At Atchley Steel in Alabama, grinding performance isn’t theory, it’s production, deadlines and pride in the craft. Hear the team share what changed when they switched to 3M™ Cubitron™ 3 grinding wheels, fiber discs and cloth belts.
What happens when experienced metalworkers put 3M's new abrasives to a real shop-floor test? At Atchley Steel in Alabama, grinding performance isn’t theory, it’s production, deadlines and pride in the craft. Hear the team share what changed when they switched to 3M™ Cubitron™ 3 grinding wheels, fiber discs and cloth belts.
From big welds and stair stringers to heavy cleaning and everyday steel fabrication, they talk about faster cut rates, longer life, fewer changeouts and noticeable gains in throughput. The feedback? Less downtime. Lower costs. Quality finishes. And a product the crew actually wants to use.
If you work in metal fabrication, welding or industrial grinding, this is a real-world look at what performance feels like on the floor — not just on paper.
This video was previously featured on 3M's YouTube channel.
JASON PRATER: Many of the guys are passionate about being an ironworker. They enjoy working with steel.
KIM PRATER: We try to make it a family operation. You take care of your people, and they'll take care of you. So we hope that creating a family here has been important to them.
JASON PRATER: I'm proud of Kim and the company and how strong it is. She's been in the industry for 40 years. And when we go visit people, our reputation over this long period of time with her, with the company and our product, that's what I'm most proud of.
We're using the Cubitron 3. Some of the impressive things about it is how aggressive they are. Not aggressive, but how they remove the material quickly. And there's hardly any noise compared to what we were using, the old style.
ADAM PHILLIPS: The 3M product cuts better on our big welds and stair stringers. So then in return we run more material because of it. We're probably getting two thirds more ran before we have to change out tooling.
WESLEY TEMPLES: Quick, fast.
Production has even picked up. It's just tremendous. When I first tried it, I was like, this is what we need. This is what we want. This is it.
JASON PRATER: The old disk we used to use would go down a little bit, and you couldn't use them anymore. They just weren’t any good. The Cubitrons go all the way to zero, essentially. I've gotten lots of feedback. Pretty taken aback by how much they loved them. It was amazing.
WESLEY TEMPLES: It's a great product. That's the first thing. It's a great product. If you're using something for 10, 15 years, and then you try this, and it's better, why wouldn't you throw down that and pick up this?
ADAM PHILLIPS: Definitely for heavy cleaning and grinding the pads, the rocks. Work excellent. At the end of the day, we can use less product. We get the results that we want, that we're looking for.
KIM PRATER: Costs are down. Quality is up. Those are the things that we look for.
WESLEY TEMPLES: I am using the 3M Cubitron. It is great. One of the best that I have used. It will mow it down. If you ain't never tried it, I recommend you to do it. And they'll love it.
When it comes to fabricating, assembling or processing anything around the world, 3M knows efficiency is key. From ultra-strong abrasives that keep processes running smoothly, to futuristic materials that literally lighten your workload. 3M innovative solutions keep your business and your employees working smoothly with innovative industry leading solutions in abrasives, PPE and facilities safety solutions and adhesives and tapes.
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