TOOLING UP: 3M Abrasives: Advanced Belt Technology for Metal Finishing

In this episode of Tooling Up from MSC Industrial Supply, host Toni Neary welcomes Charles Cable, Activation Marketer for Castings and Forgings at 3M, to talk about how 3M’s latest abrasive technologies—Cubitron™ 3, Scotch-Brite™, and Trizact™—are driving new levels of efficiency, consistency, and cost savings in metal fabrication.

Watch time: 8:55 minutes

Supplier: 3M

Posted date: Oct 16, 2025

Video series: Tooling Up , Season 5

Looking for full transcript of video? Read now

Charles shares how 3M’s innovation in abrasive grain design and surface finishing is helping manufacturers overcome today’s biggest challenges, from skilled labor shortages to rising production costs. Viewers will learn how Cubitron 3’s precision-shaped grains cut faster, run cooler, and last longer—delivering cleaner finishes and extended belt life. The conversation also highlights ScotchBrite’s role in creating consistent, burr-free surfaces and Trizact’s micro-replicated technology for uniform, repeatable finishes. Together, these advancements are enabling shops to improve throughput, reduce changeovers, and achieve higher-quality results with fewer process steps.

Whether you’re tackling heavy stock removal or fine surface conditioning, this episode shows how 3M’s abrasive solutions help shops work smarter, faster, and more profitably.

For more information about 3M Abrasives and how MSC can help, visit mscdirect.com.

For even more metalworking insights and expertise, check out MSC's Knowledge Center.

For more Tooling Up videos, check out the MSC Tooling Up playlist and subscribe to our channel.

Video Transcript

CHARLES CABLE: What comes with that premium product or premium solution that we offer, you know within our 3M abrasives portfolio is again, as you said, it's an improved, you know, output for our customers. It's improved efficiencies. If you are able to use a 3M Scotch-Brite belt, for example, and you know, are able to complete a stainless steel, fabricated piece in two steps instead of maybe three steps with an older technology, you know, that's a significant impact for our customers.

Narrator: This video is brought to you by 3M Performance Abrasives. Produce more with less. If you're looking for real-world insights, tips from leading industry experts, the latest trends in products and technology, you've come to the right place. From MSC Industrial Supply, this is Tooling Up.

TONI NEARY: Hello and welcome back to Tooling Up. I'm your host, Toni Neary, and I'm so glad that you've joined us. Before we jump in today, let's go ahead and click those like and subscribe buttons so you don't miss a single episode this season.

Today I'm joined by Charles Cable. He is the activation marketer for castings and forgings at 3M, and we're going to talk about abrasives, but specifically 3M's groundbreaking abrasive belt portfolio featuring Cubitron 3, Cubitron 2, and Scotch-Brite products. Charles, welcome to Tooling Up, and thanks for joining us.

CHARLES CABLE: Awesome. Thank you, Toni. Glad to be here.

TONI NEARY: Tell us a little bit about three. I mean, these are products that you literally see everywhere. It's a household name. What do you love most about being a part of the 3M team?

CHARLES CABLE: Yeah, it's something I always laugh about. You know, people ask, you know, what do you do? And I'd always say, hey, I work for, you know, I work for 3M and then I work for 3M Abrasives. And, you know, people really, I guess, don't really always understand the term abrasives. Then you'd say, oh, it's sandpaper. And it's like, well, it's not just sandpaper.

There's a lot of technology that goes into the abrasives, and there's a lot of, you know, a lot of those abrasives and technology then go into the products that we see every single day, you know, from the turbine blades that make our airplanes fly at 35,000 feet in the sky to, you know, our Scotch-Brite or non-woven products that, you know, smooth or create a shiny finish on the knees or hip implants that go into our bodies.

So it's funny. It's it's nice to, you know, be able to work with those products and, and be able to almost have a, you know, influence or impact on again, you know, 3M products that then, you know, provide, specific, you know, finishes and things that, you know, our customers or individuals use every single day.

TONI NEARY: I have to say, I love that perspective. It makes abrasives feel a lot less invisible and a lot more vital. And I think we can see that when you talk with manufacturers, you're really solving problems that are impacting everyday life. When you're talking to manufacturers, what are some of those problems that they're asking you to help solve?

CHARLES CABLE: Yeah, a common trend or I mean, an unfortunate issue that we're facing here in the United States is a shortage of skilled labor. Our industrial customers are having to do more with less. And so, you know, at 3M, you know, we're working on creating or improving the product technologies in our abrasives portfolio in order to help customers improve their output, improve their throughput.

You know, we often are having those conversations up here as like, what are the, you know, products or technologies that we offer that can then, you know, kind of help our customers improve those efficiencies that they're looking for.

TONI NEARY: All right, so let's get a little nerdy for a second, because this is one of my favorite things. What makes Cubitron 3 so revolutionary in the abrasive world?

CHARLES CABLE: So Cubitron 3 is an evolution from our original precisioned shape grain Cubitron 2, which launched around 2008/2009. Where Cubitron 2 is more of an equilateral triangle, Cubitron 3 is more of a kind of a shark tooth or shark tooth-shaped mineral that we then put into our belts, and so last year, a couple of years ago, we launched it in 36 grit. And now we have it in 60 and 80 grit. And so it's continued to evolve and provide, you know, efficient, improved efficiencies, improved output, and you know, better material or stock removal for our customers.

TONI NEARY: And I think one of the really important things here is you've increased the technology to be more efficient, but you've also increased the belt life. And that's huge when you're looking at cost savings in higher production. I didn't want to just gloss over that. It's not just about incremental improvement. It's a huge jump in efficiency because longer belt life is less downtime on the shop floor, too.

Can you talk a little bit more about some of those efficiencies that your customers are seeing?

CHARLES CABLE: It’s a joke here at 3M. We do acknowledge we're not always the least expensive product in the abrasive world, but what comes with that premium product or premium solution that we offer? You know, within, you know, our 3M abrasives portfolio is its again, as you said, it's an improved, you know, output for our customers, it's improved efficiencies.

If you are able to use a 3M Scotch-Brite belt, for example, and you know, are able to complete a stainless steel, fabricated piece in two steps instead of maybe three steps with an older technology, you know, that's significant impact for our customers. I mean, that's true cost savings and higher outputs that are or higher throughput that's going to, you know, provide them to get their products out the door faster.

TONI NEARY: And I think we've talked a little bit about the removal process. So once you've handled that heavy removal, that's where Scotch-Brite really shines. Again, pun intended, when you're looking at some of that fine finishing, will you talk a little bit about the Scotch-Brite brand and some of the different surfaces that are being refinished with that, some of the different industries, and some of the benefits?

CHARLES CABLE: Most people probably think of Scotch-Brite. I mean, as the kitchen scrubber and their stainless steel sink. But what we have or what we work on in the industrial world is probably more making that sink that that Scotch-Brite hand pad is in, providing that, you know, refined and surface conditioned finish. So, if you're rubbing your hand through that sink or you're cleaning your dishes at night, you're not getting those sharp little stainless steel pieces or burrs that go into, you know, that could potentially be on the surface of that stainless.

And so with our Scotch-Brite technologies, you know, again, it's back to that refining and surface conditioning of that stainless steel material and providing a consistent finish from the start all the way to the end.

TONI NEARY: All right. Last but not least, let's get into the fine details now. And this is when we're looking at repeatable finishing. Let's talk a little bit about where Trizact comes into play.

CHARLES CABLE: Trizact’s a really unique, you know, product that we offer here. It's a micro-replicated technology that we've used across a couple different product portfolios, and where Trizact really shines or provides value to our customers is where, you know, it provides that consistent finish all the way from the, you know, start of that process all the way to the end.

TONI NEARY: And Charles, I think that's one of the things that I really love about episodes like this is where we can connect the innovative technology with real results that customers are seeing. So let's talk about the magic that happens when 3M and MSC team up.

CHARLES CABLE: Yeah, Toni, we actually have pulled those numbers and we've saved our customers 48% in abrasives spend and then 37% in labor savings while partnering with 3M and MSC. And the way that we've been able to calculate those numbers is through 3M's new VMAX tool, or a value calculator that we're able to provide to our customers, which is able to, again, document all of that information.

TONI NEARY: Well, the takeaway is clear: better abrasives means better productivity, lower costs, and higher quality. And that is something every shop can benefit from. Charles, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your expertise.

CHARLES CABLE: Yeah. Thank you Toni. This has been really fun.

TONI NEARY: It was great having Charles on the show today. And if you enjoyed our conversation as much as I did, go ahead and subscribe so you don't miss any upcoming episodes. To learn more about 3M Abrasives and how MSC can help, visit www.mscdirect.com/products/3m-belts. Thanks, and we'll see you next time on Tooling Up.

Narrator: Want more insights and ideas to improve the efficiency and productivity of your operations? Check out the Tooling Up video playlist to hear tips that can take your company to the next level, and subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out.