Media Selection – Learn to Choose Best Media for Tumbling Operation

You might have had to wonder what media selection and tumbling media are. Well, this article will cover what tumbling media is, why choose the right media for the tumbling process, and the factors to consider when choosing suitable tumbling media.

What is a Tumbling Media?

Media is referred to as any substance that can be used to add a unique touch to any product or material to enhance its final look during tumbling process.

Why Choose the Right Media for the Tumbling Process

Below are some of the reasons why you will not regret choosing the right or ideal media for tumbling operations:

• Ensures products or parts are secured to prevent impingements
• Make sure that the vibratory or tumbling performance is enhanced
• It helps keep all parts separated
• Constantly offers abrasive elements
• Is an ideal compound carrier
• Helps with deburring parts
• Ensures edge rounding of parts is achieved to perfection
• They work perfectly on recesses
• Can work on cavities and slots too
• Enhances polishing
• This leads to perfect cleaning
• Makes surface burnishing possible
• Can be used for drying

Factors to Consider when Choosing Suitable Tumbling Media

Some major factors you need to consider when deciding on suitable tumbling media include:

• The type of media should be selected first
• Ideal shape of media
• The ideal size of media
• Then, you will need to consider media with ideal abrasives

1.  Select an Ideal Media Type

Understanding the different media for tumbling operation types will help you make better decisions. Here they are:

·  Ceramic Media

Ceramic tumbling media works perfectly to deburrburrs that are extremely hard.

• If you need to cut strong, heavy, and hard materials like steel, ceramic media for tumbling operations is best.
• Ceramic tumbling media is also ideal if there is a need for small media.
• This type aids heavy and hard plastic parts more than actual plastic tumbling media would.
• You will find this tumbling media readily available in light and heavy cuts.
• It has a large volume of abrasive materials to ensure deburring is quickly achieved.

· Porcelain Media

Porcelain tumbling media’s actual function is for metal surface polishing. Also, this polish gives the material or surface a look that is glazed.

Porcelain represents another unique ceramic media type.

• This is mostly available in white.
• It comes in three shapes which include a cylinder, a triangle, and a sphere.
• The sphere-shaped media for tumbling operations is ideal for soft metals like aluminum.
• Cylinder-shaped media is ideal for materials like steel that are hard

Plastic Media

This tumbling media type is ideal for metals that are softer like aluminum or brass. When used, it produces a smooth finish. However, a matte look is produced with some level of shine. Some other details include:

• Plastic tumbling media is light in weight.
• When compared to ceramic media, plastic media is up to 30% lighter. Due to this, it doesn’t cause much damage.
• With plastic tumbling media, there is no discoloration of metal or peening over burrs.
• This type of media works perfectly for pre-plating treatment components.

Steel Media

This tumbling media comes in the unique sizes of an oval ball, a ball, a diagonal, and a ball cone. Some other things to note include:

• Comes in unique shapes.
• It comes in different sizes.
• Due to its very high density, this tumbling media puts compressive stress on the surface of the metal. This makes the surfaces of parts ready for work.
• This media is not abrasive. Due to this, it lasts for a long time.
• The process of ball burnishing is mostly linked to this type of media.
• Such a method doesn’t just leave a shinier surface. It also reduces how porous metal components can get.

Hardwood Media

When this media type is used, larger media, when used during cutting, helps to make the process very quick. Small media works perfectly where polishing is concerned. Nonetheless, take into consideration the use of the very same size of media for all tumbling operations.

2. Tumbling Media Shape

Manufacturers of tumbling media can make all forms of shapes. However, the media you choose needs to consider the shape and size of components or parts. The following are details to note down:

• Media doesn’t need to lodge into the recesses or holes of parts

In order for this to happen, cones and angle stars are the best. Also, to ensure holes can be smoothly passed through, angle cut cylinders are best. Cavities need to be measured in order for the right media to be chosen.

• Size of media reduces on a constant basis

There is a need to know and take into consideration that media regularly reduces in size. This means that as it gets smaller, there are tendencies for it to get stuck in the parts. Due to that, tumbling media needs to be used prior to any replacement.

• Tumbling media needs to contact the surface of all parts

Parts from the media are easy to collect. It is important to know that angle-cut cylinder media will not be able to reach the edge even as angle-cut triangle media can. With iron material parts, magnetic separators can be used to collect them.

1. Size of Tumbling Media

• When the tumbling media is large, you can expect to have a cut and finish that is quick. However, a slow cut and finish should be expected if the media is small.
• A rough finish on metals is always created when media is large. However, a refined surface is what you can get with a smaller media.
• Small media will work perfectly for delicate products.
• Large media will work ideally for hard materials. This is because they can lead to fragile materials being damaged.
• When you realize that smaller media is being cut in a very slow way, it will be ideal to add one third (1/3) of the large media size.

2. Media Aggressiveness

Based on your need for a coarse or fine cut of media, the aggressiveness needed is determined. Media aggressiveness can be altered through abrasive content, types, and mesh grit.

Types of Abrasive

Abrasive types that can be added to tumbling media abound. For instance, white and brown corundum, chromium oxide, carbide, silica, etc. Out of these types, silicon carbide is commonly known to be the most aggressive. In plastic media, silica gains a lot of ground, while in ceramic media, corundum takes center stage.

Abrasive Content

Where ceramic deburring media is concerned, 20% of the weight represents the abrasive content. You need to know that fine porcelain media, for instance, comes with zero abrasive content. However, its media abrasiveness can be improved using abrasive content.

Abrasive mesh size

Mesh sizes are never the same. Knowing this is always a good foundation to stand on. Mesh size is a term used to quantify tumbling media aggressiveness and abrasive grit size. So, the smaller the mesh size, the coarser the grade of its abrasive, and the bigger it is, the finer its abrasive grade.

Conclusion

Most of the time, it takes time to decide on the right tumbling media for you. However, with the details stated in this article, you will end up appreciating how easy it can be for these decisions to be made.

More Resources:

Choosing Tumbling Media for Vibratory Process – Source: INOVATEC