Why You Need Vibratory Finishing Equipment in Your Shop

Vibratory finishing creates the end result of a number of products that we use or come into contact with every day. It's also known as mass finishing, and the right vibratory finishing equipment can make a big difference when it comes to metal polishing, deburring, and the final product. A vibratory finishing machine uses a mechanical and/or chemical process to deburr, radius, polish, degrease, and smooth parts that are mass produced. The parts move around the machine in a circular fashion and grind against the machine to produce the final finish. However, the right finishing tools are important to have and knowing what media to use with which vibratory finishing equipment is also crucial. We'll discuss this, some important terminology and what mass finishing solutions you should be using. 

Terms to Know 

Vibratory finishing equipment is often used by machinists, who work with metal and other hard products on a regular basis. From deburring machines to other metalworking appliances, these in are high demand by machinists. 

We've discussed what vibratory finishing is, which is of course, the most important part. But deburring? Radiusing? Deburring is the process of straightening and smoothing rough edges of an item, usually metallic. So a deburring machine is one that can carry out the deburring process. Burring can often happen during certain steps of the manufacturing process, like stamping or forming, casting or molding, milling, turning, or grinding. Ultimately, the product needs to be smoothed out, which is where the deburring machine comes along. 

Radiusing is the process of getting rid of or rounding off sharp edges from an item. Sharp edges can make the product hard to handle, create obstructions, or potentially cause injuries. Disc machines are often used with radiusing. 

What Finishing Tools Do You Need? 

We've already discussed some vibratory finishing equipment like deburring machines and high centrifugal disc machines, but there are plenty of other finishing tools that are needed as well. Wet or abrasive blasting can help degrease and clean parts, ball burnishing bowls can do both deburring and radiusing, while also providing high gloss finishes or burnishing steel. There are also burnishing bowls for batches and standard items, as well. 

Driers and mass finishing systems are also extremely useful and part of the vibratory finishing equipment process as well. With these systems, pieces can be loaded in, batched, sorted, weighed, and separated. Then the washing and drying process occurs, and they're processed further to prevent rust, reduce noise, and process water, all in one handy system. 

And finishing media is a last crucial step of the process as well, available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and material, though the most common types are ceramic and plastic. 

What Mass Finishing Solution Should I Be Using? 

Mass finishing solutions can have a pH from a one to 14, though the most popular range is between four and 14. Small parts can be tricky with a mass finishing solution, because of their gage, shape, or how they're made, but sometimes just boosting how much media or water/compound is in the equipment can make a big difference. 

Vibratory finishing equipment is vital for any machinist or metalworker to produce a finished, final product.