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Aluminum alloy has a low specific gravity of 2.72, but its high strength, good plasticity, excellent electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and corrosion resistance made it widely used in the industry.
In this article, we will discuss aluminum machining parts deburring and smoothing. The machining mark and edge burr need to be removed.
1. Parts condition before finishing
 | Material: Aluminum alloy 6061 Appearance: before processing, parts have machining marks. Also, the surface is horny by hand. Besides, these parts have greasy oil on the body, so they tend to stick together. Shape: The aluminum parts have an elementary geometry. However, the part has a 7mm hole, so Tetrahedron shape media remove burr around the hole. Size: 37mmX25mm, 2mm thickness Process before finishing: Machining The process after finishing: anodizing |
2. Parts Surface requirement
- Smoothing parts surface without damage parts
- Clean grease on parts surface
- Low Ra value for anodizing
- Remove machining mark
- Remove edge burr and also edge rounding
3. How we process the parts
| Step | (1) Grinding | (2) Drying |
| Machine | The centrifugal disc finishing machine | Vibratory dryer or centrifugal dryer |
| Tumbling Speed | 50/60HZ (full speed) | |
| Chip Type | Plastic Media TET/Cone Light cutting | |
| Media to Parts Ratio | 3:1 | |
| Compound Type | LC-13, PH 8 (mild grinding compound) | |
| Water Level | Just cover the mass | |
| Tumble Time | 30 minutes | 10-20 minutes |
| Notes— | Suggest to add the anti-sticking agent to prevent parts sticking |
4. Parts condition before and after polishing
When we have a close look at the parts, we find the edge burr and cutting mark replaced with a homogeneous and isotropic matt texture.
Because this machining part is small-medium size, so we can process it in a centrifugal disc machine with higher productivity.
5. Other considerations
Unlike zinc and Zamak3 material, aluminum is not easy to rust and corrosion. So we can use more methods to get it dry.
This part has a simple surface contour. So we can choose a ceramic media with Tetrahedrons shape that easily reach the steps.
We can also use the vibratory finishing machine with a more prolonged process time. The surface quality creates by the centrifugal disc machine is better than a vibratory finishing machine for deburring and smoothing.
6. Conclusion
In this article, we give an example of aluminum machining parts mass finishing with plastic deburring media. The same process may also be used for brass parts and magnesium parts.
First, we discuss the condition of the parts before finishing.
Second, we show parts surface requirements from clients.
Third, we offer the process that we did for the aluminum parts in detail.
Later, we compare the surface before and after mass finishing. At last, we discuss other possibilities for aluminum parts smoothing.
