Brown fused aluminum oxide grinding wheels are a major type of abrasive tool in grinding processes. These wheels are made into porous bodies by adding a binder to the abrasive material, followed by molding, drying, and baking. Due to the differences in abrasive material, binder, and manufacturing processes, the characteristics of grinding wheels vary greatly, which has a significant impact on the quality, productivity, and economy of the grinding process. The characteristics of grinding wheels are primarily determined by factors such as abrasive type, particle size, binder, hardness, structure, shape, and dimensions. There are many types of grinding wheels.

Grinding wheels can be categorized into common abrasives (such as corundum and silicon carbide) based on the abrasive material used.

The grinding wheels can be categorized by shape into flat grinding wheels, bevel grinding wheels, cylindrical grinding wheels, cup grinding wheels, and disk grinding wheels, among others; and by bond type into ceramic grinding wheels, resin grinding wheels, rubber grinding wheels, and metal grinding wheels, etc. The main characteristic parameters of grinding wheels include abrasive, grain size, hardness, bond, structure number, shape, size, and linear speed, etc.

Due to the high-speed operation of grinding wheels, they should be subjected to a rotational test (to ensure the wheel won't crack at high working speeds) and a static balance test (to prevent machine vibration during operation). After some time of use, the wheel should be trued to restore its grinding performance and correct geometry.