When it comes to achieving a consistent result during your surface preparation jobs, head pressure is one of the most important factors. Whether you’re removing a coating, prepping concrete, or polishing to a mirror-level finish, understanding and controlling head pressure can affect productivity, tooling life, and the finished product.
What is Head Pressure?
Head pressure is the amount of downward force applied by the grinder’s head and tooling, onto the surface. It is factored by the machine’s weight, additional weight, and how the weight is distributed across the grinding heads. For example, the 8274-4 features flip-style weights for added or decreased head pressure, and the GP500 features removable weights.
Why Head Pressure Matters
Removal Rate: Increased head pressure improves contact with the diamonds and surface, cutting faster and more effectively through coatings, adhesives, or uneven concrete.
Tooling Life: Too much head pressure can glaze or prematurely wear out diamond tooling. Too little can reduce productivity. The right balance helps maximize tool life and productivity.
Surface Consistency: Even head pressure ensures an even grind and prevents swirl marks and gouging.
Operator Control: Machines that offer adjustable head pressure give contractors more flexibility and the ability to complete a wider range of jobs.
How to Adjust Head Pressure
Add or remove weights: Removable pocket weights or flip style weights allow you to quickly modify the grinders downward force.
Tooling setup: The number of diamond segments attached to the head directly impacts head pressure. More segments means less head pressure per segment, due to more tooling sharing the force load. Fewer segments allow concentrated pressure and increased cutting speed.
Adjust planetary or DCT modes: On grinders equipped with dual cut or variable speed systems, changing the mode changes the distribution of head pressure.
Monitor you tooling: Uneven wear can indicated unbalanced pressure or weight distribution
It is often best to start light and gradually increase head pressure until the desired head pressure is reached for removal or preparation.
Want more tips and tricks? Explore our YouTube Channel