Need advice. Vibratory chambers.

[gear cutter]

I am looking at buying a vibratory deburring machine to deburr gears. 6" O.D. To 3" O.D. 1" face width. I have looked online at Burr King's 4.5 cu. ft. And Mr. Deburrs 6.0 cu. ft. machine. I have no experience with these or any other types of vibratory finishing machines. Does anyone here have any experience with these? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[EmGo]

I am looking at buying a vibratory deburring machine to deburr gears. 6" O.D. To 3" O.D. 1" face width.

You gotta be kidding me. Go find a Redin. They come in all sizes. Or a Gratomat, L300. Or a Cross, if you want to go crazy.

Tumbling's not gonna do shit.

 

[neilho]

You do realize that tumbling embeds grit in the work. Maybe not so important for gears - help with wear-in?

The diamond turning people freak out at the mention of it...

 

[EmGo]

neilho, this is what a gear tooth deburring machine does

Tumbling and vibrating and all that simply aren't going to do the job.

 

[rickseeman]

I am looking at buying a vibratory deburring machine to deburr gears. 6" O.D. To 3" O.D. 1" face width. I have looked online at Burr King's 4.5 cu. ft. And Mr. Deburrs 6.0 cu. ft. machine. I have no experience with these or any other types of vibratory finishing machines. Does anyone here have any experience with these? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Those machines would work but I might look for something with a higher horsepower to cubic foot ratio. Those burrs might be tough. You didn't say what your volume is. I'm not sure if you would want these touching each other. Some machines you can put dividers in. I would probably use a large media because it will cut better. And a compound with rust inhibitor in it to protect the parts.

I hate to muddy the water, but if the only thing you are going to do is gears, there is a thing called a spindle machine. Almco made the most of them. If you could find one of those on the cheap, it is the best machine for the job. It will kick a gears a**. And sometimes you can find one for a little of nothing.

Rick Vibratory Finishing Mass Finishing Ball Burnishing Deburring Media Compound Equipment

 

[gear cutter]

neilho, this is what a gear tooth deburring machine does

Tumbling and vibrating and all that simply aren't going to do the job.

The gears are low carbon steel. Mostly 1117. I am running them in small quantities 100 to 250. Through out the year. Maybe 2,000 total per size. I have no experience with deburring machines. We used to do them by hand, but I can't find people to do work like that anymore. I am looking for another way. I'm open to anything that works well.

 

[gear cutter]

Those machines would work but I might look for something with a higher horsepower to cubic foot ratio. Those burrs might be tough. You didn't say what your volume is. I'm not sure if you would want these touching each other. Some machines you can put dividers in. I would probably use a large media because it will cut better. And a compound with rust inhibitor in it to protect the parts.

I hate to muddy the water, but if the only thing you are going to do is gears, there is a thing called a spindle machine. Almco made the most of them. If you could find one of those on the cheap, it is the best machine for the job. It will kick a gears a**. And sometimes you can find one for a little of nothing.

Rick Vibratory Finishing Mass Finishing Ball Burnishing Deburring Media Compound Equipment

I Googled "spindle machines" and only woodworking equipment shows up. Do you know another name for these or have a picture?

 

[gear cutter]

I did send some gears to Burr King for evaluation. They recommended their 4.5 cu. ft. chamber machine. The gears looked ok. But that was them running them not me. I figure I better ask some questions before I go spending money.

 

[gear cutter]

You do realize that tumbling embeds grit in the work. Maybe not so important for gears - help with wear-in?

The diamond turning people freak out at the mention of it...

I did not know this. I don't think it would affect these gears. They do go to heat treat though.

 

[EmGo]

We used to do them by hand, but I can't find people to do work like that anymore. I am looking for another way. I'm open to anything that works well.

Jeeze, guy. Get a Redin or a Gratomat, you'll wonder why you waited thirty years. Drop the gear on the fixture, push the button, nyah-na nyah-na nyah-na around once or twice or however many times you choose, done.

Redin Production Machine | Gear Solutions Magazine Your Resource to the Gear Industry

Another one is Gratomat but they aren't as common.

Used is way less expensive, still works fine, these are not precision machines, just a simple rotating chuck and a dremel with an abrasive wheel that follows the contour of the teeth.

I personally prefer the older open ones, the enclosure is sort of a pain in the rear but it does keep the mess down.

Anyone can run them, even the shop cat, and get a nice regular chamfered edge all the way around all the teeth.

 

[rickseeman]

One cheap way out would be a machine like this. It has a lot of power. If the gears can't touch each other, you can probably put a divider in it.

2-1/2 CU FT ALMCO VIBRATING FINISHING MACHINE: YODER #19183 | eBay

This is what a spindle machine looks like. People ask a dream price for them but I've never sold one for much money. They are such slow movers I get tired of looking at it and sell it on the cheap. You bolt the gear to the revolving spindle and it lowers into the moving mass. Very fast deburring. Not many minutes and it's done.

ALMCO 2SF-48 Finishing Machine, 2005 - Dual Spindle Deburring Station | eBay

 

[rickseeman]

The sharpest knife in the drawer on spindle machines in the US is a 150 year old, hard working guy in Cleveland named Doug Perau (440) 669-5704. He has a spindle machine for $11,000.

 

[neilho]

neilho, this is what a gear tooth deburring machine does

Tumbling and vibrating and all that simply aren't going to do the job.

Agreed. Dang, I was hoping you'd post a video, me being lazy and all.

Cool.

And even a bowl tumbler isn't going to deburr down into the roots, even though it's much bit better at part separation than a tub.

 

[David_M]

This is what EG is talking about: