Carborundum Universal Ltd manufactures and markets abrasives, ceramics and electronic materials through its global network of 30 plants worldwide. Carborundum serves customers from all corners of the globe.
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Color
Silicon carbide, also known as carborundum, is a crystalline compound composed of silicon and carbon atoms. Naturally occurring as the rare mineral moissanite, silicon carbide is often mass produced as powder or crystal for use as an abrasive. Cutting wheels, grinding materials and rubbing stones made with this hard material have many uses for metalworking as cutting wheels, grinding materials and rubbing stones; its hard surface also serves ceramic brake discs and power electronics applications with exceptional hardness, wear resistance and thermal conductivity qualities making silicon carbide an ideal material for high performance products such as ceramic brake discs or power electronics applications.
Carborundum comes in many different hues, from black to green and rainbow. This depends on the amount of impurities present within its crystal structure that interfere with light passing through it, giving it its unique aesthetic. Sometimes referred to as rainbow carborundum due to its similarities to natural minerals such as rainbow hematite.
Edward Goodrich Acheson’s 1891 discovery of carborundum on a large scale can be credited to his efforts at producing artificial diamonds. After discovering that heating a mixture of clay and coke at high temperatures resulted in silicon carbide formation, Acheson established the Carborundum Company and sold international patents related to his discovery. By 1896 he had designed an electric furnace which enabled him to mass produce silicon carbide at much less expense.
Hardness
Carborundum is an exceptionally hard and durable material. Able to withstand high temperatures, chemical reactions, thermal conductivity and dissipating heat efficiently efficiently, it makes Carborundum ideal for manufacturing and machining industries in harsh environments such as acids, alkalis and oxidation resistance.
Carborundum’s exceptional hardness makes it an invaluable abrasive material, used in grinding wheels and cutting tools for various tasks such as removing unwanted material from surfaces, as well as being found in sandpaper and other abrasive products. Carborundum can also be found being utilized by metallurgical and ceramic industries in making refractory materials that line furnaces and other high temperature equipment.
Carborundum’s physical properties vary based on its impurities and crystal structure. Color can range from pale yellow to greenish to black; density ranges between 3.0 to 3.2 grams per cubic centimeter; its crystal structure could be hexagonal, rhombohedral or cubic; its hue and density affected by silicon, oxygen and carbon presence in its makeup.
Edward Goodrich Acheson made an unexpected discovery while trying to produce artificial diamonds in 1891: the bright green crystalline substance known as “Carborundum.” Mistaking it for corundum, an ancient gem known for its hardness. Acheson initially called it alumina-carbon due to the elements it consisted of: alumina, which formed part of its makeup; and carbon, its main constituent. His mistake ultimately lead to the invention of silicon carbide as we know it today – also called silicon nitride by other researchers at that time; Acheson discovered silicon carbide with great success!
Physical properties
Carborundum is an industrially produced hard, brittle dark-colored mineral composed of hexagonal networks of silicon and carbon atoms that provides its crystal structure. Carborundum provides wide bandgap semiconductor properties capable of withstanding high temperatures and wear, and as such has many applications across industries and applications.
Carborundum’s physical properties make it an ideal material for use in abrasives, refractories and semiconductor devices. With low expansion coefficient and relatively high density levels – both contributing to its durability. Furthermore, carborundum is highly resistant to corrosion and oxidation and provides good thermal conductivity properties.
Carborundum’s physical properties depend on its impurities and crystal structure. Color can range from white to yellow or greenish tint, with density usually falling within 3.0-3.2 grams per cubic centimeter range. Crystalline structure and hardness also play important roles.
Edward G. Acheson created carborundum artificial diamonds during the mid-1880s in Monongahela City, Pennsylvania with electrical furnace heat dissolving carbon into natural corundum (aluminum oxide). Acheson succeeded in creating a substance which rivaled natural diamonds in terms of hardness and abrasiveness, thus coining its name “carborundum”, after its natural counterpart corundum.
Carborundum Universal Ltd manufactures and sells abrasives, ceramics, and electro minerals. The company operates through four segments: Abrasives, Ceramics, Electrominerals and Power. Within each of these four divisions is found something called an Abrasive segment, featuring products like bonded, coated and processed cloth; polymers; power tools; coolants; coolant injection; and abrasive grains. Ceramics offer super refractories, bio ceramics as well as other products while Electrominerals consisting of micro grits for photovoltaic industries along with captive power generation from hydro power plants.
Applications
Carborundum has many applications in industry. As a hard, brittle dark-colored mineral it is commonly found as an abrasive or used to produce grinding wheels and cutting tools; additionally it can also be found as ceramic and refractory materials due to its thermal conductivity properties and resistance against chemicals, acids, oxidation etc. Additionally it’s used as an ingredient in ceramic brake discs which improve performance and durability of brake performance.
Refractory metal has excellent semiconductor properties, including wide bandgap and mechanical properties that make it suitable for high-powered electronic devices. Furthermore, its resistance to heat makes it suitable for refractory materials or industrial furnaces and even commonly found in bulletproof vests, automobiles or aerospace equipment manufacturing processes.
Carborundum production begins by mining corundum ore, an aluminum oxide material. Once mined, this ore is crushed and screened to remove large impurities before it’s heated in an electrical furnace to high temperatures to produce silicon carbide (SiC), which is later ground into powder form to form carborundum. Edward G. Acheson in Monongahela City Pennsylvania first produced synthetic carborundum during the 1880s while investigating ways of creating manmade diamonds through heating electrical furnaces dissolving carbon into liquid corundum using intense temperatures from electric furnaces.
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