Guide to Deburring Wheels

Glass, metal, composites, and plastics can all be cleaned, blended, deburred, finished, and polished with deburring wheels. They generally last longer than conventional abrasives, reduce undercutting and gouging, and offer a consistent finish. They are available in convoluted and unitized construction. When selecting deburring wheels, there are numerous things to consider, such as the type of wheel, the abrasive substance, grade, density, and workpiece material. This article will discuss everything you need to know about deburring wheels, so let's begin.

TYPES OF DEBURRING WHEELS

1. CONVOLUTE 

A wrapped structure on a core of standard size. The cutting process is carried out using the wheel's outside diameter. An arrow painted on the side of the wheel indicates that it is a unidirectional wheel.

2. UNITIZED

Contains no core and is constructed in layers with a choice of center hole sizes. The cutting surface in this structure might be either the outside diameter or the sidewalls. Bidirectional unitized wheels come in smaller sizes, typically more suited for hand tools.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF DEBURRING WHEELS

1. PRODUCTS

Choose which process in your application—deburring, blending, or polishing—is most crucial, and then decide which feature—life, cut-rate, uniformity, type of finish, etc.—is most significant.

2. SURFACE SPEED OF PRODUCT

The wheel's surface speed significantly influences performance. Lower speeds are generally preferable when working with softer metals or materials or producing uniform, smooth finishes. Higher speeds are usually advised when blending or eliminating hard burrs and surface defects.

3. DENSITY AND HARDNESS

Decorative finishing often uses softer wheels (lower numbers). They produce a more consistent finish and more effectively follow the contours of the surface. For the more challenging blending, cleaning, and deburring tasks, harder wheels (higher numbers) are employed.

4. COOLANT/LUBRICANT

Water and certain water-soluble oils are coolants that increase cut while lowering heat and prolonging product life. Most oils and tallow lubricants allow for surface roughness to be decreased. Higher viscosity lubricants result in a smoother surface; grease, for example, has a finer surface finish than oil. It is ideal to employ coolants and lubricants in automatic or semi-automatic processes whenever feasible.