Tumbling Media And Compounds For That Exceptional Finish

By Author: David Scheetz
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Media is the terminology used to define a product that is used to modify or alter the appearance of a part. It generally refers to an abrasive, but it could refer to any product that can abrade, clean, polish or separate parts. Tumbling media is used in general purpose metal polishing, deburring, both light and heavy, fast and extra fast and aggressive metal removal, fast, heavy cutting, jewellery polishing, burnishing etc. There are many examples of tumbling media like ceramic performed shapes, plastic performed shapes, synthetic performed shapes, precision ceramic preformed shapes, carbon steel, stainless steel, hardwood, aluminium oxide, corn cob, silicon carbide grit and walnut shells are some of them.

A finishing media company has to give high quality products at competitive prices to their customers. A fully equipped laboratory complete with finishing machines where new processes are created to meet even the toughest application will make them superior innovators. Plastic media is typically used for pre painted or pre plated finishes, polishing and in cutting fast and heavy duty. Plastic media are ideal for soft ...
... metals like brass and aluminium and stringy materials. It is useful for providing a smooth but dull finish. These media are long lasting and are built to cut fast and provide a fine finish. With a vast experience, a company can provide customized solutions to their customers. Ceramic tumbling media come in different shapes, sizes and composition. Ceramic media are used for fast deburring and tough metal removal. It is mainly used in cutting hard metals. When media of smaller dimensions are needed, ceramic media offers the best options. It is better than plastic media in supporting very heavy metal parts.

Dry finishing media of smaller dimensions are used to polish and finish smaller items like jewellery. For this, cob and walnut shells that are treated are used and a finishing paste is also typically used for this. Very delicate surfaces of any size can also be finished using corn cob media. Corn cob is bio degradable and it is a tumbling grit. It can be used as tumbling and vibratory media and can dry parts by absorbing oil and dirt, without scratching the parts surfaces. These products can be used to finish even very small and delicate surfaces effectively. Their product formulas can achieve 1 Ra finish and are made to handle even finishes of a delicate nature for decorative requirements.

There is a wide range of tumbling compounds to satisfy different client needs. Dry compounds, liquid compounds, burnishing compounds, cleaning compounds and deburring compounds are examples of the available finishing tumbling compounds. There are compounds for normal deburring applications, burnishing of steel, part on part and applications in washing different parts. Walnut shells are treated and prepared by grinding it into different grit sizes. They are used in cleaning as well as finishing of surfaces. It is recommended as tumble media for polishing metals like aluminium, brass and bronze. They are soft abrasives but highly durable and angular.