7. oSa Newsletter - Organisation für die Sicherheit von ...

Newsletter
February 2010
Standards against product piracy?
The OECD estimates that product
piracy accounts for 5–7 % of the
global trade volume.
This corresponds to a figure of
approx. 200 bn USD. The reason
is quite simple. Economic success
creates competition as well as
imitators and counterfeiters. This
is only too well-known by oSamembers.
Since the foundation
of the oSa, free-riders have regularly
tried to exploit the success
of our safety organisation for
their own needs.
• Continued on page 2
Content
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Continued from page 1: Standards against product piracy?
Innovative oSa-Products?
Series: In-house testing (No 4): Impact resistance
Portrait: Manufactures of bonded abrasives
Never-Always Poster - trade fairs 2010 - Imprint
S E R I E S
Visit oSa at INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE FAIR
2010 from 28 February to 3 March in Cologne!
Testing at the manufacturer –
Impact resistance
Our series aims to provide an overview of the different
test methods for abrasives. • Read more on page 2
Editorial
Safety knows no crisis!
Dear oSa – Newsletter readers!
The worldwide recession made its presence
felt across all branches of industry
last year, including the abrasives industry,
and will continue to have an impact
for quite a long time.
But even in such difficult times there
are fortunately no concessions made on
safety. It would be easy to cut back on
quality assurance in order to save costs.
However, oSa-members are acutely
aware of their responsibilities to our
organisation and to the end-user. In the
professional range, orders are almost
exclusively for oSa ® -labelled products.
In the DIY-market, our trademark and
our safety philosophy have in the
meantime become firmly established.
Years ago the oSa demanded that
globally recognised standards for the
testing and evaluation of abrasives
should be implemented. There are
promising signals from the US to start
harmonising the ANSI and EN-Standards.
The aim must be for ISO-safety
standards. It goes without saying that
the benchmark can only be the highest
safety level.
Thus, even if the production volume is
decreased, working hours are reduced
and capacities are not nearly exploited
to the full extent, safety remains the core
topic for the oSa and their members.
Accordingly we finish our series “testing
at the manufacturer” in this newsletter
and introduce the impact test.
P O R T R A I T
Manufacturers of bonded abrasives
Bonded abrasives constitute the second biggest
product group on the world market right after coated
abrasives. Stringent safety requirements also apply
to bonded abrasives.
• Read more on page 3
The crisis will end. We will go on
grinding and cutting-off. And oSa-members
will emerge stronger than before
from this bottom of the economic crisis
because in the end it has always paid
off to focus on safety and quality.
Pierre Balian
oSa-President

N E W S F L A S H
February 2010
Standards against product piracy? • Continued from page 1
However, we actively fight against counterfeiters and forgers
with the aid of our lawyer and, if need be, by taking court action.
In China and soon in further hub markets, the security service
provider “Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations” supports us in
closing down the factories of counterfeit manufacturers and
detecting the trade flows of pirate copies and counterfeits.
Contrary to T-shirts and sneakers, abrasive counterfeits not only
damage the business of the original manufacturer but also pose a
serious safety risk to the end-user often resulting in fatal injury.
With great interest, oSa pursues initiatives emanating from the ISO
to set up globally valid standards for the quick identification of
counterfeits. Customs and police authorities are today often faced
with the problem of having to quickly and accurately identify
counterfeit products.
Even oSa-members have difficulties in identifying them as counterfeit.
It is therefore advantageous that oSa-representatives are able
to participate in the respective ISO Standards Committees where
they can represent the interests of our members. We can only hope
that solutions will be implemented there which also help oSamembers
to protect their products reliably against counterfeits or at
least will make the detection of counterfeits easier and more certain.
Further information on this standardisation project can be obtained
at the ISO-Secretariat ISO/PC 246 „Anti-counterfeiting tools“,
which is operated by the French standards institute AFNOR. The
current draft standard is: ISO WD 12931 „Performance criteria for
authentication tools for anti-counterfeiting in the field of material
goods“.
Innovative oSa-products?
You will say: Stop! It goes
without saying that also oSa ® -
labelled products are innovative.
What does this topic
have to do with a newsletter?
But be careful! The three EN-
Safety Standards form the
basic pillar of our safety philosophy.
So far it was strictly
regulated that only abrasives
covered by the standards could
be labelled with our protected
trademark. And anyone who
knows about standardisation
processes is well aware that
they need considerable time to
formulate or modify.
Time, on the other hand, is a
factor that innovations lack, as
they basically deal with the
quick conversion of new technical
and economic findings
into product benefit. Someone
who has found out how an
abrasive can be considerably
mproved, does not want to
wait 5 years until the next
standards revision.
The product life cycles demand
that the innovative tool is
placed on the market quickly.
The conflict of objectives lies
in putting the innovation into
practice for the end-user but
at the same time making no
concessions on the high safety
requirements of the oSa.
The Technical Working Group
(TWG) has tackled this topic in
detail. Experts from our member
companies together with
our independent inspectors
have found a feasible way how
it can be assured that product
innovations fulfil all oSa-requirements.
The manufacturer basically
must take three steps to turn
the innovative abrasive product
into an approved product
under the oSa-safety umbrella:
1. Risk assessment – which
dangers for the end-user can
emanate from the new product?
2. Identify which product
already covered by the EN-
Safety Standards has similarities
to the new abrasive tool
3. Prove that the requirements
stipulated for this „conservative“
product are also met by
the innovative tool and, even
better, exceeded
For legal reasons, it will be
impossible to label such abrasives
with both oSa ® -trademark
and EN-number. It must
therefore be our aim to take
innovative products into consideration
at the next regular
standards revision and to
adopt them into the standards.
The Board of Trustees put this
new regulation into effect at its
autumn meeting 2009.
All members will be informed
about the exact procedure of
including innovative abrasives
into the oSa-scope of products.
Calculation of mounted points by means of the finite element method
Geopolymers – a new bond?

S E R I E S T E S T I N G B Y T H E M A N U F A C T U R E R
February 2010
Part 4: Impact resistance
Our series aims to provide an
overview of the different test
methods for abrasives. The
requirements of the safety
standards are high, based on
a decade-long experience
accumulated by independent
test institutes. It is the overall
aim to ascertain that even in
case of foreseeable misuse an
abrasive will have resistance
to failure. The protection of
the end-user is the first
priority for all oSa-members.
So far we presented the burst
speed test, the destructive
segment test for diamond
cutting-off wheels and dish
wheels as well as the side load
test. In the last newsletter
we explained the single and
three-point side load test.
These tests provide information
on the resistance of abrasives
to side load and jamming.
These two test methods are
supplemented by the impact
resistance that measures the
resistance of the wheel to
sudden lateral shock. This test
is mandatory for all resinoid
bonded depressed centre
wheels (ISO-type 27, 28 and
29) as well as for depressed
and straight cutting-off wheels
(type 41 and 42), 150 mm
diameter and above, for use
on hand-held machines.
The test principle is easy. The
test sample is mounted to a
spindle by means of flanges
and then taken up to its
maximum operating speed.
The rotating abrasive is
laterally subjected to one
or several impacts supplied
successively by means of a
pendulum until failure. Details
on the implementation of
the tests can be taken from
the EN 12413.
Picture 1 shows the pendulum
Picture 1: Pendulum
applied at the IFA (formerly
BGIA). The impact energy can
be adjusted by changing the
drop height or by loading
additional mass.
Picture 2: Breakage into several pieces
One typical damage pattern
is shown in picture 2. Besides
regular function checks, the
calibration of the test stand in
certain intervals is important.
For example, dirt that got into
the bearing can increase the
bearing friction and thus minimize
the drop energy that
impacts the abrasive. The IFA
recommends to have the pendulum
calibrated by an external
institute at least once a year.
M E M B E R
P O R T R A I T
Manufacturers of bonded abrasives
Bonded abrasives are one of
the most common and well
known of the abrasive groups.
Since grinding is one of the
oldest manufacturing
processes, you will be bound
Mounted points
to have come across this
product group at some time.
These products are also of
major importance to oSa. One
factor that all these bonded
abrasives have in common is
that they utilise conventional
abrasives such as aluminium
oxide and silicon carbide,
not diamond or cubic boron
nitride. There are also the
newer zirconia-alumina and
sol gel abrasives. Originally,
there were numerous natural
hard materials used such as
sandstone, garnet, emery and
corundum but these were
found to be too inconsistent
for modern requirements.
The abrasive grains are held
together by a bond. The type
and nature of the bond determines
the grinding characteristics
obtained. There are
several bond types available.
Among the inorganic bond
types, the ceramic or vitrified
bond plays the decisive role
within oSa. The use of silicate
and magnesite bonds has
diminished considerably in
recent times.
The most common of the
organic bonds is resinoid
bond, normally a phenolic
(Bakelite). Less popular are
rubber, shellac, epoxy or
thermo-plastic bond types.
With a market share of an
estimated 2.2 bn. USD (as of
2004), bonded abrasives
constitute the second biggest
product group after coated
abrasives. Although the handheld
and mobile machines
present the greatest safety
risks, stringent safety requirements
also apply to stationary
machines. For example, an
abrasive wheel for highpressure
steel conditioning
can easily weigh several ten
kilos and operates at speeds
up to 80 m/s. Its bursting
would have serious consequences,
not only for the
worker, (since not all machines
are totally-enclosed), but
also the machine could be
badly damaged.
Grinding process
There are currently 25 manufacturers
of bonded abrasives
who are members of oSa.
Many of them have played a
decisive role as founding
members in formulating the
oSa-safety philosophy.
Substantial aspects of this
philosophy also found entry
into the European Safety
Standard, EN 12413. This
standard was revised in 2007
and now offers a solid basis
for the self-certification of the
oSa-members. The oSa-trademark
on an abrasive wheel
provides the end-user with a
sense of security as it indicates
a product with a high and
verifiable level of safety.
Vitrified bonded wheel

M A J O R
T O P I C
February 2010
Now available: Never-Always Poster
Occupational health and safety
is a major concern for oSa.
This includes informing the enduser
of the dangers involved in
the incorrect use of abrasives.
Correctly labelled products and
the information for safe use
which must be supplied with
each product have already had
a big effect.
Members now have the
opportunity to obtain our new
„Never-Always-Posters“ to
inform customers and end-users
on the safe use of their products.
By doing so, oSa-members comply
with their responsibilities,
reducing their personal liability
risk for improper use of their
products and improve customer
satisfaction.
And finally these posters provide
a real contribution to reducing
accidents.
Ten thousands of posters have been ordered
so far. They are available for bonded abrasives
(precision grinding as well as hand-held
grinding and cutting-off) and diamond saws
in sizes A0 and A1. Posters for further product
groups are planned.
To place an order please contact:
monika.hesse@osa-abrasives.org
© oSa 2009
T R A D E F A I R D A T E S 2 0 0 9
annually
CIHF - CHINA INTERNATIONAL
10 – 12 March 2010 Hardware & Welding Fair Shanghai/China
every two years INTERTECH
15 – 17 March 2010 International technical conference on diamond,
cubic boron nitride and their applications
Henderson, Nevada, USA
every two years GRINDTEC
17 – 20 March 2010 International Trade Fair for Grinding Technology
Augsburg/Germany
annually
CARRARA MARMOTEC
19 – 22 May 2010 International Fair for Marble, Carrara/Italy
every two years AMB
28 Sept. – 02 Oct. 10 International Exhibition for Metal Working
Stuttgart/Germany
every two years GLASSTEC
28 Sept. – 02 Oct. 10 21 th international trade fair
Düsseldorf/Germany
every two years EUROBLECH
October 2010 International Sheet Metal Working Technology
Exhibition, Hanover/Germany
N E W S
Tradefair attendance of oSa at
INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE FAIR 2010
After a successful tradefair attendance in 2008, the oSa will again
be present at the INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE FAIR 2010 from 28
February to 3 March in Cologne: Hall 10.2, Aisle A, Booth No. 020.
Together with the co-exhibitor IFA – Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance based
in Sankt Augstin/Germany (re-named from BGIA to IFA on 1 January
2010), the oSa will provide ample and hands-on information on
testing of abrasives. We are looking forward to meeting you there!
Imprint
Organisation für die Sicherheit
von Schleifwerkzeugen e.V.
Postfach 75 64
D-53075 Bonn
Telephone +49(o)228-944 99-415
Fax +49(o)228-944 99-728
info@osa-abrasives.org
www.osa-abrasives.org
Responsible for content:
Dr. Klaus Werner
Design:
CORE Communication ® – MedMedia GmbH