About Industrial 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.