Surface Finishing Tools for Small Parts Deburring

Small parts manufacturers use brush tools for deburring, edge blending, and other surface finishing applications in industries ranging from medical device fabrication to agricultural equipment. Manual deburring, especially during secondary finishing, can reduce productivity by taking operations off-line. Manual burr removal can also affect consistency, since parts finished on a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon may differ in quality from those that are deburred mid-week.

As a full-line manufacturer of industrial brushing tools, Brush Researching Manufacturing (BRM) supplies miniature deburring brushes in a variety of filament types. Choices include carbon steel, stainless steel, and brass, as well as brush tools with nylon and abrasive-filled nylon filaments. Manufacturers can also choose Flex-Hone® tools for bores as small as 4mm or 0.156 in. With their distinctive abrasive globules, these high-quality deburring tools are sometimes called ball hones or dingleberry hones.

Metal Brushes and Abrasive Nylon Brushes

BRM miniature brushes with metal filaments include all-stainless steel tools that are available in diameters as small as 0.024 in. Typically, these small deburring tools are used to remove chips from holes, or to clear protruding and break-through burrs. Although stainless steel doesn’t readily corrode or rust, other types of metal can oxidize. In addition, metal filaments can break, interfering with production equipment and affecting the safety of nearby personnel.

Abrasive nylon brush tools are an alternative to metal brushes and are available in small diameters. BRM supplies miniature nylon abrasive brushes with silicon carbide (SC) and aluminum oxide (AO) abrasive, and in a variety of grit sizes. Diamond brush tools are also available, and are recommended for harder materials. Applications for miniature abrasive nylon brushes include cross-hole deburring, micro burr removal, internal cleaning, removal of small imperfections, and surface preparation.

Small-Diameter Flex-Hone® Tools

Abrasive-filled nylon brushes have abrasive grains interspersed throughout their nylon filaments. By contrast, Flex-Hone® tools feature abrasive globules that are permanently laminated to the ends of flexible nylon filaments. By putting so much abrasive in contact with the work surface, flexible honing tools provide superior surface finishing and deburring at the same time.  Versatile, reliable, and easy-to-use, flexible hones mount in handheld power tools as well as machine centers.

Flex-Hone® tools are self-centering, self-aligning, and self-compensating for wear. As BRM’s Flex-Hone® In-Machine Setup video explains, flexible honing removes burrs from cross-drilled holes and can achieve surface finishes in single RA levels. Because BRM ball hones are oversized for the bore, the tool “pops” out and into the intersection during cross-hole deburring. By reversing the direction of the machine spindle, manufacturers can perform automated deburring operations in both directions.   

Choosing Miniature Deburring Brushes

For small parts manufacturers, choosing the right miniature deburring brush involves asking and answering questions. What is the task: deburring, surface finishing, or both? What is the work piece made of? What is the size of the feature, such as a cross-drilled hole or radiused port? With automated deburring, there are also operational parameters such as speed and feed rate to consider. Depending on the application’s requirements, multiple deburring tools may be necessary.

The Flex-Hone® Resource Guide is an excellent source of information about how to select and use flexible honing tools. Small parts manufacturers can also contact BRM’s engineering department, and send in their parts for analysis at the company’s surface finishing laboratory. For more information, download a Tech Lab Request Form or contact BRM today. You can also talk to BRM on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.