Belt grinding is a method to process metals and non metallic materials, with the help of coated abrasives. The difference between belt grinder and belt sander is the material that is being machined. Sanding is related to machining of wood, grinding is the common name related to machining metals. Amongst the various applications of such grinders, Belt grinding is a process that is generally suitable. There are three different applications of this technology.

Belt grinding can be used for finishing, debarring and stock removal. Finishing includes smoothing of surfaces, reducing roughness and polishing. Debarring includes a process called radioing and edge breaking. Stock removal comprises of high stock removal, cleaning and eliminating tool marks. There are several belts involved as well in belt grinding like Stroke belt, Platen belt, Wide belt, Back stand etc. The most commonly used amongst these is the wide belt. A wide belt grinding machine is constructed with single or multiple heads. The applications of wide belt grinding include stock removal from substances like stainless steel, titanium, etching the wide belt method etc. In this method, a contact wheel to support the abrasive belt is also employed. The selection of the wheel needs care and it is totally dependent on the operation. Generally, Finishing requires the use of a smooth faced contact wheel and fine grade high quality abrasives.