Choosing The Right Abrasive Medium For Your Workpiece
October 28, 2020
The Pros and Cons of Aluminum Oxide For Abrasive Blasting
October 28, 2020
There are numerous kinds of parts finishing processes that you could employ in your business facility to polish and clean your workpieces. Two of the most popular kinds are tumbling and vibratory finishing, both of which are used by both hobbyists and large industrial facilities. These two methods vary in what they can do and what they respectively excel at and understanding these differences will help you determine which is best for your parts finishing operations. Knowing when to choose tumbling versus vibratory finishing for your workpiece will help you be most efficient and effective at parts finishing.
The Benefits of Tumbling Finishing
In a tumbling finishing process, the workpieces are placed in a large barrel and spun around so that the abrasive media inside the barrel rubs against the workpieces and scraps dirt and anomalies off of them. Depending on the type of media used, the workpieces may be cleaned, polished, or deburred. Overall, tumble finishing is an effective process, but it is not as effective as other finishing methods. The most notable advantage to tumbling finishing is in its cost-efficiency. Tumbling equipment is usually cheaper than other kinds of equipment and the media inside takes on less wear, meaning it will need to be changed out less often and therefore save in the long term as well as the short term.
The Benefits of Vibratory Finishing
Vibratory finishing is the process of placing workpieces in a large tub or bowl, amongst abrasive media, and rapidly vibrated so that the media rubs against and cleans or polishes the workpieces. Vibratory finishing is often considered the more efficient finishing process, over tumbling finishing, due to the fact that more workpieces can be finished at any given time. This allows for mass production to happen faster and generates exceptional results while doing so. Vibratory finishing typically offers shorter cycle times as well, this also helps improve the manufacturer’s bottom line.
Ultimately, the choice of tumbling or vibratory finishing comes down to company budget, the type of media that is being finished, and the speed and amount of workpieces involved. We at Mikro Industrial Finishing excel in finishing methods and equipment and can therefore help you find the perfect finishing processes and equipment for your operations. To learn more, please call us any time at (860) 875-6357.
