Contributing Editor: Dave Davidson, Deburring/Finishing Technologist 509.563.9859 | ddavidson@deburring-tech-group.com | dryfinish.wixsite.com/iso-finish
If you have parts that need edge or surface finishing improvement and would like to have FREE sample part processing and a quotation developed for finishing the parts contact Dave Davidson at
ddavidson@deburring-tech-group.com I can also be reached at 509.563.9859 Information about equipment for bringing Centrifugal Iso-Finishing capability to your facility is also available…
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ABOVE: This presentation slide deck is an extract of a nationally broadcast SME Webinar provided to the SME membership within the UnitedStates on SME’s Webex Net. The presenters were Jack Clark an SME member and CEO of Surface Analytics LLC a former chair of SME’s Deburring and Surface Conditioning Technical Group. and Dave Davidson, and SME member and Advisor to SME’s Machining/Material Removal Technical Community.
Centrifugal Iso-Finishing Technology
Centrifugal barrel finishing (CBF) is a high-energy finishing method, which has come into widespread acceptance in the last 25-30 years. Although not nearly as universal in application as vibratory finishing, a long list of important CBF applications have been developed in the last few decades.
Similar in some respects to barrel finishing, in that a drum-type container is partially filled with media and set in motion to create a sliding action of the contents, CBF is different from other finishing methods in some significant ways. Among these are the high pressures developed in terms of media contact with parts, the unique sliding action induced by rotational and centrifugal forces, and accelerated abrading or finishing action. As is true with other high energy processes, because time cycles are much abbreviated, surface finishes can be developed in minutes, which might tie up conventional equipment for many hours.
Centrifugal Barrel Finishing principles – high-intensity finishing is performed with barrels mounted on the periphery of a turret. The turret rotates providing the bulk of the centrifugal action, the barrels counter-rotate to provide the sliding abrasive action on parts.
The principle behind CBF is relatively straightforward. Opposing barrels or drums are positioned circumferentially on a turret. (Most systems have either two or four barrels mounted on the turret; some manufacturers favor a vertical and others a horizontal orientation for the turret.) As the turret rotates at high speed, the barrels are counter-rotated, creating very high G-forces or pressures, as well as considerable media sliding action within the drums. Pressures as high as 50 Gs have been claimed for some equipment. The more standard equipment types range in size from 1 ft3 (30 L) to 10 ft3, although much larger equipment has been built for some applications.
Media used in these types of processes tend to be a great deal smaller than the common sizes chosen for the barrel and vibratory processes. The smaller media, in such a high-pressure environment, are capable of performing much more work than would be the case in lower energy equipment. They also enhance access to all areas of the part and contribute to the ability of the equipment to develop very fine finishes. In addition to the ability to produce meaningful surface finish effects rapidly, and to produce fine finishes, CBF has the ability to impart compressive stress into critical parts that require extended metal fatigue resistance. Small and more delicate parts can also be processed with confidence, as the unique sliding action of the process seems to hold parts in position relative to each other, and there is generally little difficulty experienced with part impingement. Dry process media can be used in certain types of equipment and is used for light deburring, polishing, and producing very refined isotropic super-finishes.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY – David A. Davidson, [dryfinish@gmail.com]
Mr. Davidson is a deburring/surface finishing specialist and consultant. He has contributed technical articles to Metal Finishing and other technical and trade publications and is the author of the Mass Finishing section in the current Metal Finishing Guidebook and Directory. He has also written and lectured extensively for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Society of Plastics Engineers, American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Association and the Mass Finishing Job Shops Association. Mr. Davidson’s specialty is finishing process and finishing product development.
Contributing Editor: Dave Davidson, Deburring/Finishing Technologist 509.563.9859 | dryfinish@gmail.com | dryfinish.wixsite.com/iso-finish If you have parts that need edge or surface finishing improvement and would like to have FREE sample part processing and a quotation developed for finishing the parts contact Dave Davidson at dryfinish@gmail.com I can also be reached at 509.563.9859 Information about equipment for bringing Centrifugal Iso-Finishing capability to your facility is also available…
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