Zenith Aluminum & Brass Casting Foundry
China sand casting and gravity casting manufacturer

Aluminum casting sand blasting

Aluminum raw casting always involves tumbling and sand blasting or shooting. The key purpose of tumbling and sand blasting is to clean burrs and sand from casting surface. On the other hand, these tow processes are used for surface decoration.

Sand blasting

Sandblasting or bead blasting is a generic term for the process of smoothing, shaping and cleaning a hard surface by forcing solid particles across that surface at high speeds; the effect is similar to that of using sandpaper, but provides a more even finish with no problems at corners or crannies.

Sandblasting has two purpose

Tumbling & tumble polishing

Metal tumbling is used for obtaining a specified surface finish, burnishing, burr removal, cleaning, creating radii on edges, deflashing, and breaking runners off of parts in die casting. The process is similar to that explained for rock polishing. The barrel is filled with the parts that are to be barrel. Vanes, typically made of rubber, run along the inside of the barrel. As the barrel turns the vanes catch and lift the parts, which eventually slide down or fall.

Tumbling is an economical finishing process because large batches of parts can be run with little or no supervision by the operator. A full cycle can take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours with the barrel turning at 20 to 38 rpm. In most cases tumbling is most efficient when the barrel is 50% full. Some processes also use a filter system to allow parts or other materials in the cylinder to be separated.

Tumbling can either be a dry, wet, and with or without media. In wet processes a compound, lubricant, or barreling soap is added to aid the finishing process, prevent rusting, and to clean parts. Media is also used to obtain the desired finished project. Media can have any level of abrasiveness and can be made of a variety of synthetic, metallic, and even organic materials.