The Random Orbital Sander
The function of random orbit sanders is based on oscillation combined with rotation. They form the transition from orbital sanders to rotational sanders and combine the characteristic properties of both.
Characteristic properties of random orbital sanders
The oscillating motion of the random orbit sander corresponds to that of the orbital sander. In addition, the sanding pad is rotating. For this reason, the sanding pad is circular. Its sanding quality is equivalent to that of the orbital sander, the work progress, however, is considerably higher through the combined rotary motion, which also supports dust transportation. In contrast to orbital sanders, nearly all workpiece shapes can be processed because of the round sanding pad, available in different degrees of hardness. However, through-sanding is possible during the sanding of sharp corners and edges which can also damage the sanding pad.
Removal rate of random orbital sanders
As is the case with orbital sanders, the removal rate of random orbit sanders depends primarily on the grit of the applied abrasive. Technically, the sanding performance of a random orbital sander is the product of the oscillation orbit diameter with the number of oscillations and the number of revolutions per unit of time. During practical application, however, the ergonomic design of the random-orbit sander plays a major role. The better the handling and the vibration damping, the less fatiguing is its application for the user, which has a direct effect on the work progress.
Materials for sanding
The potential applications are universal and depend on the applied abrasive. Usually, random orbital sanders are used for the processing of wood, wood-based materials and varnished surfaces. With suitable application tools, the random orbit sander is perfect for polishing. The work progress during the sanding of metal or stone-based materials is comparably low.
System accessories for random orbital sanders
The most important system accessories for random orbital sanders are:
• special sanding pads
• polishing accessories
• dust collector
• Bosch Microfilter System
• adapter for external dust extraction
Special sanding pads
Special sanding pads are used to adapt the random orbit sander to the workpiece contours. Plane workpieces are best sanded with a hard sanding pad, concave or convex workpieces with a soft sanding pad.
Polishing accessories
Polishing accessories for random orbit sanders consist of felt pads of various hardness, which serve as carrier for the abrasive paste (polishing paste, polishing wax), as well as lambs wool bonnets for the finishing polish.
Dust collector
Canvas or paper bags are the classical dust collectors for random orbit sanders. The advantage of canvas bags is that they can be reused; however, they allow relatively much of the potentially dangerous fine dust escape through the fabric pores. The pores of paper bags are much finer and are therefore more effective in retaining fine dust particles. They can be easily damaged and come as one-way bags, i.e. they cannot be reused.
Adapter for external dust extraction
External dust extraction is more effective than most other methods; however, a separate suction appliance is required for this purpose. All Bosch random orbital sanders are equipped with dust extraction ports to connect them to a vacuum cleaner with the help of an adapter.
