Tumbler or Vibrator for finishing parts.

[mhackney]

I use the the HF pyramids too and have not seen that. I do change the water in the media after every run and add a drop or 2 of dish soap.

cheers,
Michael

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Fred,

What you're seeing is the aluminum that has been ground off your parts. You should use just enough water to "wet" the media, and a tablespoon or two of Simple Green (NOT dishwashing soap, as it will generate gallons of suds!). After about every 2-3 hours of use, you'll need to remove the media, and wash it off to remove all the aluminum "dust", then start over again.

Regards,
Ray L.

[pete from TN]

I dunno why but my post was deleted. I think I am gonna need to get one of these vibratory machines for the shop soon. I do a lot of smallish parts. What is the largest part that can fit in that 18 lb unit? I sure wish there was something in the middle between the larger HF unit and the smaller commercial units. I would try to make one myself but I cannot even find the time to mod my RF45 anymore nevermind build ANOTHER machine. Wish I had one right now as all these little letters are gonna be a bear to deburr. They are nice and clean but I need to sand of the backs and deburr that part and these little babies would be great for that it seems. Perhaps if I can scrape up enough cash from this job I can buy one of the HF units or perhaps something better.

Ray,
Hey man thought you would like to know those parts you helped me with are cutting nice and smooth. Thanks again man. Peace

Pete

[mhackney]

Good point on the suds Ray. I use dishwasher soap - it also does not generate suds. I may be using a lot more water and less soap than you. I will try it with just enough water and a bit more soap on my next parts batch.

thanks,
Michael

[mhackney]

Pete, see the fishing reel in my avatar? The outer diameter is 3" and the backplate is 1/4" thick. I put 3 of these disks and 3 of the simple rings and 6 of the spool plates (.064 x 2.5") in my HF 17# vibrator. That's parts for 3 reels. I don't have problems with collisions that I can tell (I've watched with the top off). Before I started adding a bit of soap - which acts as a surfactant - I did have parts stick together. That does not happen now.

It can handle the same number and size of brass parts for me too. I also deburred all of the motor mounts, Y spacer and ball nut mounts for my G0704 conversion (Hoss phase 2 plans) but not all at the same time. The larger blocks for the Y spacer had a tough time turning over in the vibrator and needed more time.

Hope that helps,
Michael

[pete from TN]

Hey man that reel is really only 3" across? It sure looks like it is larger than that. Maybe six inches or so. Or is that the ID of the outer ring is 3" . WHat is the largest diameter part you have put in there without issue? Did you get that shine from hand work afterwards or can you get it shining with just media? I really am not so much interested in shine as getting rid of tooling marks and deburring things quickly. A lot of stuff I just bead blast in my home-made cabinet here. As I get more and more into paying jobs here I find myself looking for ways to speed things up and automate as much as possible. This would be one way to do that. I love little mechanical slaves that do my bidding hehehe....

Nice reel BTW man I need one of those for the sweet trout streams around here in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and it's surroundings. Peace

Pete

[mrcodewiz]

I'll just reiterate what others have already said. When I am tumbling with those pyramids, I will stop each batch a couple times, run all the water out, and refill it. Before I put the pyramids away, I will also dump them into a spaghetti strainer and rinse them out.

I use a bar of Ivory soap for my detergent - I just cut off a few shavings with a knife.

[mhackney]

The Reel is 3" OD and 2.5" ID (where the spool is). I vibrate with the pyramids (HF which I think are the medium) for 2 hours. Then I rinse and dry the parts and tumble overnight (8ish hours) in walnut shells and red rouge. That's the final finish with no hand polishing. If I want a mirror shine, I'll use some Flitz polish with a rag. You can buy extra bowls for the 17# HF vibrator. I have 3 with different media so I don't have to clean out. I bought them in Nov. for $21.15 each before shipping. A great deal! They came with lids and gaskets. I am going to pick up another vibrator when I get another 20% coupon (any day now!).

I linked to my kit version of that reel above. You can make your own! That's my business and why I am into CNC. With my new G0704 my production costs will go down and productivity will increase a lot. It flys through the fancy porting pattern. I have lots of customers in the Smokies and try to get down there to fish at least once a year.

Cheers,
Michael

[pete from TN]

That is a TINY reel man, But I guess if that is what is used then way to go. It always seemed like the reels around here were more like five or six inches. I guess how much line do you really need on a fly fish reel anyways. If ya get down here in the spring be sure to ring me up and we can take a trip together. I might need to spend some coin on some proper gear tho. There are lots of nice Spots around my house and there is a real nice spot down in Tellico I have heard. I used to four wheel down at state line ORV park and there is always folks tossin lines down there.

Thanks for the info on the HF unit. I guess it would work for me. Sounds like it is reliable too. I will try to find a 20 percent coupon somewheres too... peace

Pete

[thedave]

If you get the large HF tumbler, build a flow through system to keep the metal clean. The Tumbler has 1/4" NPT threaded holes at top and bottom. I use a pond pump in a 5 gal. bucket. I pump the water to the upper fitting, and drain it through a 5 micron filter bag, I got from McMaster. The parts come out fairly clean. No more sludge problem. I should have my Mr. Deburr next week. I will post a build of the filter system I am going to build for it.

[pete from TN]

Hey man that is a good idea. I would love to see your setup. Sounds like the ticket..... thanks for sharing. Peace

Pete

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Ray,
Hey man thought you would like to know those parts you helped me with are cutting nice and smooth. Thanks again man. Peace

Pete

Good news! :-)