Tri-Ten Deburring System

March 01, 2014

Abtex Corp. has designed and built the largest and most technologically advanced Tri-Ten deburring system in its 34 year history. The new system, designed for deburring high-volume fine-blanked parts, will operate three shifts/day, seven days/week. This results in an annual throughput of more than 15 million parts. The machine can be either bulk fed (operator or robot) or fed directly by the upstream press.

The in-feed conveyor on this machine passes parts under a Vision System before they enter the deburring stations. The vision system is programmed to stop the machine if parts are overlapped, stacked or otherwise improperly loaded. The system also communicates with the upstream press, centralized coolant system and downstream conveyors to ensure safe, efficient and effective part processing.

Fineblanking produces a burr on only one side of the part. The three planetary head system removes the burrs on parts ranging from 3mm thick to 0.40mm. Three custom designed 254mm flap discs on the first head remove the primary stamping burr. Six 254mm, application-specific abrasive filament brushes on the second and third heads eliminate secondary burrs and provide the specified edge radius.

Coolant is liberally applied during the deburring operation to ensure part cleanliness and extend media life. To protect the inside of the machine, the enclosure is stainless steel with a continuously welded frame to ensure a watertight system. All subassemblies in the work area are either stainless steel or electroless nickel plated.

After deburring, a gap conveyor smoothly transfers parts to a heavy rinse station and demagnetization and blow-off bays that efficiently remove any residual debris or particulate.

Drive motors are mounted outside the machine, on the rooftop, to isolate them from the coolant mist. A rooftop mist collector and frame-mounted electrical cabinet reduce the system's footprint.

Automatic brush wear compensation, automatic lubrication, cantilevered conveyor belt design and pneumatic belt tensioning are just a few of the advanced design details that will ensure an efficient and reliable system that is easy to maintain.

Related Glossary Terms

  • abrasive

    abrasive

    Substance used for grinding, honing, lapping, superfinishing and polishing. Examples include garnet, emery, corundum, silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride and diamond in various grit sizes.

  • burr

    burr

    Stringy portions of material formed on workpiece edges during machining. Often sharp. Can be removed with hand files, abrasive wheels or belts, wire wheels, abrasive-fiber brushes, waterjet equipment or other methods.

  • coolant

    coolant

    Fluid that reduces temperature buildup at the tool/workpiece interface during machining. Normally takes the form of a liquid such as soluble or chemical mixtures (semisynthetic, synthetic) but can be pressurized air or other gas. Because of water’s ability to absorb great quantities of heat, it is widely used as a coolant and vehicle for various cutting compounds, with the water-to-compound ratio varying with the machining task. See cutting fluid; semisynthetic cutting fluid; soluble-oil cutting fluid; synthetic cutting fluid.

  • vision system

    vision system

    System in which information is extracted from visual sensors to allow machines to react to changes in the manufacturing process.

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