Tumbling Media 

 

A tumbling media is an abrasive material that is often used for finishing a variety of materials. This is often an abrasive operation to remove undesirable machining edges, although media can also be chosen for its capacity to polish, clean, degrease, or produce radii.

 

It is most commonly used with finishing equipment so that the media and the parts to be finished scrub against each other, this produces thorough and precise abrasiveness to remove burrs.

 

Tumbling media is available in many forms: ceramic, synthetic, plastic, porcelain, steel, wood pegs, dry shells, loose abrasive, and cob meal. The tumbling media selection is based on the desired effect on the target material and the equipment used. This ranges from heavy edge break and metal removal, to surface improvement, to a high polish.

 

There are some fundamental functions that all tumbling media share; they enhance tumbling action, deburr, and act as a carrier for the compound in addition to providing some support to pieces to prevent them from mechanical damage.

 

Here are some common types of abrasive media: 

 

Ceramic Media: Ceramic tumbling media is an affordable media that can be used on most materials in a variety of finishing equipment (including vibratory tumblers, centrifugal barrels, discs, stream and drag finishers, and other types of deburring equipment). Waste streams containing ceramic tumbling media have high settling ability. Ceramic Media is ideal for hard metals and removing rust from parts. It is used for both light and heavy deburring and is perfect for when fast deburring is needed. 

 

Synthetic or plastic media: Synthetic and plastic tumbling media is widely used on softer materials such as aluminum and brass and to achieve finer finishes. It is ideal for precision deburring, polishing, and general metal deburring. 

 

Organic media (corn cob or walnut shells): This is ideal for cleaning dry parts. The walnut shells are good for light to medium deburring and corn cob is great for finishing metal parts due to its ability to absorb surface oil on parts. The advantage of using organic media for finishing is that they are natural, meaning that they are safer for the environment. 

 

Porcelain (wet) media: This is similar to organic media. It is used for polishing, cleaning, and deburring parts. They are also used for corrosion and rust protection. Process testing is recommended to determine the most suitable method between porcelain and organic media. At Mikro, we offer FREE PROCESS TESTING for our customers to ensure we make the right choice in tumbling media and compound.

 

It is important to choose the correct tumbling media as that is the key to a successful and perfect finishing. This is why at Mikro, source only the best quality tumbling media. We currently carry;