Vibratory Deburring

The vibratory deburring process is a fairly simple and uniform procedure of removing burrs, finishing, and polishing. A variety of media can be used, both naturally occurring and manmade, in the deburring machine depending on the type of material being finished.


A coarse media can be used first for deburring followed by finer media for finishing and polishing. Bowls and troughs are some of the more common chambers used. A tumbler or barrel is frequently used prior to the vibratory machine but is not required.


The media and the item being deburred are placed in the chamber which vibrates to send the media evenly around the item to completely and uniformly finish an item so that it will be smooth and have no burrs (unnecessary lumps and bumps) on it.


Using a softer media such as walnut shells or corn cob pellets will finish and polish a more delicate material and as they are organic and reusable the disposal process of the media is easy and there are fewer local, state, and national waste rules to follow.


A tumbling barrel can be used for the primary deburring stage. A large barrel will rotate and the media will move against the item which over time will complete the finishing of the item in question. The barrels are large hollow (frequently) rubber lined cylinders which slowly turn and grind off the burrs while smoothing edges and surfaces.


Most hard materials can be put through a tumbling deburring process which will get it ready for the vibratory deburring stage.

Once the item has finished tumbling it will need to be cleaned of the media (grit) used in the tumbling process in order to prevent contamination of the vibratory media. Some types of grit can be reused and some types cannot.

A session in a vibratory deburring machine and all remaining defects to the finish should be corrected and the item is then ready to be used.