VIDEO New 3M Sanding Disc Said to Remove 97% of Dust

St. Paul, MN— “With twice the life and cut rate, and up to 97 percent dust removal, the new mesh abrasive disc from 3M is reinventing the sandpaper game,” says 3M in announcing its new Xtract mesh disc sanding technology.

It’s not often that 3M—a name synonymous with sanding in the woodworking industry—announces a breakthrough in abrasives. It was more than a decade ago that 3M introduced its Cubitron sandpaper, which uses a uniform crystalline structure, not plain old sand, to deliver another caliber of abrasive performance. (It is so significant that even the People’s Court of Zhengzhou, China recognized in February 2021, ordering Qingdao Sisa Abrasives Co., Ltd. to stop selling BCA-T (Blue Ceramic Abrasive Triangle) and pay damages for infringing 3M’s Precision-Shaped Abrasive Grain technology patents.

3M’s new Xtract abrasive discs incorporate Cubitron II technology in the 710W Net Abrasive Disc which 3M says provides twice the life and cut rate of conventional sandpapers, while removing up to 97 percent of dust particles as it sands metal, wood and composite surfaces. The 3M Xtract Cubitron II 710W Net Abrasive Disc is currently available in the United States and Europe and will launch globally in 2022.

3M has been a key player in abrasives since the company began on the shores of Lake Superior. Almost 100 years later, the company continues to lead the industry in innovation, bringing both performance and improved safety to industrial operators everywhere.

“Work and well-being shouldn’t require compromise,” says Debarati Sen, president, Abrasive Systems Division at 3M. “We’ve put a century of material science and application expertise into reinventing the sandpaper game and making compromise a thing of the past. No one should have to choose between effective work, value, and enhanced safety. With 3M Xtract, no one has to.”

Making sanding safe, clean, and more productive benefits workers. Sawdust was labeled a carcinogen by federal authorities decades ago, and its role in explosions and fires is well established. But mitigating dust has a critical new value in protecting the delicate electronics that now permeate increasingly automated manufacturing lines, a concern addressed at IWF Connect last year in a presentation by Nederman.

All products under the 3M Xtract™ brand promise to “Cut the Dust,” helping to give workers a better work environment. This is made possible through a specially designed mesh that extracts dust at every location on the disc. While mesh abrasives aren’t a new offering for the industry, the unique benefit afforded by 3M Xtract™ products is that the technology enhances, rather than compromises, on cutting performance.

How Does it Work?

3M Xtract™ Cubitron™ II discs contain 3M Precision-Shaped Grain technology designed to continually fracture into sharp cutting edges. As a result of this technology, 3M Xtract™ mesh abrasives offer twice the abrasive life and cut rate of leading competitors’ net discs. 

Since they cut faster and last longer, 3M Xtract™ sanding discs can deliver more value for production managers and shop owners by reducing the need for resupply and time spent changing pads discs. Safety managers can appreciate the improved working conditions of a virtually dust-free environment, and tool operators will appreciate their ability to get more done in less time with less mess and discomfort. The new 3M Xtract™ brand offers a suite of solutions including discs, tools, and accessories.

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