tumbler vs vibratory

I have some really small/light parts that are made from 1/2" X 1/2" T-shaped aluminum extrusion that is only .032" thick. The parts are only 1" long.

The parts are cut off to 1" with a saw that leaves a pretty good burr on them. I need to remove the burrs but don't want to damage/hurt/wear the thin .032" aluminum.

Will I be better off with a vibratory unit or just a simple tumbler (like a rock polisher) and what sort of media should I use? About how long can I expect the parts to run? I'll be running them in batches of maybe 500 parts each (this number of parts will fill up about a pint jar).

How small/cheap of tumbler or vibratory unit can I get away with and is there a differece between the two as far as the end results are concerned? Will a light/cheap unit be able to remove the burrs adequately? Thanks folks.

Joe

Reply to
joe_d_builder
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Why burrs? Of course I don't know the part but using the right blade you should be able to cut an AL extrusion nearly if not completely burrless. We use triple chip grind blades with negative rake running at about 7000 rpm to burrlessly cut thin walled AL tubing.

Neither method mentioned is likely to give you good results at removing the burrs.Burrs tend to mash down and don't want to come off before the "good" surfaces of the part start getting eroded. Tumbling and vibrating are better suited to breaking sharp edges.

Others might have different experiences and I don't want to start any wars here so just take it as "opinion".

Koz

Reply to
Koz

Got a lathe? You can improvise a tumbler/ball-mill from that, using a PET plastic jar. You'll probably pay more for the media.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

Yeah, I vibratory finish everything, and yeah, what he says, try to avoid the burr, or you will have to tumble them to a nub

I'm see>

Reply to
yourname

What exactly are "triple chip grind blades with negative rake"? Maybe we can improve our cut finish?

Also, I should have mentioned, part of the part has a small notch cut into it with a router. It leaves a slight burr as well. The burrs aren't big. Maybe like .020 proud.

Joe

Reply to
joe_d_builder

negative rake = tooth leaning backwards a little rather than forwards. Often found on laminate blades and similar at the local home center but better to use quality blades if you are making more than a few pieces. negative rake requires more pressure and generates a little more heat but gives a cleaner cut on materials that tend to shatter.

triple chip is a little more difficult to describe...Most woodworking blades are beveled alternately side to side at the top of the teeth and some have an additional flat top "raker"to clean the gullet to a flat bottom. Triple chip grind has a flat raker followed by another flat tooth with the corners cut off. Sometimes there will be a third flat topped tooth also with a slightly different pattern. The key is the tips of the teeth are FLAT relative to the blade's circumference so they remove cleanly without tearing side to side. Beveled teeth will cause side thrusts which are fine for wood but lousy for metal and plastic.

Triple chip is common..look at the tooth tips at any home center and you'll see the differences.

Probably didn't describe it well but it's 11pm and I've been workin for

14 hours now. maybe someone else can do better

Koz

joe_d snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Reply to
Koz

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