Utilization of Non-Traditional Mass Finishing Techniques for Cleaning, Polishing and Grinding of Investment Castings

摘要

Traditional finishing techniques for Investment castings typically fall into three distinct categories, hand, machined andvibratory finishing. While all the methods have the ability to accomplish the task, each process has limitations that ifsolved could lead to reduced costs through elimination of process steps and rework.First utilized in the cleaning and polishing of Forging Dies and aluminum automotive wheels, the MV Multi-Vibratormass finishing system has been successfully used to grind and polish castings utilized in the Automotive, Aviation andMedical industries.The unique characteristics of this process is what drives its success. Through its use, casting users have been able toeliminate hand/ Robotic buffing and grinding and the subsequent rework associated with those processes. This resulted inthe lean benefits of reduced inventory, reduced cycle times, lower labor costs and the reduction of a significant wastestream.Included are the details of the method, implementation and realized savings by replacing traditional finishing techniqueswith the MV Multi-Vibrator Mass finishing system. Savings were achieved by the reduction in utility costs, reduced handlabor to finish the parts and reduction of the waste generated over the traditional finishing methods.