Thermal Deburring

Thermal deburring is becoming more popular as time goes by. It is a technique in which oxygen and other flammable gasses are sent into an enclosed chamber and then are ignited deburring and deflashing small persnickety machine parts cleanly, and efficiently.

The chambers are not large so this deburring system is frequently used on small parts which can be sent through the process in bulk and quickly. These thermal chambers are an expensive investment but having an in house thermal processing chamber can help to provide a good amount of quality control.

Frequently used in screw machine shops and die shops because of the small intricate parts that are manufactured and require finishing in large quantities. This deburring process is quick because the gases are ignited and burn themselves out quickly removing unwanted burrs without damaging the base part itself. It only takes 30-35 seconds for the chamber to do its work and if you are doing batches of parts that is a speed which will make a shop more efficient.

This method is far superior to vibratory or tumble deburring whenever an item has semi-enclosed parts which can be tough to get to. The gases in the chamber completely and evenly surround and go through the material being processed and after a very short time all burrs are then oxidized leaving a thin layer of residue which will need to be removed before continued processing can be done. A little attention with an acid based cleaner and it is done.

Although the part needs to be completely cleaned of debris before going through the thermal processing chamber the lack of cleanup afterward balances that aspect out. No grinding grit to dispose of or leftover bits to be cleaned up.

The expected and regular results that you get from thermal deburring make it far superior to hand deburring. Human error being what it is it is too easy for a defective part to slip through unnoticed. The speed of using the thermal method is also more than the human equivalent.

Shops that are not large enough to have an in house deburring system in place can find a metal finishing service that is available in all parts of the country. Shops that are large enough for a thermal deburring chamber will find that the convenience outweighs the initial investment of capital to purchase the system and train people in its use.