Our shop is trying to locate a machine to polish different sized 316 ss discs. The thicknesses are from 0.125 to 0.250 thick, with O.D's from 3" to 10" (But mostly 6" or less). We need to polish both sides, and the part needs to be flat and parallel. The finish must be a lateral finish something close to a 32 finish. Was thinking of an automatic belt sander, which you could simply feed the parts into and retrieve on the other side. The Qty's for these parts are 1000+ per year, so something quick and easy.

Thanks

I know this is a little late but is a timesave finish acceptable?

A timesaver finish would be fine, I just have concerns about rounding the edges of the part. Flatness is very important on these parts.

Do you have experience using a timesaver?

Thanks

How flat is flat? We do both wet and dry time saving here. The condition of the material has a lot to do with the outcome. Timesaving can roll the front and rear edges of the parts if you are too agressive. If the parts are laser cut and left tabbed in the sheet you can eliminate that problem but you will have to deal with a little tab on the edge. How are you producing the parts? We can provide the parts complete.

Jeff

The material we use is 11 gauge 316ss #2B cold rolled finish. Our desired results after finishing are somewhere near a #4 mill finish. We cut the parts out on a waterjet machine, but cannot keep them tabbed since they need to be machined. Then we bore the center hole to a specified size. Before finishing, the surface is in fairly good condition, with minor scratches.

A rolled edge is not acceptable on these parts. Currently we use a stroke sander to polish them by hand in a 'fence' jig which holds many parts at once. We border the parts with scrap 11 gauge material so the belt does not round the part. The customer requires a "grained" finish not rougher than 50 microinches.

These parts are called Orifice Plates and are made by quite a few companies, but none of these companies give out their secrets for finishing. While the stroke sander does work well, it is very labour intensive, and results are not consistent from operator to operator.

I appreciate the information on your Timesaver machine. I'm currently trying to send some sample parts for them to try for us. Our one concern is that our parts are smaller than the recommended minimum part length.

Here's a small sketch of the parts in question:


http://members.shaw.ca/jasoncmckenzie/untitled.bmp



How do you think these parts would turn out on a Timesaver?

Thanks
Jason

Jayson
You could make a tray to captivate the parts also. This would eliminate any roll over.
I think a 220 belt in a Timesaver woud be perfect for what you require

My understanding of orifice plates is that the edge around the orifice must be sharp, but not the outside edge. The outside edge is normally clamped in place.

The shape of the edge of the central hole (the orifice) affects the flow through the orifice.

Ken

You're right. We do put a small radius/chamfer around the edge of the part to remove any sharp edges. Our customer is concerned about the parts being rounded where the abrasive belt enters and exits the part across the plate.