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What is the barrel finishing for? |
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The major purposes of barrel finishing include deburring, radiusing, improvement of surface roughness, pre-plating smoothness, mirror finishing, and descaling. These finishing processes are indispensable for work pieces to perform their required functions. |
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What does ‘barrel’ mean? |
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Barrel finishing is derived from an ancient practice used to polish raw gem stones. A rotary barrel is the oldest type of its kind and the shape of the barrel is similar to the one ancient people used to polish gem stones. |
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What is a ‘compound’ ? |
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Compound originally means a mixture and this word has different meanings according to each industry. In the barrel finishing industry, it mainly means a detergent. |
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How should compound be used? |
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A compound is a very thick cleaning agent and is used in a form of a solvent by diluting it into water. Basically the concentration of compound solution is 1% to 2%, but varies depending on the type of machine, the compound is used and other conditions. |
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Why is water used for barrel finishing? |
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In a barrel finishing process, water and compounds are used for similar purposes. Dry barrel finishing process with no water required is also available. |
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How much water should be charged in the barrel? |
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It is quite a difficult question to answer, because the water charging volume varies depending on the type of machine. Generally speaking, except for a Vibratory Barrel Finishing Machines, the water volume in the barrel is 40% to 50% of the volume of the contents. As for a Vibratory Barrel Finishing Machines, only 3% to 5% of the volume of contents should be charged in the barrel. Water performs an important role together with the compound used. |
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What is abrasive media ? |
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Most of abrasive media used for barrel finishing is artificially developed. Therefore, there are standards in abrasive media in terms of ingredients, manufacturing processes, shape and dimensions. A suitable type of abrasive media should be applied depending on the finishing purposes, raw materials of the work pieces and the type of finishing machine used. |
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How many types of abrasive media are there? |
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There are many criteria to categorize types of abrasive media including aggressiveness, shape and size. When including all of them, there are several hundred types of abrasive media. |
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How long should abrasive media be used? |
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Abrasive media can be used, if there are no restrictions, even as they get smaller in size. However, in practical cases, due to holes and grooves on work pieces, worn media may lodge there. In addition, work pieces have to be separated from abrasive media after finishing process; therefore, there are lots of restrictions. |
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What is the appropriate ratio of mixing abrasive media and work pieces? |
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In terms of polishing efficiency, work pieces and abrasive media should be mixed in a ratio of 1 to 4. However, work pieces made of soft metals such as aluminum are easy to damage by part-on-part impingement. In such a case, the volume of abrasive media should be increased. The important factors are the size, weight and hardness of work pieces. |
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