Guide To Wet vs. Dry Centrifugal Finishing

Centrifugal finishing is a process that many industrial facilities use to polish parts to ensure that they are smooth and clean before sending them out to manufacturers and customers. It works by placing the parts inside of a spinning barrel that creates pressure when it rotates and rubs the parts against a medium that is meant to sand down unsmooth surfaces and remove rust and anomalies. There are two main kinds of centrifugal finishing, wet and dry, and each method has situations where it is better suited than others. Understanding these differences and the benefits of each will help you make the best choice for which technique you should employ in your parts finishing processes.

The Benefits of Wet Centrifugal Finishing

Wet centrifugal finishing varies from its counterpart by adding additional solvents and cleaning liquids in the barrel as the parts are rotating. This allows for the usage of cleaning and polishing agents to do more than simply smooth down the parts, but also to create a shiny appearance and sterile clean. This process is best suited in situations where an extra material is needed to be used and is particularly useful for finishing metal parts. It is a little more costly to use wet centrifugal finishing, as the added solvent needs to be changed out every once in a while, but it is generally worth it to achieve a superior final product.

The Benefits of Dry Centrifugal Finishing

Unlike its counterpart, dry centrifugal finishing is performed without any added solvents or liquids. This makes it best suited for finishing more delicate metals, such as electronic parts, and plastics. Dry centrifugal finishing uses other kinds of media in the place of water or solvents and this brings extra benefits along with them. Depending on the abrasive media used, a tougher polish can be achieved. Dry centrifugal finishing can be more cost-effective, as the tumbling media is usually fairly inexpensive, however if speciality media is used, it might not make a difference economically.

Centrifugal finishing is a popular parts finishing process that can be executed either wet or dry, depending on the best-suited situation. If you are unsure about what kind of process would be best for your facility, we at Mikro are here to help. We offer both types of centrifugal equipment, as well as the solvents and tumbling media to enhance the process and help your facility perform the best it can. To learn more about our equipment and products, please call us at (860) 875-6357.