finishing-and-treatment-manufacturing-processes > Vibratory & Tumble Polishing

Vibratory & Tumble Polishing are ‘mass finishing’ processes, where a large quantity of parts are finished at the same time. This process is used to remove any burrs, rust or surface imperfections as well as polishing the parts.

Tumble Polishing places a large quantity of components inside a barrel before adding water, abrasive material and a compounding element. The barrel is rotated, causing the abrasive material and the parts to hit each other. The friction between the parts and the abrasive material results in a fast and effective deburring process for the components.

Vibratory Polishing places a batch of components, the abrasive material and compounding element into a vibratory container. The vibrating action of the container forces the parts to move around and grind against each other. This removes any burrs and polishes the surface of the parts.

Of the two processes, Vibratory Polishing provides a smoother surface finish and is less likely to cause surface indentations due to its gentle rubbing together of the parts. However, Tumble Polishing systems are a more basic setup than Vibratory Polishing systems, making them cheaper to purchase and operate. Vibratory Polishing is the quicker of the two processes.