• Resist loading - A major problem with grinding wheels is that the abrasive particles are very closely packed and     hence there is very little space between the chips. While grinding soft materials like Aluminum, Rubber and wood     these wheels load and get clogged preventing the abrasives from further grinding. Coated abrasives are made         with long grains spaced out sufficiently to generate very good chip space so that even soft and sticky materials         can be sanded very easily.
• Needs no balancing - Coated products are resilient and less susceptible to cracking and breakage. Unlike                 grinding wheels they do not require any balancing and rigid accurate spindles.
• Very Safe - Breakages of coated products are far and few and they take a lot of abuse. They are safer to use         than grinding wheels which have to be used very carefully.
• Cooler cutting - Sanding with coated products results in cooler cutting with lower temperatures
    No Thermal loading - Thermal loading occurs when heat generated during grinding softens the job material and         gets it to smear on the grains hence making the grains dull. Coated products generate very little heat while             grinding as the grain shape is excellent to enable easy penetration in the job with less heat.
• Can be used without coolants - As the operation generates very little heat these operations can be used without     coolants.
• Low power consumption - For the same material removal viz depth x feed rate, coated products consume less         power as less forces are required to penetrate due to good grain shape.
• Constant surface speeds - As there is only one layer of abrasive there is no change in surface speed of grinding     as the wheels wear out which is a common problem in bonded grinding wheels.
• Low set up time - Setting times are low for coated operations as products can be removed and replaced very         easily and no dressing balancing and dimension setting is required.
• No abrasive loss in dressing - Typically in most bonded operations as much as 70% of the wheel is lost in                 dressing alone which is not used for grinding. As coated products are not dressed not much abrasive loss is             there.
• Higher speeds possible - As many coated products are safe they can be run at higher speeds without major             changes in products or machines.
• Lower inventory cost - Less number of products and variety is required resulting in less inventory carrying
• Can be used on less expensive non-rigid older machines - many a time coated machines are made from grinding     machines modified after these machines are old and not suitable for grinding applications.
• Less abrasive cost per part - As coated products have only one layer of abrasive, the life of the product will be         lesser compared to a similar grinding wheel, but overall coated products give lesser cost/ part as productivity is         higher due to better cut rate and lesser down times.

WHEN TO USE BONDED AND COATED PRODUCTS
Overall applications of bonded and coated are similar like cylindrical, surface, Centreless, and offhand
As can be seen from the chart below bonded products are preferred when close tolerances and dimensions have to be maintained whereas coated products are used when rough grinding without dimension control is required with high productivity requirements. Coated products cannot maintain dimensions accurately as they are flexible and machines are not made precise.