The president of A.M. Machinery Sales Inc, Mr. Tony McCue has expressed his wonder about not seeing any noticeable advancement in the abrasive finishing machinery where laser cutting. metal bending, metal rolling, and boring technology have reached the possible peak in the early 21st century. For the last 50 years, the only advancement we saw in the abrasive finishing machinery is the size being compact gradually. Apart from that, there is no noticeable change in the technology since the mid-20th century.
When Mr. McCue asked himself “why?” he again and again, got the same reply, “Because it works”.
When the traditional abrasive finishing works in metal fabrication, why bother spending time and resources to look for something more efficient. This is what people usually think and that’s why there is no actual advancement in stainless steel fabrication, Aluminium fabrication, and steel fabrication.
He is indicating towards the wide-belt deburring machines that are still seen these days, even after half a century since their invention around the 60s. These machines grind the metallic surface while its parts move below them. To support the tough and aggressive abrasive removal method, it needs a sturdy frame and a powerful motor.
Although they are still lying on fabrication shops, many believe they are just not suitable for today’s need, especially when compared to the laser technology. Laser can give fabricators a smooth surface.
These wide-belted machines dig deeper and scratch the surfaces to make a clean edge. This is much costly and undoubtedly defeats the purpose, according to McCue. But he proposed a better approach automated deburring and it is the DiscMaster. It’s made in Germany by Loewer Maschinen. The unique feature of DiscMaster is it doesn’t need any wide bulky belt to run.
It has 4 motors attached to a sturdy frame that holds everything together. 2 of the 4 motors power the 2 deburring discs. They oscillate over the workpiece. Each disc is almost ten inches in diameter and they have a Velcro pad on the outer surface on which the abrasive pads are attached. Besides the pads, a foam rubber pad placed on the center along with aluminum backing is also part of the unit.
These rubber discs can flow over the outer edges and in & out of the holes to remove its sharpness. Back motors run the brush discs that also oscillate over entire conveyor region and handle all the final rounding and the edges.
This unit is capable of handling parts from ½ inches diameter to 60 inches wide and is designed to tackle almost up to ½ inches thick. Any special fixtures or any expensive perforated conveyors needed to hold the metal parts in its place when they come into the contact.
Given the expenses of the discs compared to the wide and bulky belts and the barrel brushes, a fabricator can easily expect a cut in the total cost. For the fabricators who will love to own a machine to achieve a particular grain finish on the stainless steel parts, getting rid of the wide-belted machines or buying prefinished metals from the mill may get them what they want, a proper finishing with the least amount of money spent.
