Tumble finishing vibrator tumbler

Vernon Glick Jul 01, Vibratory machines and barrel tumblers are both mass finishing technologies that render a refined finish to massive volumes of parts in a short span of time. Both methods are capable of preparing metal parts for coating, and both are widely used for polishing, deburring, burnishing, de-scaling, de-flashing, and radiusing. However, there are several differences between these two equipment choices in terms of operating processes, uses, media, and so on. What is vibratory finishing?

Although Vibratory Finishing techniques are similar to Barrel Finishing and usually involve the same components water, Finishing Compound and Tumbling Media , the equipment is different. The Vibratory Finishing process creates smoother surfaces and can abrade inside deep cavities or tubular parts. A Vibratory Finishing process can finish a variety of parts e. Vibratory Tumblers are safer for delicate parts or large parts that could be damaged in a Barrel Tumbler, since the part only moves a fraction of an inch per stroke, as opposed to sliding the full diameter of a Barrel Tumbler. Vibratory Finishing Systems are easier to load and unload, will abrade or polish in less time, keep parts cleaner and maintain a better color. They are also more easily automated or semi-automated, can process more parts than a Barrel Tumbler of the same size, can recirculate water and compound, cause less media wear in proportion to the amount of work performed and permit fast inspection of parts.

Many parts need deburring or surface finishing work. In order to keep costs down, manufacturers look to mass finishing. Barrel tumblers have an action similar to that of a rock tumbling and skidding down the slope of a hill.

Vibratory finishing is a type of mass finishing manufacturing process used to deburr , radius, descale, burnish , clean, and brighten a large number of relatively small workpieces. In this batch-type operation, specially shaped pellets of media and the workpieces are placed into the tub of a vibratory tumbler. The tub of the vibratory tumbler and all of its contents are then vibrated. The vibratory action causes the media to rub against the workpieces which yield the desired result.