If your product uses stainless steel strips, you may have heard of Edging in the production of stainless steel strips.
This process is mainly to process the edges of stainless steel strips of various specifications.
Remove the burrs, round edges, chamfers, etc. of the stainless steel, so that the stainless steel belt will not hurt the hands.
Why Choose Yaoyi to do the Stainless Steel Edging?
Because in addition to producing cold-rolled stainless steel strips/coils, we also provide other value-added services:
Edging/Steel Edge Rolling and Deburring
Manufacturing can leave many imperfections on the steel. These imperfections can cause quality, safety, and mechanical risks for steel applications. Thus, manufacturers employ a refining process or finishing to mitigate these risks and increase efficiency.
For example, rough machining of stainless steel strip will leave burrs on the stainless steel strip.
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What is a Burr?
Stainless steel burr refers to the sharp and rough edges left on the stainless steel sheet due to thermal processing and cutting during the production and processing of stainless steel. It is especially common when stainless steel strips are slit.
Steel edge burrs are one of the common examples of imperfections caused by steel processing. These burrs are small protrusions on rough steel edges processed by machinery or processes, namely as follows:
1.Grinding
2. Drilling
3.Milling
4.Engraving
5.Turning
In particular, this article will be discussing a process applied for steel edge, which is edging/edge rolling and deburring. Learn about steel edging along with its procedures and importance to steel manufacturing.
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The Ultimate FAQ Guide
In this article, we will delve into all relevant information about steel edge rolling and deburring, including how to protect, the hazards of burr, how to work, and other issues.
What is Edging/Steel Edge Rolling and Deburring?
Why do you Apply Steel Edging and Deburring?
How to Apply Edging and Deburring on Steel?
Conclusion
What is Edging/Steel Edge Rolling and Deburring?
Although applied to the same steel finishing concept, edging, edge rolling, and deburring have individual differences. By definition, edge rolling is a mechanical deburring type where a metal edge is rolled or hidden. Meanwhile, deburring is a more generic term used to describe processes related to removing protrusions from rough edges. Lastly, steel edging refers to any method of edge finishing applied to steel.
We will be referring to these processes generally as “edging” or “steel edging” throughout the article for simplification. These terms are more convenient since they are the staple jargon in the industry.
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Why do you Apply Steel Edging and Deburring?
steel edge rolling and deburring is a vital manufacturing process often overlooked. Manufacturers consider this production loss because the process entails partial removal of steel portions. These removed portions, when combined, reflect a significant loss to the amount of steel in production.
However, steel edging is vital to be employed for a variety of reasons. Below are enumerations of the importance of steel edging:
Injury Prevention
Small protrusions or burrs from a steel’s rough edges can be harmful to your handlers. These rough edges can cause slits entailing varying degrees of injuries. Applying steel edging and deburring helps mitigate any danger and possible costs for treatment.
Constant Measurement for High Precision Parts
Another issue with burrs is that it can result in inconsistent measurement. There are often measuring devices employed to measure raw materials for production. High precision component manufacturers often use these strict measurement standards to reject steel products with inconsistent measurements.
Thus applying steel edging or deburring helps reduce these inconsistencies by removing jagged edges and protrusions. Furthermore, it minimizes the loss of investments by also mitigating rejected units of your processed steel.
Minimizes Risk of Damage to Other Important Components
Moving parts of machinery often grind or rub with each other. An edge with burrs is akin to a saw when introduced with vibration. These almost little burrs can result in catastrophic damage to machinery or other components. Furthermore, these burrs can also get caught up in small orifices and build up, causing malfunctions.
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How to Apply Edging and Deburring on Steel?
Steel manufacturers employ a variety of methods for steel edging and deburring. These methods are often different due to machinery constraints or simply because of requirements needed in an application. Below are the most common processes of edging or deburring:
Manual Deburring
Manual edging and deburring are done by hand with a deburring tool. This deburring tool is usually characterized by curved or hook-shaped edges used to remove burrs. This type of deburring is almost considered an art form or expertise. Such is due to the need for high attentiveness of the one doing the craft.
After the initial removal of the burr, artisans use file and sandpaper to polish the edges. This method is both flexible and not demanding of expensive machinery or tools. However, it is not an ideal method for a massive batch of work, given it takes time. Manual deburring is also the earliest used before technology introduced other methods.
Punch Deburring
A punching tool or machine conducts this type of deburring. It eliminates burrs by flattening it and evening the edge surface to remove or hide these protrusions. This method of edging is considered more efficient than manual deburring.
However, it may need multiple punch platforms for different molds of steel. Also, it is a bit restrained in processing more complicated steel forms and requires a punch machine to function.
Hole Deburring
Manufacturers use hole deburring tools to remove burrs left after drilling or punching holes into steel. This specialized tool is characterized by a cutting device or file that is attached to a spring-loaded spindle. The process is akin to drilling but instead uses the deburring tool to remove protrusion inside the hole. This tool is specially fashioned to remove burrs while avoiding scratches inside holes smoothly.
Hoe deburring is efficient, fast, and applicable for several batches of steel forms. However, it is only exclusively used to holes and requires a specialized tool to conduct.
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Brushing or Brush Deburring
Brush edging and deburring use a type of brush to scrape or raise burrs from a surface. Manufacturers use special brushes that exhibit specific dexterity with roughness enough to remove burrs but gentle enough to avoid scratches. It is often made with abrasive materials that function similarly to files or sandpapers.
Brushing is exceptionally efficient for complex steel forms. It is fast, cost-effective, suitable for substantial work batches, and relatively inexpensive. However, this method also requires many brush replacements to prevent production hamper once brushes have spent their usability.
Electrochemical Deburring
Electrochemical deburring uses an anodic metal dissolution to finish steel forms. This deburring method involves a process akin to the operation of plating. However, the difference is in the excess surface metal parts are removed using electrolyte solutions instead of joining them.
Electrochemical deburring is typically used for smaller steel parts that are impractical to undergo other methods. It is an efficient method to use for the mentioned conditions, similarly fast and applicable to numerous batches. However, this method is only appropriate to smaller steel forms. Localized area deburring is impossible, and the technique also requires specialized equipment.
Tumbling or Rumbling Deburring
Manufacturers conduct tumbling deburring using a rotating or vibrating container. Mixtures of abrasives and solutions fill these containers. These mixtures are then rotated or vibrated together with the steel parts to remove imperfections.
Tumbling or rolling deburring is best suited for smaller steel parts. Furthermore, it is less aggressive, highly efficient, and applicable for batch processing. However, this method also requires special equipment and different mixtures for different intensities of abrasion.
Grinding and Rolling
Grinding and rolling are generally known as mechanical deburring. It is a deburring process that uses rolling or grinding equipment in cleaning surface edge imperfections. Manufacturers use machinery to flatten or grind unwanted burrs. Edge rolling is also a mechanical deburring form wherein edges are rolled to “wrap-in” flaws to provide smoother edges.
This method is perfect for flat and smaller steel forms. Additionally, it is fast, productive, and straightforward. However, this method can have steel size limitations, and more precision might require further refining.
Thermal Deburring
Thermal or ignition deburring is a method wherein a deburring chamber burns excess burrs to produce cleaner edges. This process requires high-precision machines to function efficiently. Subsequent combustion temperature ranges from 2500 to 3000 degrees celsius. The combustion is usually fuelled by a precise mixture of oxygen and natural gas.
The ignition conducted practically vaporizes the burr, cleaning edges efficiently. Additionally, machines can burn multiple parts resulting in a better production rate. However, applying this method may require protecting areas you don’t want to burn—furthermore, steel burnt converts to oxide, which will require reprocessing.
Cryogenic Deburring
Cryogenic deburring uses shallow temperatures to remove burrs from steel parts. It usually involves the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze burrs. Afterward, a secondary machine separates frozen burrs from the main steel body.
This deburring method is a non-abrasive method of removing burrs that is both productive and efficient. It leaves a dustless finish and very suitable for small parts like gears and washers. However, cryogenic deburring is often limited to non-magnetic metals like stainless steel, aluminum, beryllium copper, and the like.
Pressurized Water Deburring
Pressurized water deburring or water jet deburring uses high water pressures to remove steel burrs. It is a relatively new addition to the steel deburring methods. It uses water with a rust-inhibiting mixture to target localized areas for deburring.
It is advantageous for localized deburring leaving a residue-free output with great precision. It can operate at high speed, which increases the production efficiency. However, this deburring method can be more expensive considering it is a new technology.
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Conclusion
Steel edging and deburring can provide a significant improvement for steel products. Although the process can sometimes be tedious, it is essential for any craftsman dedicated to precision. As we have informed you, there are a variety of methods you can use at your disposal. It is, however, imperative to determine the suitable process to minimize time and production loss.
Additionally, well-processed steel is a reflection of a competitive steel manufacturer. And sometimes, this competitiveness can be well measured simply by terms of edging. If you are looking for well-processed steel products, we suggest inquiring with Yaoyi. We at Yaoyi assure you that you’ll only be getting the best steel products for your applications.
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References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr_(edge)
https://www.ctemag.com/news/articles/deburring-essential-often-overlooked-process
https://www.meadmetals.com/blog/edge-rolling-and-conditiong
https://fractory.com/deburring-methods-and-tools/#Deburring_Methods_and_Tools
https://latem.com/blog/5-ways-to-remove-sharp-edges-and-burrs-from-metal-parts.htm
https://www.arrowcryogenics.com/cryogenic-services/deburring