ETS 150/5 soft sanding pad separation

[matt.mackinnon]

The Fusion-Tec MJ2 Sanding Pad Soft D150 on my ETS 150/5 decided to separate where the foam seems to have delaminated from the plastic backing that connects to the sander.  I don't get an awful lot of use out of the sander, but this seems rather strange that the foam would have just deteriorated to the point of failure.  You can see effectively the glue where the foam was attached, and the foam as a separate piece.

Is this a common way that the pad fails? I know that they do sell replacement pads and I have just ordered a new one, but I am trying to gather if this is what should be expected for the life of the pad, or if I just got a bit of a lemon?

 

[RKA]

I would say that is out of the ordinary.  Maybe if the pad had been exposed to heat it might deteriorate that glue, but that foam would also have issues.  Age is another factor, but given how new the MJ2 pads are, it should not be the case here.  I would contact Festool, they may be interested in acquiring the failed pad to see if it's a one off or a more serious problem with the construction of the pads.  I would imagine they would send you a new one gratis if it was a manufacturing defect in the pad.

 

[AlexThePalex]

More and more I get the idea this is too be expected, these pads have a limited live span due to the foam chemically deteriorating.

We hear about it often on the FOG, and I myself recently had two pads disintegrate. Mind you, they were about 10 years old by now, but still, I have pads from other brands that are 25 years old and still fine.

 

[RKA]

Yes, but there are a few distinctions that suggest this is entirely different from those other threads.
1.  He's talking about the recently released multi jetstream 2 pads, so they aren't very old.
2.  He's not talking about the foam disintegrating, it sounds like it was the adhesive that failed or interacted with the foam in a way that resulted in failure. 

 

[matt.mackinnon]

In reading a bit more, I think I might have some part in the downfall.  It has been a very hot summer, and as my shop doesn't have A/C, I have tended to take most of the processes that I can outside where you get a bit of a breeze without the downside of sawdust blowing around you (if you put a fan for example inside the shop).    So the sander had taken quite a bit of heat and direct sunlight on in for some extended periods of time.    The point of failure, I was just finishing quite a big table so the unit was likely running on the hot side.

Then there was the bit of taking the 5mm bolt out of the bottom.  I don't know who put it in.  (I am sure it wasn't me)  But it ended up taking a 2' breaker bar with an 5mm hex head  to get that bolt out.  And as you can imagine, if it takes a whole load of force to remove the bolt, then you are having to exert an equal to stop the now delaminating pad from spinning.  In the process, the whole of the bottom foam was not off (oops).  So I chucked the whole thing.  Just posted here to see if there was something out of the ordinary.  But as others have pointed out.. I have some other branded ROS that havn't had issues with the soft foam that I've had for too many years to remember, but they don't do nearly as good a job as the Festool and get dust/debris everywhere so I pretty much use the ETS now.

 

[peter halle]

Contact Festool Canada directly about your issue via phone would be my suggestion.  My guess is that they would want to know about details involved in an early failure of a new product.

[member=57769]TylerC[/member]  [member=101]Festool USA[/member]

Peter

 

[matt.mackinnon]

I just got off the phone with Festool and they were fantastic.  I explained what happened and yes they were very interested.  Sadly, as I had thrown it out, I couldn't send the defective piece to them, but they did offer to replace the defective pad for me that was really nice. 

This clearly shows for me that Festool does have a great customer service from my experience and justifies the initial cost of ownership with not only a great designed product but backing it up if something does go eschew.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Yes, but there are a few distinctions that suggest this is entirely different from those other threads.
1.  He's talking about the recently released multi jetstream 2 pads, so they aren't very old.
2.  He's not talking about the foam disintegrating, it sounds like it was the adhesive that failed or interacted with the foam in a way that resulted in failure.

We've also had reports of this happening with new pads. At one point quite a few new pads in a short time. The foam is made in a chemical process, make one mistake with an ingredient or the process, and it can result in inferior foam.