Deburring

PRODUCTS FOR DEBURRING APPLICATIONS

At Weiler Abrasives, we manufacture an extensive selection of wire and nylon deburring brushes. Wire brushes and nylon abrasive brushes have been employed successfully for many years as cost-effective solutions for a wide variety of deburring applications. Their ability to quickly remove burrs without changing part dimensions has been understood for decades. In recent years, these products have seen increased implementation in automated deburring environments.

We know every step of the metalworking process and understand the impact burrs and sharp edges have on the finished product. Our deburring brushes in both wheel and disc configurations help complete this critical step in the finishing process with speed and efficiency. Whether for edge deburring, surface finishing, bore deburring or edge radiusing, Weiler has solutions to help remove burrs from parts in the most complex applications.

SIMPLE BURR CLASSIFICATION FOR FAST IDENTIFICATION

Modern metalworking is more precise and has more efficient use of material than ever before, but burr removal remains a common and critical part of the process. At Weiler Abrasives, we have extensive experience with burrs common to steel, high performance alloys, and aluminum. Based on our expertise, we developed a qualitative burr measurement system to determine the correct deburring brushes for automated process use. Our system classifies burrs as:

• Class 1: Class 1 burrs are the microburrs visible only when using magnification. These burrs often occur during grinding applications and, due to their microscopic size, typically require a less aggressive deburring approach.
• Class 2: Class 2 burrs are called feather burrs, which are readily visible without magnification and are characterized by extremely thin roots. They can be removed with the tip of a pencil.
• Class 3: Class 3 burrs are also easily visible. Burrs in this group are well-attached but relatively small in size. Despite their size, significant mechanical energy must be applied to remove them.
• Class 4: Class 4 burrs are similar to Class 3 burrs in their size and appearance, but have even thicker roots that make them more challenging to remove without the right tools.
• Class 5: Class 5 burrs are the largest and thickest of the group. Burrs in this class are different than conventional burrs because they are comprised of displaced base material, which is still fully attached to the parent part. Brushes can sometimes remove Class 5 burrs, but instead a stock removal operation such as grinding or machining is often required for complete removal.

CHOOSING WIRE OR NYLON DEBURRING BRUSHES

We manufacture hundreds of products for deburring applications using wire and our Nylox® nylon abrasive filaments. With Nylox brushes, the choice to run wet or dry depends on the application. Deburring brushes made from wire and Nylox each offer distinct advantages for deburring:

WIRE BRUSHING

Wire brushing is driven by impact, meaning these brushes work at high RPMs. In wire brushing, the wire tips do the work. Since the tips of the wires (not the sides) are the primary working elements of a wire brush, increasing the load (pressure applied) does not increase aggression but instead causes premature wire fatigue. In addition to increasing surface speed, users can also enhance wire brush aggression by increasing wire point density and filament stiffness (diameter).

Because wire brushes deburr through an impact-driven process, they remove burrs very quickly. With optimal operating parameters, they can thoroughly deburr an edge in a few seconds. Dwell times beyond a few seconds are unlikely to produce improved results.

NYLOX BRUSHING

Nylox nylon abrasive filament brushes are best understood by thinking of each brush as a collection of flexible files. Each filament is co-extruded with abrasive grains which act like teeth on a file.

Because Nylox brushes perform deburring primarily by wiping and filing rather than impact, dwell time is a critical variable affecting their performance. The burred edge must be exposed to the brush for sufficient time for the filaments to remove the burr through abrasion. Brush RPM is also critical. Higher RPMs prevent the sides of the brush filaments from smoothly wiping across the part edge and often reduce the effectiveness of the brushes.

A wide variety of abrasive nylon fill materials are available, and each offers different performance characteristics. These filaments may contain abrasives such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, ceramic and diamond for special applications.

The flexible nature of the Nylox brushes causes the cutting action to be "edge selective." Since the filaments deflect away from a broad surface and absorb a large portion of the applied load, Nylox brushes tend not to alter the overall dimensions and geometry of a part.

DEBURRING WHEELS AND BRUSHES FOR EVERY APPLICATION

There are four general applications in brush deburring. Depending on the product geometry and the size and location of the burrs, products may require one or more deburring applications to achieve complete removal. The four different deburring applications are:

• Edge deburring: Many face-milled parts have numerous burrs (commonly Class 3) that lie on the same plane. Disc brushes are ideal for deburring parts with numerous burred edges.
• Surface finishing: Ground and machined parts frequently have surface finish requirements that necessitate secondary finishing operations. Nylox brushes are often ideal for these applications because they deburr and finish in the same operation.
• Thru-hole deburring: Also known as bore deburring, thru-hole deburring is ideal for parts with bores that contain machined features with small burrs. These features can be cross-holes, narrow grooves, stepped bore diameters or adjoining bores. The primary advantages of in-machine deburring are improved part consistency and simplified part flow.
• Edge radiusing: Edge radiusing uses deburring brushes to generate an edge radius after the final grinding or machining operation. Nylox wheel brushes are extremely effective in this application. Cutting tools, turbine blades, clutch plates and airframe components are just a few of the part types on which Nylox brushes can accomplish this objective.

SELECTING THE RIGHT DEBURRING BRUSH TO MEET YOUR SPECIFICATIONS

In any deburring process, deburring brushes need to be chosen with parameters that fit particular criteria. The right deburring brushes will deliver optimal results in the least amount of time, improving production cycle times and the quality of the finished product. Four types exist, and we have multiple options for them all, including:

• Wheel brushes: Wheel brushes are perfect for removing Class 3 and Class 4 burrs from products with defined edges, like gears and other machined parts. The primary advantage of wheel brushes is that they can deliver a large number of filaments to a specific surface in a very short time. These deburring brushes offer unidirectional and targeted removal.
• Disc and cup brushes: Disc and cup deburring brushes effectively remove multiple burrs from flat part geometries such as face-milled parts. These brushes are multidirectional and attack all machined edges in one pass for uniform deburring.
• End brushes: End brushes are another multidirectional deburring tool. An end brush for deburring can get into places wheels and disc brushes are unable to reach, and their compact size makes them an excellent choice for deburring applications limited by tool size.
• Tube brushes: Tube brushes are ideal for bore cleaning and cross-hole deburring. Their bottle-type shape makes them ideal for fitting into bores. In most cross-hole deburring applications, the brush must be plunged into the bore several times. This ensures that all edges are deburred uniformly. Our Bore-RX­™ brushes can handle bores from 1” and up to 4 inches in diameter.

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