Pyramid Tumbling Media

Pyramid Tumbling Media

Pyramid tumbling media is the mass finishing media with a pyramid shape.

We can make pyramid shape media with plastic media and ceramic media.

Besides, we can also make porcelain media in a pyramid shape.

The most popular type of pyramid tumbling media is the plastic pyramid tumbling media.

Pyramid shape tumbling media is preferred because it has sharp contacting points that can enter deep in the parts’ holes, recesses, and slots.

Meanwhile, pyramid tumbling media does not get lodged in the parts.

At Inovatec, the smallest size pyramid media is 1/4 inches (6mm).

This small size is ideal for jewelry parts deburring, bullet shell smoothing, and aluminum parts finishing.

Also, delicate parts and parts with little details use small media for deburring.

Pyramid tumbling media is used either in vibratory finishing machine, vibratory tumbler, rotary barrel finishing machine, or centrifugal disc finishing machine.

It keeps its original shape as the size wears down.

Pyramid tumbling media is widely in use in multiple applications.

Here are the reasons:

• Pyramid plastic polishing media replaces ceramic media; makes light deburring on soft metals
• Surface smoothing of metal parts for the second polishing process after the ceramic deburring
• Removes oxidation layer and heating scale on brass bullet shells
•  Creates a perfect surface that ready for electroplating

Besides, Inovatec develops various recipes for pyramid media, including light cutting, medium cutting, faster cutting as well as aggressive cutting series.

Whether you have a hard titanium medical bone plate or a nylon 3D printed part, we have the right media for you.

Inovatec has rich experience in plastic tumbling media production.

Our experienced engineers will suggest the right media size and shape for your parts.

Contact us today and get the free quote now!

Pyramid Tumbling Media FAQ Guide

1. What is pyramid tumbling media?

Tumbling media is a type of mass finishing media specially formulated for mass finishing, particularly for tumbling machines.

They help in deburring, cleaning, polishing, and doing all other surface enhancements of workpieces.

Because of the varying needs of mass finishing, tumbling media comes in a variety of shapes.

One of such popular shapes is the pyramid.

Pyramid tumbling media is used on ferrous and non-ferrous workpieces in varying stages of mass finishing, in an attempt to produce exceptional and pleasing finishing on workpieces.

2. What is pyramid tumbling media made up of?

Pyramid tumbling media is made up of either metal, ceramic, or plastic.

Plastic pyramid tumbling media is usually made up of resins and abrasives, often of equal quantity.

Some of the most prominent abrasive substances used in making plastic pyramid tumbling media include zirconia, silica, alumina, corundum, among others.

Metallic pyramid tumbling media on the other hand is typically made up of steel or stainless steel, alongside other media constituents.

Ceramic pyramid tumbling media is typically made of aluminum oxide abrasive and ceramic binder.

It could also include constituents such as porcelain, alumina-zirconia, tin oxide, silicon carbide, cerium oxide, chromium oxide, among others.

3. How does pyramid tumbling media work?

It must first be pointed out that pyramid tumbling media isn’t an end in itself but a means to an end.

This means that for it to work perfectly and appropriately, other factors such as a good tumbling machine, compound, water, etc., have to go with the media.

To get the pyramid tumbling media working, it is sufficiently loaded along with parts, in a rubber-lined work bowl.

Depending on the process, it can be loaded before or after the mass – workpieces, compound, and/or water – have been added in.

Once the machine kicks into operation, its motor generates power which either rolls or vibrates to make the pyramid tumbling media rub and tumble media against the workpieces.

The rubbing action helps in breaking sharp edges, blemish erasure, surface discoloration among other surface enhancements and fine-tuning.

The goal is usually to make parts come out smooth, homogeneous, and beautiful.

The process continues until the machine completes its pre-programmed finishing cycle time or period.

In some other machines, the operator is the one that turns the machine off once the desired results have been attained.

4. What are the tips for selecting pyramid tumbling media?

If you are picking your own pyramid tumbling media, it’s advisable to choose a size that will get into all the remote areas on the workpieces that your desire to tumble, and that it won’t get lodged in your parts.

It can be very challenging to remove dozens of little abrasive chunks from your workpiece.

Not to mention those plugged areas that wouldn’t get the same tumbling impact as the rest of the workpieces.

5. Which workpiece is a pyramid tumbling media perfect for?

Pyramid tumbling media is good for all and perfect for none.

That is, they are appropriate for almost all types of workpieces –be it small or large, simple or complex.

6. Which finishing machine can use a pyramid tumbling media?

Pyramid tumbling media can be used by any type of mass finishing machines.

Be it a vibratory finishing machine, barrel tumbling finishing machine, or centrifugal disc/barrel finishing machine, pyramid tumbling media is very much compatible.

7. What benefit comes with pyramid tumbling media usage on workpieces?

Several advantages, pros, and benefits come with using a pyramid tumbling media to tumble-finish workpieces.

The most common ones among the gains in its usage include:

Strain Hardening

Pyramid tumbling media helps in shrinking the structure of the workpieces it works on to increase its hardness.

Finished parts are 50 to 100% harder and stronger than unfinished ones.

The hardness makes the finished workpiece more resistant to fatigue failure.

Polished Finish

Not only is a workpiece finished with pyramid tumbling media stronger, but it also becomes more appealing and beautiful to look at, that is to say, well polished.

It effectively removes minor and major visual defects by polishing, honing, and brushing up workpiece surfaces to a level of smoothness and aesthetics desired by the operator.

Corrosion Resistance

Pyramid tumbling media helps to reduce roughness and micro-notches in a workpiece.

This helps to vest workpieces with greater resistance against rust, oxidation, and other forms of metal corrosion.

Essentially, a properly finished workpiece is less likely to develop cracks, snaps, and/or other surface imperfections.

Cushioning

Pyramid tumbling media also comes with the ability to absorb impact energy between the parts in the tumbler.

Pyramid tumbling media helps to keep the workpieces from hitting and damaging one another.

8. How long do pyramid tumbling media usually last?

Depends on factors such as the frequency of use, the quantity of workpiece tumble over time, cutting speed, among others.

But all things being equal, pyramid tumbling media can guarantee consistent performance and repeatability when maintained appropriately.

Proper maintenance procedures for protecting the pyramid-shaped media between uses will guarantee a longer, extensive usage period.

9. What are the potential downsides, if any, to the usage of pyramid tumbling media?

None.

10. What are the manufacturing industries where pyramid tumbling media usage is popular?

Pyramid tumbling media, like all other shapes of tumbling media, has been consistently proven useful for standard finishing or tumbling of workpieces in minor and major industries.

That is, product manufacturers across varying industries use pyramid tumbling media to make workpieces undergo substantial improvements in their surface composition, strength, shell-life, and performance.

Essentially, pyramid tumbling media are used in industries that have an inescapable need for lower RMS of workpieces.

Some of its most popular industrial usages include Medical/Dental, Automotive, Defense/Military, General Job Shop, Motorsports, Jewellery, Textile among others.

11. How much does pyramid tumbling media cost?

It depends on its size, type (i.e. whether it is metallic, plastic, or ceramic), and its coarseness or abrasiveness.