Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
INDUSTRY
EVENTS
2 A ll man made items
or objects can be con-
must be made to fit,
form, and function
safely. The word safely
is finished depends to a
large extent as to how
it is to be used. That
sidered parts and are is open to interpreta- means that the word
mostly made from met- tion; however, it pri- finishing can take on
NEWS & 3 als, castings, or molded marily means that it other meanings than
NOTES should not hurt, cut, or just safety. The word
parts. Raw materials for
these parts can be fer- damage surrounding can also refer to the
rous or non-ferrous objects or people. coating applied to the
FROM THE 6
metals, plastics (which part or its surface
FORUM The word ‘safely’, or
can include epoxies), modifications for aes-
that end product con-
and any inorganic or thetic or treatment pur-
dition of the item or
FINISHING 12 organic, capable of be- poses to prolong or
part in question, is nor-
SPOTLIGHT ing formed. Basically, protect its life.
mally achieved by a
that means that almost finishing process or Most parts or objects
everything and any- just the term exposed to out of doors
THE LAST 15
thing that man uses “FINISHING”. Now, environments are usu-
WORD
can be worked via ma- even though we are ally finished with a
chine or hand. Before talking about an end heavy, thick coating
such items or industrial item or part, there is which is desirable for
Inside This Issue:
(page 6)
Page 2
FINISHING TALK
Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis have been ratified. The new con- Air’s new facility in N. Kingstown,
Branch of AESF is hosting a re- tract reportedly contains large RI. The seminar will include an
ception on Monday, June 16, pay cuts and other concessions, afternoon hands-on session in Bel
2008 to welcome everyone to In- and includes the closure of a Air’s lab, utilizing actual equip-
dianapolis during SUR/FIN®. The forge plant in Detroit, MI, and a ment. For more information, visit
event will be at Jillian’s on South factory in Tonawanda, NY. Ap- www.belairfinishing.com.
Meridian Street and will include proximately 3,650 UAW members Emory, TX Dile Kent McCnair
food, drinks and the latest in elec- had been on strike since February pled guilty Thursday, in a Tyler
tronic video games. "We felt it 26 over wage and benefit issues. courtroom, to the felony offense
was important to provide an op- The company expects to have its of storage of hazardous waste
portunity for people to meet in an plants running production this without a permit in connection
informal atmosphere and talk to week. The agreements should with his former business, Extreme
other people in the industry. This allow AAM’s largest customer, Metal Finishing, Inc. in Point, TX.
venue offers a setting of good General Motors Corp., to open 20 The office of the U.S. Attorney for
food, great fun and close prox- plants that have shut or partially the Eastern District of Texas re-
imity to the convention center.” closed because of parts short- ported that McNair admitted to
said Jerry Phillips, President of ages. For more information, visit storing spent cyanide plating bath
the Indianapolis Branch. For www.aam.com. solutions and plating bath resi-
ticket information please contact
N. Kingston, RI Bel Air Finish- dues from the bottom of plating
Jerry Phillips at (317) 842-8120 or
ing Supply will stage a one-day baths, from electroplating opera-
Amy Burns at aburns@finshing-
seminar/workshop on all phases tions at the Point facility without a
concepts.com
of mass finishing on Friday, Aug. permit. McNair is facing up to 5
Boulder, CO Organizers of the 15, 2008. The event, covering years imprisonment and a fine of
2008 Lean & Green Summit an- topics such as all types of finish- up to $50,000.00 for each day of
nounced today the addition of ing media, compounds, process violation at sentencing. A sen-
Harley-Davidson’s Tim Hunter, technologies, plus wastewater tencing date has not been set.
Chief Engineer of Fabrication and processing, will be held at Bel
Assembly. Hunter will be address-
ing the benefits of lean manufac-
turing principles on issues of the
environment and sustainability.
He will be the closing keynote
presenter, with Nike’s Senior Ad-
visor, Darcy Winslow, opening the
conference. The Summit will de-
but July 17-18, 2008 at St. Julien
hotel and Spa in Boulder, CO. For
more information please contact
Dwayne Butcher, 317.813.5455 or
Dwayne@leanaccountingsummit.
com. Or visit them online at:
www.leanandgreensummit.com.
Detroit, MI Tentative agree-
ments with the International UAW
reached on May 16, 2008, cover-
ing approximately 3,650 American
Axle & Manufacturing Holdings,
Inc. (AAM) associates at five fa-
cilities in Michigan and New York,
Page 4
FINISHING TALK
protection, but a lot of poor previously worked areas, gener- evolved over the years into three
workmanship can be covered up ally with abrasives in a mechani- types of energy systems that
with thick coatings of paint, plas- cal type operation. This finishing generate mechanical forces,
tics, or epoxy. Another finish, task is usually best accomplished which create work action or ap-
normally used on metal parts, is using mass finishing systems, ply pressure to a mix of both
a treatment or thin coating that because it requires the least abrasives and parts within this
is considered plating or surface amount of time and care by an equipment. The first system, de-
treatment. Because this finish is operator and produces a uniform veloped from ancient times, is
relatively thin, this end process finished product. Even though considered a barrel system from
will not - or will only slightly - this is a finishing process and the which we derive the terminology
change the current surface fea- end product may be the final ap- ‘tumbling’. This equipment is the
tures of the item in question. Ba- pearance of the part, it still may slowest method because it exerts
sically, that means that what you require some kind of protective only 1 g (or gravity force) to the
see before you treat the part is coating or alternative finish. Blast mass of parts and abrasives
what you will get after you finish finishing is an option in some within the barrel and primarily
the part. cases; however, blasting with moves the mass in one direction.
inorganic materials can leave a The next system developed is
To accomplish surface modifica-
surface finish extremely rough, considered vibratory. This equip-
tion of a permanent uniform na-
which is good for the adhesion of ment uses an open work cham-
ture requires the mechanical
heavy coatings but not for tight ber that is energized by an ec-
working of the part or object in
tolerances, smoothness, or ap- centric or out of balance spinning
question, either by hand or ma-
pearance sake. weight. This equipment can gen-
chine. That means material re-
erate up to 8 g’s on the parts
moval and/or the blending of Mass finishing systems have
Page 5
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5
and mass within the work cham- or heavy metal. All media will surface modification process,
ber, in an equal x and y and work or do something to a part which can result in a non-uniform
some z directional method of op- in a mass finishing system. It is a finish. If the part is relatively
eration. The newest equipment is relative thing, a kind of guilty by simple and can be worked with
considered high energy systems association. In mass, the strong- this random media, it is normally
of both barrel, and what are est beat up on the weakest, or at the least expensive media and
called disc finishing systems. least have some major influence way to process parts. There are
These systems can generate up in the behavior or final appear- now some extremely hard, man
to 30 g’s (gravity forces) to the ance of the parts. made abrasive products made in
parts within them in the x, y, and this random form, which are very
Because we are talking mostly
primarily z work action. effective for both deburring and
about machined parts or man
burnishing; therefore, this media
The energy forces of the me- made objects, the design con-
should be considered when and
chanical motion of the type of figuration of these parts are
where possible.
equipment [1] described above is made in such a way that they are
only part of the work action tak- not too compatible with nature. In addition to random, abrasive
ing place within the equipment. What I mean by that is that products classified into specific
The energy transfer from the naturally occurring media or ran- size ranges are man made abra-
equipment to the part is best ac- dom abrasive supplies are nor- sive shapes of uniform specific
complished with a solid abrasive mally not good enough to work size. Generally speaking, all mass
medium, which is called media, most parts because of their ir- finishing media, like parts, are
and which can be controlled or is regular shapes. In short, because man made into preformed
predictable in how it operates or of the irregularities of random shapes from 1 of 4 basic compo-
performs a designed function of sizes and shapes of abrasive ma- sition materials or bonding
deburring, burnishing, or polish- terials and their mass behavior, agents. The most abrasive mate-
ing. Most systems use a form of the media usually gets stuck rials are made with ceramic and
abrasive media, with liquid sys- within the configuration of the plastic materials. These bonding
tems for deburring, and hard part, thereby neutralizing the
non-abrasive shapes and materi- Continued on page 9...
als for burnishing. Polishing is
best accomplished in mass finish-
ing equipment using a dry or- Your Total Finishing Resource.
ganic process.
Mass finishing media supplies
come in many sizes, shapes, and
compositions. They all deburr or
modify surface features of metals T: (800) 438-6880
and plastics to some extent.
Choosing the right media makes T: (828) 464-1376
a world of difference in time and
costs. How efficient the media is F: (828) 464-7094
in achieving the end results you
are looking for is also critical to www.jacksonlea.com
this selection process. To begin
with, all media products can be
considered abrasives, even bur-
nishing media. That is, they all
have the capability to remove
some material off the item or
part in question, be it surface dirt 1715 E. Conover Blvd. Conover, NC 28613
Page 6
FINISHING TALK
johnthepolisher
Is it possible to "mask" an area that you don't want
Continued on next page...
Page 8
FINISHING TALK
to e-polish? For instance, if a customer requests meter, I can only generate around 5 amps - even
that a certain surface should remain unpolished, is with the welder cranked up to the highest setting.
it possible to protect that area from the polishing According to the ohm meter, I have the correct
solution? We have done this on chrome plated voltage. Now I'm wondering if the amp meter is
parts with aluminum tape, or in certain situations junk, or if I hooked up the power source incor-
by applying a thin coat of paint. rectly. I have to admit that I am getting quite frus-
trated - the whole process seems fairly basic and
DustinGebhardt easy to understand, but I can't get "Frankenstein"
Yes. You can use special tapes or paints to mask off the operating table.
the area you don't want polished. Just be aware If I can get this sucker to work, I will be more than
that the e-polish process removes some of the sur- happy to invest in a real rectifier to replace the
face material, and you may be left with a noticea- welder. But I don't want to throw another couple
bly raised, unpolished surface. thousand dollars into this process without seeing
johnthepolisher some results. Any insight would be greatly appreci-
Typically, the areas that I have to mask have serial ated...
numbers stamped into the parts - so the raised & Do you have some insight for John? Log on
unfinished surface is exactly what I am looking for. to the Finishing Talk forums today to join in
You wouldn't happen to know of a good supplier of on this discussion – or start a discussion of
masking materials, would you? your own!
www.finishingtalk.com/community
DustinGebhardt
I've always used the products of Tolber. They have
a whole slew of distributors in the US, my favorite
being my former employers out in TX, A Brite.
johnthepolisher
Thanks for the info, Dustin. Sorry for the delayed
response, but I had to manually polish a bunch of
parts to keep my cash flow positive (you can check
out a couple of recent pieces in the polishing fo-
rum).
johnthepolisher
Since my last post, I purchased a small heater
which heats the tanks to the recommended tem-
peratures, but I am still not able to polish anything
- which I believe is due to my power source. As per
the instructions which came with the set up, I
bought a Lincoln Electric AC/DC 225/125 stick
welder. I reduced the voltage by wiring the welder
to 110v with a dimmer switch on one line (to fur-
ther reduce the voltage to 10 - 15 volts). I installed
an amp meter shunt between the bus bar and the
positive power supply. But, according to the amp
Page 9
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5
agents are used to bind uniform the old barrel tumbling systems. of the preform. If the supplier of
small grains of abrasives to- The older barrel systems need an the media does not know or un-
gether into a shape. Burnishing air gap. Proper fill of media in a derstand the significance of the
media is made from non-abrasive barrel should be between 2/3rds bond, go by the weight rule for
porcelain ceramic and either to 3/4ths full, so that the parts the aggressiveness of the media.
molded or cut steel, stainless and media can slide, causing the A good back up for the weight
steel, aluminum, brass or other work action and processing. The rule is the speed or rate of break
metals. Lastly, there is a cate- weight rule works well for any down of the bond. That rule be-
gory of organic materials that are part, media, process, or equip- ing ‘the faster the media wears
used dry without water systems, ment. or breaks down, the more ag-
and are used primarily to polish; gressive the media’, because
The weight of a preformed shape
but when blended with inorganic new, fresh abrasive is exposed to
is also affected by the minerals it
materials they can be used as do the cutting. However, besides
is composed of. The most com-
effectively as an abrasive media. weight and speed, surface finish
mon material used in abrasive
is also an important factor to be
Now, the most important thing preformed media is aluminum
considered before a media is se-
you want to remember about oxide. Given the same physical
lected. A heavy coarse media is
mass finishing media is that the size and shape of the more com-
not normally suitable for plating
heavier and larger the media mon compositions, silica or sand
or surface treatments. Then
used, the faster it will process is about the lightest mineral pre-
again, that type of media may be
the parts that have to be worked. form shape; then aluminum ox-
required in a 2 or 3 step opera-
That means that the more media ides, silicon carbide, and zirconia.
tion prior to a plated surface
you can get into a machine sys- Now, given that information
treatment.
tem, the faster it will work on the about mineral weights, the actual
parts because of the weight fac- materials that make up the bond Going by the rules above, to
tor. Where this is not true is in can also affect the overall weight
Continued on next page….
Page 10
FINISHING TALK
achieve the greatest amount of hand, if a media shape is too systems are designed to flow or
material removal or the fastest large it will not work corners or function, thereby removing oils
deburring media, you normally recesses, leaving a slight shadow and debris. If the media be-
want to use the largest pre- appearance or texture in these comes glazed, it is basically inef-
formed ceramic shape, available areas on the finished parts, even fective as an abrasive media and
with the coarsest zirconia[2] after a secondary treatment. may have to be replaced way
abrasive grain size possible - before it reaches half life. Glaz-
When a media shape wears
which is probably .060 in size ing occurs when oils, metals, or
down to about half its original
and often goes by the name ‘fast other debris get imbedded into
size, it basically becomes ineffec-
cut’. This selection is often unre- the surface of the media, due
tive for the part, or parts, it was
alistic, because you need a shape mostly to poor liquid flow or
selected for deburring. This is
small enough to get into all the chemical additives in the proc-
what I call its ‘half life’. It can
holes, angles, and slots without ess. Basically, glazing is a coat-
still be used on smaller parts, but
getting stuck, while also working ing on the media that creates a
all of the areas that need to be
because of its size and/or mass,
barrier so the media cannot
worked. The media size and it loses its effectiveness or effi-
break down.
shape does not necessarily have ciency. On tight tolerance parts
to be smaller than the hole or where lodging is a problem, this Besides the abrasive grain size,
work area, but it should be able media shape may have to be re- the next controlling factor for
to poke a small portion of the placed a lot sooner than its half selecting a media is the bond or
shape into that same work area. life. Media may also have to be glue that holds the matrix to-
Normally, inside dimension replaced sooner than half life if gether like cement. In fact, the
should not be worked because of the deburring process is not manufacturing process of pre-
tight tolerances. On the other properly maintained. That is, wet formed shapes is almost exactly
like making cement, except the
Page 11
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5
finished shaped must be cured Now, I have told you what the media for both ferrous and
in an oven and baked to create fastest deburring media is, but non-ferrous materials. Light
the proper hardness. Each there are a lot of exceptions to weight ceramic is about the
manufacturer of preformed this rule. First of all, ceramic same weight as plastic and
abrasive shapes makes at least media is almost always used on works well in some applications,
5 to 7 standard grades, compo- ferrous metals because its but it still takes longer than
sitions, or formulations of the hardness and rigid form makes normal on ferrous parts, and
same size or shape. Another it very aggressive. Plastic leaves non-ferrous parts some-
rule to consider here is that the bonded media is almost always what rougher than plastic me-
smoothness of the part’s sur- used on non-ferrous metals be- dia. Some plastics can be used
face finish can only be the cause it is more flexible and on ferrous materials, but the
same as the size variation of gives on metals, making it a longer time cycles are not nor-
the largest particle grain size more gentle media. For de- mally cost effective - except
that makes up the media. That burring plastics, ceramics are when used in high energy
is the reason for these different generally recommended, except equipment systems.
formulations. They are neces- when appearance is a concern.
Please see the July issue of
sary for regulating the cut and In some cases, ceramics can be
Finishing Talk for Part II of
the surface finish of the final used on non-ferrous materials;
“The Basic Fundamentals of
part. Parts made out of differ- however, the media will nor-
Mass Finishing”
ent materials with different mally leave the metal rougher
hardness factors may have dif- than what its surface finish was You can reach the author at :
ferent finishing requirements. prior to processing. A better Nova Finishing
Therefore, not only do you and faster choice for non- PO Box 185
have to deburr the part, it is ferrous metals would be a fine- Hatboro, PA 19040
also necessary that you create cut ceramic, or a hybrid, light 215-942-4474 * 800-444-4159
the right surface smoothness. weight ceramic media, which is Fax: 215-953-1342
supposed to be an all purpose novafinish@earthlink.net
Page 12
FINISHING TALK
5-6
Page 15
THE LAST WORD
O th
n May 20 , 2008, the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency
ter, Wetlands, Coastal Water,
Drinking Water, Recreational
Water, & Consumable Fish and
least clear of days (most haze)
on the West Coast.
Another useful and interesting
released its 2008 Report on the Shellfish)
aspect of the report is the inclu-
Environment (EPA 2008 ROE), a 3. Land (subdivided into Land sion of detailed ‘before and af-
science-based report that an- Cover & Land Use) ter’ diagrams showing the differ-
swers questions about recent
4. Human Exposure & ence in (to name just one) Sul-
trends in human health and the
Health (subdivided into Expo- fur Deposition throughout the
environment. The report uses
sure to Environmental Contami- US. The indicator presents two
scientifically sound measures,
nants, Health Status, and Dis- maps of the United States, each
called indicators, to address fun-
ease & Conditions) color-coded to identify sulfur
damental questions relevant to
5. Ecological Condition deposits directly before and sev-
the EPA’s mission to protect the
(subdivided into Extend & Distri- eral years after sulfur and nitro-
environment and human health.
bution, Diversity & Biological gen oxide emission controls be-
These indicators were reviewed
Balance, Ecological Processes, came mandated by the 1990
in a public forum prior to the
Physical & Chemical Attributes, Clean Air Act Amendment. The
creation of the report to deter-
Ecological Exposure & Contami- difference is quite striking.
mine if citizens (not just scien-
tists) believed that the proposed nants) Perhaps one of the most fasci-
indicators provided useful and Within these chapters and sub- nating (and frightening) indica-
technically sound data. One of sections, the EPA presents 78 tors included in the 2008 ROE is
the goals of the report is to environmental indicators on a one of the population indicators.
eventually lead to the develop- national scale. For example, the With data going all the way
ment of new indicators, moni- Air Chapter indicates several back to 1790, the graph fea-
toring strategies, and programs trends that show a considerable tures a clear, upward trend
and policies in the areas that decrease in Ambient Concentra- slope, beginning with a meager
the EPA determines to be highly tions of Carbon Monoxide in the 4 million people and skyrocket-
important based on measured United States. Armed with ing up to the year 2000 - to a
environmental trends. graphs, concise explanations of population of 300 million.
each indicator & its limitations,
Since this kind of thing is right Overall, I found the ROE to be
and easy to understand summa-
up my alley (and since my co- full of information that average
ries of the presented data, the
workers are always calling me a individuals would find easy to
EPA delivers otherwise scientific
tree hugger) I decided to check grasp, as well as fundamentally
and complex information in a
out the hot-off-the-press ROE. I important to know and under-
way that is fairly easy for the
was impressed with the immen- stand in today’s industrialized
average American to grasp.
sity of the report, as well as the world. Keeping abreast with the
clear and systematic layout of In addition, the report includes quality of the air you breathe,
the chapters. The report is di- region-specific data (apparently, the level of toxicity in the water
vided into five main sections I live in region 4). One of the you drink and the food you con-
(excluding the Introduction and more vague regional indicators sume, and the correlation be-
Afterward), and are then subdi- shows an increase in Regional tween the impact of human ac-
vided into more detailed catego- Haze between 1992 and 2004, tivity on overall human health is
ries: comparing the views from Na- something every person should
tional Parks on both the East make an effort to do.
1. Air (subdivided into Outdoor,
and West coast. Interestingly,
Greenhouse Gases, and Indoor) So, take the initiative! EPA’s
on the clearest of days (least
2. Water (subdivided into Wa- 2008 Report on the Environment
haze) the view on the East
ter & Watersheds, Ground Wa- http://www.epa.gov/roe
Coast is only as good as the
PRST/STD
US Postage Paid
Rutherfordton, NC
Permit # 154
PO Box 349
Rutherfordton, NC 28139
www.FinishingTalk.com
See what the industry is talking about!