Page 48 - MetalForming May 2014

Automated Deburring/Finishing
Speeds Throughput
New abrasive technology delivers automated deburring and surface finishing in a single operation.
By automating deburring opera- tions rather than performing secondary finishing processes offline, Orange Vise Co., Union City, CA, a manufacturer of CNC machine vises and quick-change fixturing com- ponents, has eliminated several time- consuming and laborious processes— processes that had been slowing the shop down. So says company founder Eric Sun, who emphasizes that his com- pany’s use of advanced abrasive tech- nology allows machining-center oper- ators implement in-process surface finishing.
In use at Orange Vise is a Mori Seiki NHX4000 high-speed horizontal machining center.
As with most CNC machining cen- ters, the deburring process typically requires taking parts offline and hand- finishing them using a variety of abra- sive tools. Sun not only wanted to auto- mate the finishing process, but also eliminate the messy grinding process the company had been using to achieve a specific surface finish.
Milling Cutters Not in the Picture
Orange Vise builds its vises with a cast-iron body, with selectively hard- ened surfaces as high as 50 to 60 Rc. That requires grinding, as milling cut- ters would wear out too quickly. Out of necessity, Orange Vise also would grind noncritical unhardened surfaces to create a uniform appearance over the entire body.
To remove burrs during fine engraving, Orange Vise opts to use automated deburring with abrasive disc brushes, in place of grinding.
46 MetalForming/May 2014
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“This process involved removing, cleaning and then repositioning parts several times,” says Sun, “in order to grind each face. That process proved time intensive, particularly for the work that was purely cosmetic.”
To the rescue came a new line of abrasive disc brushes (NamPower, from Brush Research Manufacturing Los Angeles, CA), designed to allow CNC operators to automate the deburring process while delivering an ideal surface finish in the same operation.
“We started using the brushes for deburring, but quickly discovered they
also provided a really nice surface fin- ish,” says Sun.
Composed of flexible abrasive-nylon filaments bonded to a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic base, the abrasive-disc brushes contain a unique combination of ceramic and silicon-carbide abrasive. These abrasive filaments work like flex- ible files, conforming to part contours, wiping and filing across part edges and surfaces to deliver optimum burr- removal rates along with the desired surface finish. Other common uses are edge blending, part cleaning and rust removal. The ceramic abrasive tackles material removal, but tends to cut a