Fill material, or "filament," is crucial in power brushes, since many industrial processes depend on the ability of a power brush to properly remove burrs and sharp edges from parts so they can perform uniformly and safely. Most power brushes have crimped steel, stainless steel, bronze or brass wire filament; only the tips of the brush's wires have the ability to cut, and as the brush is used the wires break and form new cutting tips, a process that is aided by crimping the wires.

Nylon abrasive filament is also used in many applications that require finer or non-metallic deburring. This material is made abrasive by impregnating nylon with silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, or polycrystalline diamond abrasive grit, which, depending on the size of the grit, can achieve various levels of cutting, deburring, blending or polishing.

Both metal and abrasive nylon filaments may be "encapsulated" in an elastomer coating to amplify cutting capacity. With all the different types of configurations available, power brushes can provide surface conditioning solutions for parts of virtually any size, shape and material.

Power brushes can be used for metal deburring; removing rust, paint scale, or other coatings; gear and thread cleaning; surface preparation; cleaning; finishing and weld blending. They work on most materials, including aluminum, steel, carbide, plastic, wood and glass.

Alternatives to deburring power brushes are deburring machinery such as tumblers, vibratory finishers and multi-process deburring equipment. These machines are generally effective, but they must usually be purchased as large units, which are far more costly than power brushes, which can be attached to a manufacturer's pre-existing equipment or modified to fit an already constructed assembly line.

Power brushes achieve uniform surface conditioning when used properly, and they offer a cost-effective solution for industrial deburring and surfacing.