Why size is important when choosing tumbling media

Posted by Fox industries on November 7th, 2019

Size is everything when choosing the right tumbling media for cleaning. Ultimately, this affects the overall quality of the cleaning process. But the size of the parts is also important. In general, the media must be able to clean all surfaces of the parts without getting stuck. The trick to achieve the best results, therefore, is to mix the parts carefully with the correct size media.

Making that decision may just seem like an easy task. In other words, problems may occur if the size of the media and the components do not match.

Size of the media
It is easy to choose the wrong media when cleaning certain parts. If that happens, the parts can be damaged or the cleaning is not successful. Larger media are generally good for quick deburring or finishing. On the other hand, smaller media need more time to complete the cleaning job.

In addition, the results of the cleaning or polishing process will differ based on the size of the media. Larger media can damage fragile parts, smaller media may not. Similarly, larger media leave rough marks, while smaller media have a softer impact.

Sometimes it is good to mix different formats of media to get the best results if only one format is ineffective. This is especially the case when using steel media to clean metal parts.

 stainless steel balls, Steel Tumbling Media

accommodations
Problems with accommodation are common with media tumbling. Such problems usually occur when the medium gets stuck in parts with holes or slots. In other words, accommodation problems will certainly occur when you use smaller media to clean up large areas.
As a rule of thumb, the medium must be larger than any hole or opening in a part. To prevent two pieces from getting stuck in an opening, it is best to use media that is at least 70% larger. For example, angular cylinder media easily pass through holes.

The trick is to carefully choose media that get the job done but are not subdivided into parts.

Wear
Constant friction eats away on tumbling media. In other words, the media become smaller due to long-term use. But the speed with which that happens will depend on the material of the media. For example, organic media will shrink in size faster than ceramic media due to wear.

However, media that shrink gradually may also cause accommodation problems. It is therefore important to take that aspect into account, as it is easy to overlook.

Screening for parts
If the media and components are the same size, it may be difficult to separate them after cleaning. In general, the media must be smaller than the parts, but not too small to prevent accommodation. The easiest way to separate parts of media is to use a screen or a media separator. In some cases, magnets will also work