High Heat And Thermal Deburring

In thermal deburring, an extreme and instantaneous heat energy is utilized to perform deburring processes. Thermal deburring method was actually invented in 1970s. It was patented as the Thermal Energy Method (TEM) by Surfran, Madison Heights, Michigan. Materials or parts are placed in a sealed cylinder-type chamber. Mixture of gases are then pressurized inside. The substances will entirely cover the parts, reaching to the most confined and complicated zones. Take note that when the mixture is ignited, combustion happens. In turn, it produces intense heat that lasts for a few milliseconds.

The intensity actually oxidizes or burns the burrs. However, only the burrs are taken off. The intense heat only gets into the regions with very little mass and significant surface area. All areas are often exposed to the heat, so it is impossible that any burr could be missed.

Thermal energy method is an effective, convenient and highly-economical way of deburring as well as deflashing several kinds of materials and parts. They are even more cost-effective with components with large areas of casting flash, multiple burrs and medium to high production volume. Such machines generally uses high heat to deburr materials or parts of all sizes and shapes.

However, thermal deburring is more expensive than other deburring procedures. It needs a bigger capital investment. In an average, a conventional thermal deburring machine can at least cost $200,00. Another consideration is that fixtures should be designed to accommodate the parts for the processing.

Remember that before materials or parts go into thermal deburring, they have to be thoroughly cleaned first. This will remove machining oils, coolants, chips and other particles that might hamper the deburring process. Not only that, they will also need to be cleaned again after deburring. Also, oxides should be removed with acid-based cleaners.