Nonwoven abrasive articles made by friction welding

An abrasive article comprising:

• a nonwoven substrate material having a top surface and a bottom surface;
• a woven cloth;
• a thermoplastic fastener;
• and
• a plurality of abrasive particles,
• wherein the cloth is adhered to the top surface of the nonwoven substrate material;
• wherein the cloth has an open area of less than 5%;
• wherein the thermoplastic fastener is disposed on the cloth, and
• wherein the plurality of abrasive particles are disposed on at least the bottom surface of the nonwoven abrasive substrate.

A method of forming an abrasive article comprising the steps of:

• disposing a thermoplastic fastener onto a nonwoven material substrate,
• inducing relative motion between the fastener component and the nonwoven material substrate,
• contacting the fastener component and the nonwoven material substrate together under pressure,
• maintaining the relative motion under pressure between the fastener and the nonwoven material substrate sufficient to cause the fastener and nonwoven material substrate to become melt bonded together, and
• stopping the relative motion between the fastener and the nonwoven material substrate.

A method of forming an abrasive article comprising the steps of:

• disposing a thermoplastic fastener onto a cloth that is adhered to the top surface of a nonwoven substrate material;
• inducing relative motion between the fastener component and the cloth,
• contacting the fastener component and the cloth together under pressure,
• maintaining the relative motion under pressure between the fastener and the cloth sufficient to cause the fastener and cloth to become melt bonded together, and
• stopping the relative motion between the fastener and the cloth,
• wherein the cloth has an open area of less than 5%.