With over 125 years of experience manufacturing and distributing tufted industrial brushes, Cocker-Weber has the knowledge and skills necessary to meet virtually any brush need. Regardless of the brush type, trim shape, or construction method, our expert team can deliver a custom-tailored brush solution that meets the performance, quality, and budgetary specifications of the application.
Construction and Design Options for Custom Brushes
Tufted brushes consist of two main components:
- The core. Brush cores are typically made from plastic or wood blocks that feature pre-drilled holes designed for the placement of the bristles.
- The bristles. The bristles of a brush are made up of groups of filaments that are held in place on the brush core by staples, wires, or epoxies.
While the core and bristles are integral to the manufacture of a tufted brush, industry professionals can customize the design of these components to suit different needs. For example, they can choose various construction/fastening methods, bristle shapes, brush types, and more.
Construction MethodsWhen constructing tufted brushes, brush manufacturers generally employ one of three methods: |
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Staple setting: Filaments are compressed and inserted into pre-drilled holes under pressure and retained by steel staples driven into the core. This construction method involves driving the brush bristles into pre-drilled holes in the core and holding them in place with steel staples. Staple set brushes are available with a wide range of customization options, including in regard to material, tuft pattern and size, and brush shape. | |
Epoxy Setting: As above, filaments are cemented into pre-drilled holes in the core using epoxy resin. This method makes a secure, sterilizable brush that can be done without staples. Unstapled epoxy-set brushes are hand work and expensive. Similar to the staple setting method, this brush construction method requires the insertion of brush filaments into pre-drilled holes in the brush core. However, rather than setting the bristles with steel staples, it holds them in place with epoxy to form a sterilizable brush. Due to the precision required for epoxying unstapled brushes, this method is generally performed manually, resulting in higher production costs. | |
Wire Drawing: Also known as Drawn-In-Wire – brushes are assembled by sewing filaments into pre-drilled holes with fine wire through the core where it is tied. This is a very secure method of holding material into the brush and it is labor intensive. Wire drawn—also referred to as drawn-in-wire—brushes are made similarly to staple set and epoxy set brushes. However, instead of using staples or epoxies, manufacturers sew the brush filaments into place with metal wire or nylon cable. They tie the wire or cable around the middle of a filament tuft to bend the bristles in half and draw the bend point firmly into the pre-drilled hole before adding another knot to lock the filaments against the base of the brush. While allowing for secure attachment of the bristles, this method requires extensive manual labor, which often makes it more costly than the other two. |
Trim ShapesA brush’s trim shape determines the cross-sectional appearance of its bristles, which can significantly impact its performance characteristics. Some of the most popular trim shapes for industrial and commercial brushes include the following: |
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Flat: Most common shape used unless there are specific reasons for using other shapes. Flat trim brushes are the most commonly employed type of tufted brush, finding use in a wide range of general-purpose applications. The bristles of these brushes are all the same length, creating a flat, even shape. | |
Angled: To fit the filament to the surface being worked upon. An angled trim has a sharp angle cut into the top of the bristles, making the bristles long on one side and progressively shorter toward the other end of the brush. The transition from one end of the bristle to the other is smooth and without steps. This trim shape allows the brush to work on surfaces at a fixed angle. | |
Convex: To conform to the surface being brushed. Similar to the bristles in a bevel trim, the bristles in a convex trim are short along the sides and progressively longer toward the middle. However, the cut is more rounded on a convex brush | |
Step: For brushing irregular or uneven surfaces. Many variations are possible. Stepped trims have distinct bristle sections of different lengths. These sections progressively lengthen from one side of the brush to the other. While many variations exist, all of them exhibit a distinct stairstep appearance that is suitable for brushing uneven or irregular surfaces. | |
Combination Step: Combination of step trims to conform to the surface being brushed. Combination step brushes have distinct sections of different heights. Rather than resembling stairsteps as in step brushes, the bristle sections create a blocky bevel or reverse bevel shape. | |
Double Bevel, Chisel or Converging: To conform to the surface being brushed, or for greater concentration of brush filaments to obtain more intense brushing action. | |
Double Bevel, Chisel or Converging: To conform to the surface being brushed, or for greater concentration of brush filaments to obtain more intense brushing action. |
Custom Brush Solutions
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Brush Types
Tufted brushes are available in a variety of distinct shapes to suit different applications. Some of the most common brush types are: