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Deburring

deburring before and after view of metal

Deburring is a crucial component of the manufacturing process that enhances the product’s final quality by eliminating sharp edges from the surface of a workpiece created by the initial machining processes. Apex Machine Group manufactures custom wet and dry metal finishing equipment that effectively removes unwanted burrs created in the machining process.

What Is Deburring?

During manufacturing, metal parts can undergo many processes such as stamping, grinding, turning, engraving, plasma cutting, blanking, and milling to shape them into the desired form. These processes often leave metal ridges or protrusions, known as burrs, on the finished product. Deburring is the method used to remove these imperfections from the component. There are three common types of burrs:

  • Rollover Burrs
    These common burrs look like small curls of metal protruding from the component.
  • Poisson Burrs
    This type of burr accumulates at the end of the part and extends sideways.
  • Breakout Burrs
    Breakout burrs swell upward from the workpiece, causing it to appear as if the burr is breaking out from the surface.

Burrs can affect the quality, functionality, effectiveness, longevity, and safety of your machining parts. Failure to remove burrs can cause several problems such as improper fit and assembly of parts, reduced part life due to corrosion and stress, safety hazards, and reduced aesthetics. Deburring helps eliminate the many risks posed by burrs, ensuring your metal products have smooth, high-quality, burr-free finishes.

Types of Deburring

There are several deburring methods to choose from — all of which depend on the material, size and location of the burrs, cost, and product volume. Below are some common deburring processes: 

This is one of the most common and low-cost deburring methods. In manual deburring, experienced technicians use simple tools like deburring knives to remove the burrs by hand. Manual deburring isn’t suitable for deburring large parts or high-volume production runs since it can be time-consuming and can result in non-uniform parts.

This is the most common technique used for high-volume runs and delicate and intricate parts. There is a variety of equipment that can perform mass finishing processes, including drag finishing machines, rotary vibrators, continuous flow installations, and more. Depending on application requirements, mass finishing can be performed as a dry or wet process.

This deburring method involves scrubbing burrs with a special brush made of abrasive materials. Brushing is compatible with automation, making it an easier, faster, and more cost-effective method to deburr both simple and complex pieces.

This process involves using a deburring machine to grind or sand the burr off, resulting in high-quality finishes. Though costlier than manual deburring, mechanical deburring is faster and more efficient.

This method uses electricity, chemicals (salt or glycol solution), and an electrode that has a similar shape to the edge you want to deburr. The electrochemical energy removes burrs without impacting the surrounding material. Electrochemical deburring is suitable when working with extremely challenging metals, small metal parts, hard-to-reach burrs, and precision work.

Benefits of Deburring

To ensure a high-quality end component with maximal working life potential, deburring is an essential finishing process. The benefits of deburring are evident, and include the following: 

  • Safer material handling and increased safety
  • Higher quality products
  • Increased efficiency
  • Saves money
  • Flexibility 
  • User friendly

Deburring Machines From Apex

Deburring helps produce high-quality parts that are safe and aesthetically pleasing while saving you money, reducing product waste, and increasing the part’s lifespan. At Apex Machine Group, we specialize in providing wet and dry deburring machines that can be outfitted with various working heads, belts, rotating brushes, and oscillating disks to match your unique application requirements. Contact us today for more information about our deburring machines.

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