Tumbling media in vibratory finishing is for burr removal and surface improvement.
If you own a workshop, then you may need tumbling media.
Of course, the best tumbling media is made in the USA, German, and Japan.
Yet, it is expensive to buy media from these countries.
The good news is that now we can reverse engineering tumbling media.
This means we can produce made-to-order media of precisely the same performance but much lower cost.
Cost is a real problem as your clients from automotive industries requests to reduce media cost every year.
This is because tumbling media is a consumable.
However, you have still mixed feelings about using cheaper media because:
- It can affect the quality of the workpieces.
- The process to approve new media is long and tedious.
Don’t worry, this is how we can help you!
No matter what parts to finish, Reverse Engineering made-to-order media can help you reduce costs and give excellent results.
Whether it’s for deburring, cleaning, edge rounding, or rust removal.
1. Most popular Reverse engineering made-to-order media:
These are the most used media because:
- They are consumables
- We are capable of formulating
2. How we media reverse engineering
It all starts with a sample that a customer needs to send to us.
A few pieces of media are enough for testing.
As soon as we receive the sample, we will take one piece in the ignition testing equipment to burn out the bonding agent within media chips.
For plastic media, all polyester content is burned out, and abrasive is left for investigation.
For ceramic media, ceramic (Kaolin, feldspar, etc.) is burned out, and abrasive is left.
Ignition loss testing center (we also call it “oven”)
When we get the abrasives from the “oven,” we analyze them in the R&D center.
In 2-3 days, we receive a report about abrasive mesh size, abrasive type, and the abrasive ratio.
Analyze of media element content
The next step is to make a report that will include making products by raw material and manufacturing process.
3. The 3 most important parameters that determine the made-to-order media performance
Recipe: we make the precise control of the formula (including the abrasive, bonding agent, and their ratio).
Wearing rate: we conduct the test in every batch of media and measure tumbling media weight loss per hour.
Cutting rate: we work the test for every collection of media and measure steel or aluminum weight loss per hour.
4. Raw Material Control
We own the most critical raw material, Kaolin, to keep the best quality control and remain low cost.
For polyester raw materials, we import from Japan; therefore, the quality is guaranteed.
We have an excellent relationship with all our raw material suppliers.
We have a large and stable quantity of purchase from our suppliers.
They arrange a person who only responsible for our material production and make sure the safe quality.
5. Quality Control
5.1 Quality Control in Lab (wearing and cutting)
It is essential to carry out wearing and cutting tests before media delivering to the customer.
To compare the wearing and cutting rate with the original media, we take 20 kg “new” tumbling media.
Media wearing and cutting test
The test in the centrifugal disc finishing machine lasts for 1 hour.
After that, we can compare the weight loss of the media and the metal cylinder.
5.2 Quality Control in Production Site (appearance)
There are 3-4 quality inspectors at the production site to check the media size and shape.
Besides, dust and dirt are removed before packaging.
Therefore, we make sure the product’s quality meets your standards.
5.3 Quality Complaint
If any customers make quality complaints, we will forward them to our service team.
They will report directly to our factory manager.
Usually, we will hold a meeting with the production, purchasing, and packaging departments 24 hours and respond in 48 hours with feedback and solutions.