For achieving a simple rounded corner or removing the sharp edge on a high volume of parts, our mass finishing process delivers excellent results at an economical cost. Our tumbled metal radius capabilities enable us to process all parts simultaneously, achieving the desired part geometry with the defined radius corner and no burr, all with maximum cost efficiency.
Tight Tolerance and Consistency for Any Volume
Our extensive inventory of mass finishing equipment allows us to accommodate part volumes and part dimensions from micro-minature parts sized in the microns to complex machined or 3D printed additive sized in inches. We also have the range and experience with mass finishing of parts that are 200 micron square for neurosurgery, as well 3D printed parts that have multiple corner features. This enables us to work in different quantities cost effectively while still delivering a consistent metal radius corner across the entire lot.
We also have the experience to control variations and hold tight tolerances no matter how large the volume of parts. This enables our tumbled metal process to achieve a rounded corner while holding radius tolerances in the tenths, such as 0.0001” (0.00254 mm) radius feature increments, across all of the parts in a lot. We tightly control our process via SPC to ensure optimal measures of central tendency in the part population distribution so that customers can receive CpK values in excess of 1.33. In addition, during the mass finishing edge radius process, parts are also receiving any deburring action required — eliminating an extra step and making our process even more cost effective.
Choosing the Best Option for Your Metal Radius Needs
Our metal radius tumbling offers a great alternative to even our own tool-driven turning radius process, which is subject to tool life variables and can produce wide variations with regard to holding tolerances across lots, depending on whether the tool is new and how often the tool is replaced. With our mass finishing process, we can produce symmetrical and asymmetrical radii with respect to the end and the length. Compared with metal radius machining, achieving a radius via mass finishing — if acceptable for your part configuration — is simply more economical than turning individual parts.
We have the expertise to recommend the proper method to achieve the radius needed for your particular application. To achieve a tube requiring a narrow, flat angle along the part or an ID with a 45° corner, we might recommend a machining process; however, for a tube requiring a fully rounded end radius on the OD, tumbling might be a smarter and more cost-effective method. We have both methods of achieving corner radii — the turning process using tooling and the mass finishing process using abrasives — so we can advise what is best for you, the part, and your customer.
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