What is the rotary barrel tumbling machine?

About Rotary Barrel Tumbling Machine

  • 1．What is the rotary barrel tumbling machine?
  • Rotary Barrel Tumbling Machines are also called rotary barrel finishing machines, rotating tumbler. They use mechanical methods to automatically deburr, descale, derust, finish parts and workpieces in large quantities. Machinery and equipment for surface treatment processes such as deflashing, cleaning, chamfering, degreasing, decontaminating, brightening and improving surface brightness. Its operating principle is to put the product to be polished and the finishing media into the working barrel of the machine, allowing the abrasive and the workpiece to tumble and rotate together, forcing the abrasive and the workpiece to collide and rub against each other to achieve the surface cutting effect.
    The rotary barrel tumbling polishing machine is the simplest structure and the oldest deburring mechanical equipment. The motor drives the barrel to rotate around the central X-axis through a chain or transmission gear. The deburring media in the barrel and the workpiece are turned over and rubbed against each other to achieve the deburring and polishing effect.

    ShineTec's rotary barrel tumbling machine
  • 2. What is the difference between roraty barrel tumbling deburring and other deburring processes?

  • 2.1 Rotary barrel tumbling deburring is the most traditional mechanical polishing process. Their deburring and polishing principles are similar. The workpiece and the deburring media are mixed together to achieve the deburring effect. The difference is that the barrel tumbler takes the longest time to polish and remove burrs. It is the mechanical equipment tool with the lowest finishing efficiency, but at the same time it is the process equipment with the best surface polishing quality.

    Comparing deburring and cutting efficiency, it can be arranged in this order:
    Centrifugal disc deburring machine > Centrifugal barrel deburring machine > Vibratory deburring machine > Tumbling barrel deburring machine.

    Comparing surface polishing quality, it can be arranged in this order:
    Barrel tumbler > Centrifugal barrel tumbler > Vibrating tumbler > Centrifugal disc tumbler.

    2.2 The rotary barrel tumbling machine uses the dry finishing process when finely deburring and polishing the brightness. That is, the abrasive media and the workpiece are directly mixed together, an appropriate amount of polishing paste is added, and the finishing and polishing is performed directly in the barrel without adding water. Other finishing machines are not allowed to use dry finishing process.

  • 3．Can you tell me how a rotary barrel tumbling machine works?
  • Put the tumbling finising media, the parts to be polished, water, and polishing fluid into the barrel deburring machine according to the corresponding proportions, close the sealing cover of the barrel to make it watertight, and then start the machine. This process can also be called tumbling finishing and polishing process. The abrasive media and the workpiece collide and rub against each other in the barrel, automatically completing the cutting process, reducing the surface roughness of the product, and achieving deburring, descaling, deflashing, chamfering, brightening, burnishing. It is currently the lowest cost, most mature technology and most widely used deburring and polishing solution.

    Since the rotation speed of the barrel is very slow, usually within 50 RPM, the overall processing time of rough finishing, deburring and fine finishing and polishing for each batch will be more than ten hours. It is the slowest finishing and polishing equipment.

    Precision polishing are performed using a dry finishing process. Generally, particle-shaped mirror polishing media with smaller external dimensions are used, such as Corncob polishing media, Walnut shell polishing media, bamboo wood chip, 3P polishing media and other polishing media, with polishing paste, without adding water, can simulate manual polishing with a cloth wheel, so that the surface of the workpiece can achieve a mirror-like polishing effect.

    The effect of polishing hardware parts
    The effect after polishing and brightening the surface of handicrafts
  • 4. What are the benefits of using a rotary barrel tumbling machine to polish parts?
  • Compared with manual polishing, there are definitely many advantages:

    4.1 Automatic large-scale mechanized deburring and polishing. Although the barrel deburring machine takes a relatively long time to finish and polish at one time, dozens hundreds or even tons of workpieces can be put into a batch, making the unit processing time advantage greater.

    4.2 Automatically remove rust and scale. Surface problems such as turning lines and mold lines can also be removed. This is the same as other tumbling finishing machines.

    4.3 Automatic chamfering. Products can be chamfered quickly.

    4.4 Improve surface finish and increase brightness. Make the product surface smoother and brighter. This is the strength of the barrel polishing machine. Its surface finish is of the highest quality.

    4.5 Automatic cleaning and degreasing. It can automatically remove dust, dirt, sludge and other phenomena adsorbed on the surface of the workpiece.

  • 5. Is the operating cost of a rotary barrel tumbling machine high?
  • Compared with manual finishing and polishing, the cost of rotary barrel tumbling machine can be said to be very low.
    This is the cheapest automatic finishing and polishing equipment. The one-time purchase cost of the machine can start from several thousand dollars, and it can generally be used for many years. The choice of ordinary abrasive media depends on the actual situation of the product parts that need to be processed, and the price ranges from a few dollars per kilogram to more than ten dollars. Etc., buying a few hundred kilograms at a time can generally last for months or even years. The amount of polishing compound is very small and the cost is almost negligible.
    The product workpiece can be fed with about tens of kilograms of material at a time in the smallest tumbling deburring machine. The finishing processing time for a batch is generally 2 hours. The direct cost of deburring and polishing when evenly distributed to each product is minimal.

    On the other hand, the advantage of using a barrel tumbling deburring machine is even greater in terms of saving labor costs. As long as workers need to handle it when loading and unloading materials, the machine can be operated unattended, which greatly saves labor costs.

  • 6. What optional configurations are available for ShineTec’s rotary barrel tumbling machine?
  • 6.1 protecting mask. A protective net cover can be installed outside the barrel to prevent collisions between people or materials during machine operation.

    6.2 Vibrating separator can be used to screen the abrasive media and parts. It can be used as an auxiliary equipment for the tumbling barrel deburring machine and can be configured separately.

    6.3 Frequency conversion speed regulation function. A frequency converter is also installed in the electrical control box, which is suitable for adjusting the machine at different operating speeds.

    rotary barrel tumbling machine with protective net cover
  • 7．Which model of rotary barrel tumbling machine should I choose?
  • You should choose which type of rotary barrel tumbling machine based on the shape, size, material, surface quality requirements, processing quantity and other factors of your product parts.
    There is no limit to the workpiece material suitable for the rotary barrel tumbling machine, and the length is generally within 0.5 meters. However, one requirement is that the workpiece cannot be easily deformed or may be bumped. Because the vertical drop is relatively large when the barrel is turned over, and the impact force of the abrasive media on the workpiece is also large, soft long strips or thin products are easily deformed and damaged.

  • 8. How does ShineTec ensure the quality of the rotary barrel tumbling machine?
  • 8.1 Quality assurance of raw materials. Because the lining of the working barrel of the machine can be rubber or PU, this lining is a wearing part and needs to be replaced regularly. The wear resistance of the colloid is a key quality indicator. The raw materials of our colloids come from major domestic manufacturers and products from Dow Chemical of the United States, so the quality can be guaranteed.

    8.2 Reliable motor quality. The motor is a key component related to product quality. The three-phase asynchronous motors used in our barrel deburring machines all come from well-known professional motor manufacturers in Shanghai, and there is no problem with their quality.

    8.3 Electrical accessories. All are purchased from domestic first-tier manufacturers such as Chint and Delixi.

    8.4 Steel plate profiles. Purchased from Shanghai Baosteel Products.

    8.5 Manufacturing Guaranteed. Product production is controlled by skilled workers with many years of front-line production experience, adhering to the spirit of craftsmanship to ensure product quality.

  • 9. How to order a rotary barrel tumbling machine?
  • Please confirm the following basic requirements first:

    9.1 Please send samples first and we will conduct samples testing to determine the best finishing and polishing process.

    9.2 Evaluate the quantity of your product components and workpieces that need to be processed every day? What surface quality is required?

    9.3 Choose the appropriate machine processing capacity, provide the space size of your work area, and determine the machine model.

    9.4 Confirm whether additional auxiliary equipment is required, such as vibratory separator, additional wearing spare parts, etc.

    9.5 The commonly used power supply for the machine is 380V/3-phase/50Hz. Are there any special power requirements?
    After clarifying the above details, you can place an order.

  • 10．What abrasive media can be used in rotary barrel tumbling machines?
  • Abrasive media for rough finishing, fine finishing and polishing:

    10.1 The abrasive used for rough finishing is mainly ceramic deburring media, which is divided into heavy cutting force, medium cutting force and light cutting force.

    10.2 Abrasives for fine fininishing include white corundum finishing media, chrome corundum finishing media, 3P finishing media, etc. Since the grit size of the micropowder contained in them is very fine, some of which are nearly 2000-3000 mesh, it can continuously polish the workpiece surface. Continuous micro-cutting creates a more delicate surface roughness.

    10.3 Polishing media include high-alumina porcelain media, high-density porcelain media (high-alumina porcelain polishing media with an alumina content of more than 95%), stainless steel media, corncob media, walnut shell media, bamboo grain chip, wood grain chip. The main purpose is to improve the gloss and brightness of the workpiece surface.。

  • 11. What kind of power supply does the rotary barrel tumbling machine use?
  • In China, it is generally 380V/3-phase/50Hz.
  • 12．What is the daily maintenance of the rotary barrel tumbling machine?
  • Routine maintenance of the rotary barrel tumbling machine is crucial to extending the service life of the machine. Routine maintenance includes the following:

    12.1 Inspection of the lining on the inner wall of the working barrel. Daily use of the machine will cause wear and tear on the lining in the barrel. Do you need to regularly check whether the lining on the inner wall has any holes or wear? If this happens, it needs to be replaced immediately, otherwise it will cause damage to the barrel.

    12.2 After each loading, check whether the water added in the barrel is too little or too much. The water surface of the barrel polishing machine should not exceed the material by 20mm. Too much water will buffer the force exerted by the abrasive on the workpiece surface and reduce the deburring efficiency; Too little water will cause damage to the surface of the workpiece, the abrasive will easily break and the colloid in the barrel will wear too quickly.

    12.3 Loading capacity of tumbling finishing media and workpiece. We recommend that the ratio of abrasives to workpieces is 3:1. Too little abrasives will cause collisions between workpieces and damage the product surface; too much abrasives will reduce the grinding efficiency of the product.
    Note that the overall volume of materials and water in the working barrel does not exceed 60% of the inner volume of the barrel.

    12.4 Check the abrasive media debris for stuck holes and seams. The abrasives in the barrel will become smaller and smaller after long-term use. In addition, a lot of debris formed by the workpiece and the abrasives will be produced during the grinding process. If the width of these impurities is less than 1mm, they may block the holes and seams inside the parts, affecting the deburring and polishing effect of the workpiece. If stuck holes occur, the tumbling finishing media should be screened to remove the debris and impurities, and the machine should be restarted.

    12.5 Water temperature detection. Long-term operation of the machine will cause the temperature inside the working barrel to become very high. Excessively high water temperature will accelerate the aging rate of the colloid, so if your product needs to be polished for more than ten hours, please use a rubber-lined barrel, because the high temperature resistance of rubber is better than that of PU lining.
  • 13．What industries can the rotary barrel tumbling machine be used in?
  • Rotary Barrel Tumbling Machines are widely used in automotive parts, aerospace, medical equipment, mechanical parts, plastic products, 3C digital, metal casting, electronic devices, hardware parts, kitchen supplies, 3D printing, textile workpieces, powder metallurgy, electrical components, It is widely used in industries such as minting, jewelry, instrumentation, and handicraft accessories.
  • 14．Are there any disadvantages to rotary barrel tumbling machines?
  • The main disadvantage is that it cannot control a specific part of the surface of the finishing product, because it is an overall grinding process. For example, for a product with inconsistent sizes at both ends, you want to make the two ends of the product uniform in size by finishing only the large end, but this is not possible.

    The surface quality cannot achieve the effect of mirror polishing.

    Some inner holes and cross holes that are too deep and too thin, such as inner surfaces exceeding 50mm, cannot be finished and polished.

    Too long burrs and flash cannot be processed. For example, burrs and flash exceeding 2mm.

    It is not suitable for some workpiece that are easy to deform and are afraid of being bumped.

  • 15. Does the rotary barrel tumbling machine require specially trained technicians to operate it?
  • Unnecessary. The operation of this machine is very simple. Just put the abrasive media, workpiece, water and appropriate amount of chemical finishing liquid into the barrel. The machine has a timing function. After starting the machine, the worker can leave to handle other matters. When the set time is up, the machine will automatically shut down. All that is needed is to unload the material and take out the workpiece to complete the finishing and polishing process. Therefore no special technical training is required for employees.
  • 16. What surface treatments can the rotary barrel tumbling machine perform?
  • 16.1 Deburring, deflashing, chamfering. Defects caused during workpiece processing that may cause harm to users can be automatically removed in batches.

    16.2 Derusting and descaling. Surface problems such as turning lines and mold lines can also be removed.

    16.3 Improve surface finish and increase brightness. Make the product surface smoother and brighter.

    16.4 Cleaning and degreasing. It can automatically remove dust, dirt, sludge and other phenomena adsorbed on the surface of the workpiece.

  • 17．What are the tumbling media suitable for rotary barrel tumbling machines?
  • Depending on the shape, material, specifications and sizes of your parts, you need to choose different types of abrasive media. Abrasives that can be used in the machine are: ceramic deburring media, porcelain polishing media, high-density porcelain media, plastic media, white corundum polishing media, 3P precise polishing media, walnut shell mirror polishing media , corncob drying mediaWait.
    Improper selection of abrasives during the finishing process will affect grinding efficiency and may even cause damage to the workpiece.