushes made with nylon filaments take on the polymer’s properties of bend recovery, heat tolerance, superior abrasion resistance, and chemical resistance. In addition, they have positive nylon characteristics such as exceptional fatigue life, low-to-moderate water absorption, and the ability to work in both wet and dry environments. Thanks to their many wonderful qualities, nylon brushes can serve many applications, including cleaning and removing contaminants, dusting, aggressive scrubbing, surface finishing, rough surface preparation, weld blending, and specialty industrial applications.
Many types of nylon may be used to create a nylon brush. In fact, the properties of a nylon brush, such as its stiffness, are directly related to the grade, length, and diameter of its filaments. A few common nylon grades include 6 and 12. Nylon 6 is known for its toughness, high tensile strength, elasticity, wrinkle-proof nature, luster, and resistance to acids and alkalis. Nylon 12 is selected for applications that will benefit from its characteristics of chemical resistance, hardness, tensile stress, and insensitivity to stress cracking. Nylon 610 and Nylon 612, or 6 10 and 6 12, are the most commonly used nylon polymers for filaments. In addition to grades, nylon brush manufacturers use many specialty types of nylon, such as abrasive nylon and conductive nylon. Abrasive nylon is created when heat-stabilized nylon is coextruded with grains of material that increase abrasiveness, like diamond, aluminum oxide, or silicon carbide.
Steel Brushes
The term steel brush normally refers to the types of bristles or filaments in a brush, which are wires made of steel. They clean the surface without removing the base material or changing its dimensions. Steel brushes separate and remove surface contaminants without damaging the substrate.
Steel brushes come in many forms to be able to meet the requirements of any application. They are a versatile, strong, and durable brush that meet the specific requirements of an application. Long bristle steel brushes are designed to follow contour surfaces while short bristled steel brushes are dynamic, powerful, and fast acting. This aspect of steel brushes also applies to the density of the bristles where high density bristles work fast while low density bristles are used to clean uneven surfaces.
Two common types of wire brushes are crimped and knotted. Each is made from steel wire but is unique in how the wire is shaped. Crimped steel wire brushes have filaments that begin as straight steel wire that is crimped to allow the individual bristles to support each other. Knot steel wire brushes have steel wires twisted into bundles with each bundle serving as a single filament. They are a very aggressive type of steel brush that is used to remove rust, paint, scale, and oxides.
Steel filament or bristle brushes are a standard form of brush used for several applications. Their strength, dependability, and longevity have made them a staple in manufacturing and industrial operations.
Abrasive Brushes
Abrasive brushes have filaments that are coarse and aggressive to remove paint, rust, and smooth welded surfaces. As with many other brushes, abrasive brushes come in several shapes and designs with some being cup brushes while others are disc or end brushes. Each of the various types perform a different function on the surface of a workpiece.
A common application for an abrasive brush is deburring, the removal of burrs and inconsistencies and smoothing edges. Abrasive brushes are very aggressive and make a significant impact on the surface of a workpiece. They are used on steel, plastics, various alloys, and aluminum. The use of an abrasive brush improves surface quality and prepares it for further processing.
Control of the finish of a workpiece is determined by the size of the grit of an abrasive brush, which has to fit the nature of the material to be treated. More aggressive grits such as knot and crimped steel are only used on metal while different types of polyethylene filaments are used on plastics and wood.
The different forms of abrasive brushes include simple wooden handle brushes with metal filaments and disc brushes with bundles of steel wire. Basically, there is an abrasive brush for every type of surface. The key to their use is selecting the right abrasive brush for the application.
Pipe Brushes
Pipe brushes are used in plumbing and equipment maintenance applications to clean pipes or other hard-to-reach areas. The brush is usually attached to a long, thin piece of metal that can be inserted deep into a pipe. Ideally, the diameter of the brush should be equal to or greater than the diameter of the pipe. This way, the wires of the brush will push up against the walls of the pipe and remove any dirt and buildup when they are twisted or pushed up and down. Sometimes using a pipe brush is enough to remove the obstruction in a pipe and restore an even flow for commercial or residential plumbing.
Pipe brushes are also used as part of an automated cleaning system in recycling plants to thoroughly clean bottles and other containers that will be reused in the future. Rather than having a handle on the end, these brushes are attached to a motor that rotates them at high speeds. Several other types of pipe brushes include double-stem, side-action, and micro spiral. Pipe brushes can be made with various materials for light and heavy-duty applications. For heavy-duty dirt and contamination removal, wire brush filaments are best because they scrape clean the walls of a pipe.
Polishing Brushes
Polishing brushes come in many sizes and are used to clean everything, from jewelry to cars to shoes to stainless steel dishware. Typically, a polishing brush should be much less abrasive than a wire brush because it is used after a surface has already been cleaned. Polishing aims to make the object shine and give it a brand-new, finished appearance. Nylon filaments are often used to make a brush that is both soft and effective. If an automated brush is used to polish a product in an assembly line before it is packaged, the brush will need to be durable because it will experience repeated and continual use.
Polishing brushes can be made as roller or cylinder brushes that are attached to a motor and rotate rapidly to polish the surface of any objects that come in contact with them. They can also be made in cup and disc shapes of varying sizes to be attached to a hand drill or other power tool. These convenient polishing brush attachments make it easy for anyone with a drill to quickly and professionally polish objects.
Power Brushes
Power brushes are metal or abrasive nylon filament brushes used to deburr parts during the initial phases of the surface finishing process. Designed for precision cutting action, power brushes are mounted in several different shapes that achieve specific precision deburring. Wheel, cup, end, wide face cylinder, and internal twisted-in wire are the most common power brush configurations.
Power brushes are attached to grinders, lathes, drills, or automated machinery that spin at high speeds to achieve deburring and cutting action. Many products, ranging from forged tools and machined parts to stainless steel tubes and computer parts, can be deburred using power brushes. Tough filaments are crucial in power brushes since many industrial processes depend on the ability of a power brush to properly remove burrs and sharp edges so they can perform uniformly and safely.
Roller Brushes
A roller brush is used in commercial and industrial settings to clean parts or equipment. The brush is usually mounted on an axis that is spun mechanically or by hand to scrub the surface of an object. Roller brushes can vary in length and diameter and are sometimes referred to as cylinder brushes. The brush itself can be made out of soft or abrasive materials depending on the cleaning needs of the industry or business. Roller brushes can often be found somewhere along the assembly line in a factory, cleaning parts that move on the conveyor belts beneath.
Roller brushes are used in automated car washes to scrub vehicles. The brushes roll along both sides of the vehicle, removing dirt from the surface. These particular roller brushes are very large and are fitted with very soft brush material so they do not scratch a car’s paint. The roll of a roller brush is made of heavy-duty plastic or metal, with small holes cut throughout it to house the brush material. A rod runs through the center for mounting purposes; this rod is connected to a motor that turns the brush, assuming the brush is powered by electricity.
Rotary Brushes
Rotary brushes can come in several forms, like the cylinder design where filaments are wrapped around a cylinder or long tube. Other forms are mounted on a round, flat piece of wood, plastic, or metal. This type moves in a circular motion and can be found in floor polishers and scrubbers.
Cylindrical rotary brushes can be found in various locations, from household vacuum cleaners to conveyors for keeping conveyor belts clean. Additionally, there are many types of cylindrical rotary brushes. In one form, a metal cover, which can be very coarse, is applied to the cylinder like a blanket. In another form, it can have broom-like filaments attached in rows across the length of the cylinder. The turning of the cylinder is normally driven by a belt or set of gears.
A rotary brush mounted on a round platform, commonly known as a disk brush, comes in several types depending on the job. They are usually attached to a motor by a shaft. The shaft can be attached to the motor or the mounting platform. This form of rotary brush comes in several sizes, from small enough to attach to a hand drill to large enough to connect to a street sweeper.
Specialized varieties are capable of controlling the speed of the rotation depending on the surface being treated.
Rotating Brushes
A rotating brush is used in conjunction with a machine that spins on a cylinder or ring. This spinning motion cleans objects that come in contact with the brush’s filaments. These brushes can be found on shoe polishers, street cleaners, conveyor belts, runway sweepers, and more. Rotating brushes can be manufactured in various configurations and are usually made to be replaceable once the filaments wear out from too much use. Over time, sharp and stiff filaments will become dull and weak, making them ineffective for most cleaning jobs. In addition, soft rotating brushes can polish or smooth out a surface, like the body of a car.
Rotating brushes are used in heavy equipment that is mobile or stationary. In stationary equipment, they can be mounted horizontally over a table or vertically on a pole. When brushes are installed vertically, two brushes spin parallel to each other, and objects are passed between them for thorough cleaning. In mobile equipment like street sweepers, gutter brooms on the outside spin inward, guiding the dirt to a large rotating brush that sweeps it into the street sweeper’s vacuum system. A rotating brush can also be made using stainless steel wire for heavy-duty cleaning and deburring applications.
Scientific Brushes
A critical component in solving a crime is a brush used to scan the scene of a crime in search of clues. Using special powder and lighting, surfaces are brushed for fingerprints and other data. As with other forms of brushes, there are several types of forensic brushes, some similar to paint brushes and others like makeup ones. The one unusual brush type from this field is a brush similar to a feather duster with very soft filaments, often used in archeology.
Though archeology employs shovels and spades for digging, when they reach the site of a find, they have to use brushes to remove soil and keep the site clean. Some vital tools for these discoveries are brushes, ranging from toothbrush-sized to ones similar to paintbrushes with very fine filaments. They are the main tools of archeology for their precise and gentle design.
As the centuries have passed, many ancient artifacts have had to be cleaned to preserve them for future generations. Renewing that which is old takes a great deal of time and patience. A perfect example of this is the restoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, which was a huge undertaking requiring years of slow and tedious work. The project began in 1980 and ended in 1994. The frescoes had to be bathed with distilled water and washed with an extremely mild cleanser that was gently applied with very soft brushes.
Specialty Leaning Brushes
There are several varieties of brushes that have unique functions for special jobs. In most cases, these specialty tools are designed to perform one job on a particular application. They come in a variety of sizes and types, having several different functions. For example, a bore brush can be hand or machine-operated. They are large-diameter blind hole brushes designed to clean the walls and bottom of holes. When a spiral brush is not sturdy or strong enough to complete a task, bore brushes are used to replace them. Bore brushes are thicker and more abrasive, with the ability to attack highly resistant materials.
As another example, car wash brushes have filaments much like a standard broom. The filaments can be made of different materials and vary in size and shape. Unlike standard push brooms, car wash brushes are shaped in a V-pattern, allowing them to clean at multiple angles. One type of car wash brush is the mop head form, which is good when there is concern about scratching the surface of a vehicle.
Spiral Brushes
Spiral brushes are one of many available to help customers, from industrial parts manufacturers to medical professionals to food processing specialists to lab workers, to clean and treat surfaces and hard-to-reach places. Spiral brushes are characterized by their spiral filament configuration and cylindrical shape. Some of the most common applications of spiral brushes include conveyor belt cleaning, deburring, bottle and flue cleaning, polishing, and swabbing. Brushes commonly qualifying as spiral brushes include cylinder brushes, wheel brushes, coiled strip brushes, and twisted knot wheel brushes.
For as many spiral brush configuration options are available, there are twice as many spiral brush filament material options. Filament materials are determined by a brush’s intended application. For example, if a spiral brush is intended to deburr, it must be made with a strong metal material that will not erode easily or substantially when it comes in contact with another metal.
Strip Brushes
Strip brushes are long, thin brushes used for various conveyor product cleaning, sealing, and surfacing applications in industrial, commercial, and some consumer product contexts. Sometimes referred to as channel back brushes, strip brushes can be composed of natural, polymer, or metal filaments securely clamped by aluminum or steel channels.
Strip brushes can be coiled to form cylindrical coil brushes, external disks, inverted disks, and cup brushes. Other strip brushes can be designed to seal doors, windows, conveyor edges, cleanroom doors, and other cracks and openings that require a flexible seal. A strip brush’s properties and configuration determine how it will be applied. A strip brush can be as simple as a straight strip used to seal the gap between a door and its frame, or it can be mounted to a tube along with several other strip brushes to form a power brush attachment. They can be twisted around to form spiral brushes, and they can be bent into a circle and attached to form a circular brush.
Sweepers
Sweepers are floor-cleaning machines used in many industrial, commercial, and public settings to provide safer and cleaner work environments, homes, and public spaces. Sweepers can be designed for indoor use on carpets as well as hard surfaces, and they can also be designed for outdoor use on small and large scales. Simple, hand-operated sweepers can be rolled over carpeted floors to pick up dirt and debris.
Regardless of size or application, all sweepers are equipped with brushes. Different types of brushes are designed for street sweeping, indoor sweeping, floor scrubbing, buffing, and polishing, all of which is done far more quickly and with far less labor cost when performed with industrial sweepers than when performed by hand. Industrial vacuum sweepers can be large street trucks with sweeping attachments, they may be much smaller riding models for sidewalks, street gutters, and large warehouse floors, or they may be even smaller walk-behind models only for indoor floor cleaning.
Tube Brushes
Tube brushes are used in plumbing and other equipment maintenance/cleaning applications to clean tubes or hard-to-reach areas. A tube brush is attached to a long, thin piece of metal that can be inserted deep into a long tube. Ideally, the diameter of the brush is at least equal to the diameter of the tube. The wires of the brush will push up against the walls of the tube and remove any dirt or other buildup when they are twisted or pushed up and down.
Tube brushes are also used as part of an automated cleaning system in recycling plants to thoroughly clean bottles and other containers that will be reused in the future. Rather than having a handle on the end, these brushes are attached to a machine that rotates them at high speeds. There are several other types of tube brushes for specific applications. A double-stem tube brush can be made from a variety of wire or synthetic materials and is more durable than a single stem. A side action brush has a strong stainless steel stem and provides a high degree of stiffness.
Wheel Brushes
Wheel brushes are circular brushes commonly used for deburring parts during the initial phases of the surface finishing process and polishing during the final phases. Wheel brushes offer a straight-line brushing action and are often attached to and powered by grinders, lathes, drills, or automated machinery. This machinery allows wheel brushes to spin at high speeds, thus achieving the desired action.
The basic wheel brush configuration is that of the wheel hub and filaments. In the center of the wheel hub is an arbor hole, which is the central hole in a wheel brush through which the arbor fits. An arbor is a spindle or shaft that supports a gear or wheel, and an arbor hole is typically either cast or reamed into the wheel hub. The most common method of construction for wheel brushes is to place a piece of material over holes that are either drilled or molded into the wheel hub, securing that material with a metal staple at each hole, folding the material over, and creating filaments.
Wheel Cleaning Brushes
Wheel cleaning brushes are used for cleaning in industries like agriculture, solar energy, aerospace, firearms, glass processing, woodworking, and more. Because wheel cleaning brushes can be purchased in various sizes and used with common power tools, they are a cost-efficient and highly controllable method for polishing and cleaning delicate or intricate parts. They are useful in many industrial applications, but they are also utilized by hobbyists and handymen to put the finishing touches on a new project. Small wheel cleaning brushes are also useful in equipment maintenance when machines in an industrial setting have to be taken apart and cleaned from time to time. A machine's many small parts and shapes often make it difficult to reach many areas, but a wheel cleaning brush helps to do that effectively.
Manufacturers of wheel cleaning brushes usually offer custom solutions to major clients who need brushes that match the specifications of their equipment. Sometimes accessories are no longer manufactured for old equipment still in use, so a custom wheel brush can be ordered to fit the machine. Product engineers can take the exact specifications of the old brush and design something similar that works with the existing machine.
Wire Brushes
Wire brushes are manufactured with a collection of metal filaments that help them tackle aggressive surface-cleaning tasks, as well as surface-treating tasks such as abrasion and deburring. Composed of a mounting area and a collection of filaments, wire brushes are available in various configurations appropriate for household applications to industrial jobs. These configurations include machine-operated or power, handheld, broom, cup, spiral, strip, twisted knot, wheel wire brushes, and more.
In addition to shape, size, and metal type, wire brushes may either have crimped or knotted wire brushes. Crimped wire brushes allow wire to break cleanly and evenly as it wears, thus creating fresh and new cutting edges as time goes on. They are preferred for cleaning, polishing, edge blending, and finishing appearances. Most cup brushes, end brushes, and wheel brushes have crimped filaments. On the other hand, knotted wire brushes are better at attacking aggressive brush action jobs, such as rough surface preparation, weld cleaning, and heavy flash removal.
End Brushes
End brushes are finishing brushes used to reach difficult areas of a workpiece such as crevices, recessed areas, and tight spots. They come with several types of filaments depending on the nature of the application. End brushes are used in conditions where there is restricted space. They are similar to cup brushes and have a cup shape to contain for their filaments.
Wire end brushes have knotted or crimped wire filaments. They have a shank that can be attached to a hand drill or die grinder. Their filaments are made of carbon steel, stainless steel, or tempered steel and come in different lengths and diameters. Knot wire end brushes are exceptionally sturdy and aggressive.
There are several varieties of end brushes that are designed for different applications and uses. Flared end brushes have crimped filaments that spread outward from the cup style filament holder. Hollow end brushes have the filaments positioned around the edge of the holder. The hollow center prevents the wire filaments from balling up. Encapsulated end brushes have the filaments enclosed in plastic to increase their stiffness.
End brushes are effective finishing tools able to reach portions of a workpiece that disc and cup brushes cannot. Their different designs makes it possible to choose one that can clean or finish any difficult to reach crevice, recess, or groove.
Disc Brushes
The term disc brush refers to a round brush that is distinguished by the positioning of the bristles in a circle. In all cases, disc brushes are round with a disc shaped holder for the filaments, which are perpendicular to the surface of the brush or holder. The positioning of the filaments for a disc brush can be in the middle of the circle, around its edges, or around the interior of the circle. Disc brushes are used for a variety of applications due to how they apply force to a surface.
In metal fabricating, disc brushes are used to deburr and finish workpieces. Light disc brushes are used for short cycle deburring while heavy disc brushes are more aggressive and used for medium to heavy deburring. The filaments of disc brushes for deburring vary in accordance with the type of deburring and can be as hard and strong as ceramic and silicone carbide.
Disc brushes are used for a wide range of applications from cleaning floors to removing layers of paint and rust. They are a versatile brush that is used on wood, metal, and plastic and come in several sizes, materials, shapes, and densities. The filaments for disc brushes include nylon, polypropylene, and polyethylene with nylon disc brushes being the most abrasive.
Metal Brush
Metal brushes are an essential tool for working with metal. They come in several forms to finish parts, prepare parts for further applications, and clean parts after processing.
Metal brushes prepare surfaces in the same way as sandblasting but use metal filaments as grit. The key to metal brushes are their filaments that come in different grits that vary from mildly aggressive to exceptionally aggressive.
The types of metal brushes include nearly every type of brush from wooden handled brushes to large disc brushes. Metal brushes are defined by their filaments, which are pieces of wire that have been twisted, crimped, or straightened to be placed in a holder or handle. The filaments of a metal brush are the key to how it can be used. Metals such as carbon steel, stainless steel, and high strength steel are capable of removing the surface of a workpiece and cutting into it.
Although the majority of metal brushes are considered to be very aggressive and capable of rapidly removing layers of the surface of a workpiece, there are less aggressive ones designed to produce a smooth finish. The differentiation between the types is the types of filaments. Long metal filaments are used to remove minor inconsistency on the surface of a workpiece while short filaments are stiffer and can scar or mark a surface.
The many variations in metal brushes is in regard to the need to have a metal brush that is designed to meet the specific needs of a product or part. It is for this reason that metal brushes are such a valuable and irreplaceable tool in manufacturing, especially in metal processing.
Conclusion
Brush types are multiplying as new applications and needs arise. As with all tools, it is important to select the correct form of brush for the necessary work. Though it is easy to reach for common and popular brushes, better and more specific choices might be available.
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