Tag Archives: Vibratory Finishing Machines

Mass Finishing

How to Use a Vibrascope to Measure Vibratory Bowl Amplitude and Frequency

Leave a comment

When it comes to mass finishing, amplitude and frequency require balance and careful consideration. Amplitude is a measure of movement and intensity while frequency refers to the rate of repetition.

The wrong amplitude, for example, can create lackluster finishing results and longer processing times if it is too low. If too high, it can cause unnecessary wear and tear on the machine.

Creating Vibratory Energy

Whether rotary or tub style, mass finishing vibrators always include two key components: a work bowl containing the finishing media and the work pieces.

Firmly attached to this work bowl is a vibratory drive system generating the energy to put the media and work pieces in motion. The work bowl with an attached vibratory drive system sits on a number of coil springs – in some cases on air cushions – which in turn sit on a machine base. The springs, respectively, act as air cushions allowing the work bowl to “free float” up and down within a certain distance.

Continue reading How to Use a Vibrascope to Measure Vibratory Bowl Amplitude and Frequency →
Mass Finishing

Mass Finishing Machine Settings Series, Part 2 – Determine Imbalance Weight Settings for Consistent Results

Leave a comment

Specific mass finishing applications are developed through processing trials. Once defined, users should not deviate from the determined machine settings unless necessitated by work piece or process changes.

Rosler partners with clients to provide testing in our global Customer Experience Centers to demonstrate our capabilities on a specific work piece and to calibrate machine settings. Determining the exact machine settings requires considering and testing multiple factors.

Vibratory Systems

The most common drive systems in mass finishing are vibratory. This refers to actual finishing machines such as rotary, tub, and linear continuous flow vibrators as well as auxiliary equipment like screening systems, vibratory conveyors, buffers, etc.

In all of these cases, the speed of the vibratory motor or the electric motor driving the imbalance unit(s) may have to be adjusted as well as the setting of the imbalance weights.

Continue reading Mass Finishing Machine Settings Series, Part 2 – Determine Imbalance Weight Settings for Consistent Results →
Mass Finishing

Mass Finishing Machine Settings Series, Part 1 – Improve Machine Function with Proactive and Responsive Observation, Calibration

1 Comment

Even if the finishing media and compound/water are managed perfectly, without a well-functioning machine a mass finishing process is doomed to fail. Focusing on a few essentials will ensure that a mass finishing machine is performing as intended.

From machine settings to preventative maintenance and troubleshooting tips, Rosler has the experience and insight to keep mass finishing machines running efficiently.

The Right Machine Settings

The speed at which a machine is running is critical to the success of a finishing process.

If the machine is running too slow, the finishing results, deburring/edge radiusing, surface grinding, etc., might not be achieved at all or only after excessively long processing times.

If the machine is running too fast, the work pieces may be damaged by scratching, nicking, or bending. Excessive speeds will also cause the media to wear much faster without the benefit of shorter cycle times. Beyond speed, other machine settings must be taken into consideration based on the specific machine type.

Continue reading Mass Finishing Machine Settings Series, Part 1 – Improve Machine Function with Proactive and Responsive Observation, Calibration →
Mass Finishing

Monitor Wear Linings to Maintain Process Efficiency, Increase Equipment Longevity

Leave a comment

Mass finishing machinery is a major investment for most companies. Proper maintenance and preventative repairs over the life of these useful and necessary machines will greatly improve the return on such investments, drive productivity, and extend the working life of the equipment itself.

Rosler stresses the need to regularly inspect the linings of vibratory tubs and troughs to identify repairable issues before permanent damage occurs.

Media-Induced Wear

To effectively finish work pieces, media must be matched to the specific finishing task and initial state of a work piece. For example, media used for deburring/edge radiusing and surface grinding can be very abrasive. If not properly protected by a suitable wear lining, the steel construction of a work bowl would be completely worn through in a few hours by contact with the media and work pieces.

Continue reading Monitor Wear Linings to Maintain Process Efficiency, Increase Equipment Longevity →
Mass Finishing

New Vibratory Finishing System Enhances Existing Material Handling & Drying Equipment

Leave a comment

When it comes to high-volume production of complex aluminum die-castings, Kovolis Hedvikov a.s. (Kovolis) is a sought after partner by numerous car manufacturers and their suppliers. To expand its capacity and achieve more flexibility in the overall manufacturing process, the company purchased a continuous flow vibratory finishing system from Rosler designed to handle a wide work piece spectrum and custom engineered to fit into the available space at the customer’s premises.

About Kovolis

Founded in 1816 as an ironworking operation, Kovolis has focused entirely on aluminum die casting since 1945. Today, Kovolis produces components from nine different aluminum alloys weighing between 7 oz (200 grams) and 18 lbs (8 kg) with different casting technologies including vacuum investment casting and rheocasting.

Their product range includes brakes, power steering systems, turbo chargers, and compressors for air conditioning systems. Kovolis customers are renowned car manufacturers and tier-1 suppliers that also utilize the company as an important partner for product development, machining, heat treatment, and surface finishing services.

Continue reading New Vibratory Finishing System Enhances Existing Material Handling & Drying Equipment →
Automation

Automation, Part 5 – What Automation Hardware is Available?

Leave a comment

As previously discussed in our Automation Blog Series, building a robotically assisted process requires evaluating your surface finishing system along with its problems and goals and selecting the right machine and consumables. Automating a mass finishing or shot blasting process also requires selecting the automated hardware that will best achieve your overall goals and provides the most efficiency in terms of time and manual labor.

An experienced partner such as Rosler Metal Finishing can provide insight and advice on the numerous material handling tools specially designed or adapted to mass finishing and shot blasting process improvement.

Work Piece Loading Systems

Including skip loaders, lift and tip loaders, vibratory feed hoppers, and other tools, work piece loading systems are ideal for small- to mid-sized work pieces handled in bulk.

Continue reading Automation, Part 5 – What Automation Hardware is Available? →
Aerospace, Mass Finishing

Aerospace, Part 1 – Cost-Effective, Mechanical Finishing for Large, Structural Aircraft Components

1 Comment

To this day, the surface of large structural aircraft components is frequently finished by hand. This process is not only costly, but extremely inefficient and hard to replicate with absolute conformity.

Airplane Landing Gear

Rosler Metal Finishing is changing the notion that suitable mechanical finishing equipment is not available for large, structural aerospace components by offering mass finishing technology capable of solving this problem and providing fully automatic finishing of work pieces up to 30 feet long.

We kick off our Aerospace Series with an overview of the cost-effective and mechanical finishing options Rosler offers for the Aerospace industry.

Vibratory Tubs Offer a Solution

Thanks to the development of large, powerful vibratory tubs manual deburring and grinding of large aircraft components can now be eliminated. The development of perfectly controlled mechanical finishing systems offers finishing solutions for applications where the biggest rotary vibrator, because of the size of the parts, might still be too small.

Continue reading Aerospace, Part 1 – Cost-Effective, Mechanical Finishing for Large, Structural Aircraft Components →