Abrasive vitrified agglomerate disc with porous islands

A process for using vitrified abrasive materials to produce abrasive island discs comprising:

• a) providing a flexible polymer or metal circular backing substrate having a backing substrate top surface, a backing substrate bottom surface, a backing substrate diameter and a backing substrate thickness;
• b) providing a mixture of abrasive particles and a glass frit material and heating the mixture of abrasive particles and glass frit material to a temperature sufficient to melt the glass frit material thereby encapsulating the abrasive particles in a glass matrix and cooling the abrasive and glass matrix material to form a solidified vitrified abrasive and glass matrix material and fracturing the solidified vitrified abrasive and glass matrix material into vitrified abrasive agglomerates;
• c) providing a mixture of vitrified abrasive agglomerates and an island solvent-based adhesive and molding the mixture of vitrified abrasive agglomerates and the island solvent-based adhesive into abrasive island structures and solidifying the island solvent-based adhesive wherein the island solvent-based adhesive bonds the abrasive island structures to the backing substrate top surface;
• d) forming the abrasive island structures to have abrasive island structure shapes, abrasive island structure sizes, abrasive island structure thicknesses and abrasive island structure flat top surfaces;
• e) bonding the abrasive island structures to the backing substrate in an array pattern band having an array pattern band substantially annular shape, an array pattern band substantially annular outer diameter, an array pattern band substantially annular inner diameter and wherein gap spaces exist between adjacent abrasive island structures;
• f) providing a porous island gap space erodible material that is attached to the backing substrate top surface in the gap spaces between adjacent abrasive island structures wherein the porous island gap space erodible material has a top surface that is level with the abrasive island structures flat top surfaces.