Inovatec MachineryYour Best Tumbling media for steel Manufacturer in China

Tumbling Media for Stainless Steel

Inovatec has a full range of tumbler media that includes ceramic media, plastic tumbling media, natural tumbling media as well as steel tumbling media.

Ceramic tumbling media is ideal for stainless steel parts deburring, de-rusting, radiusing, and edge breaking.

Stainless steel parts have a rough edge and burr when they are either stamped, laser cut, plasma cut, or bent.

Therefore, we need ceramic media to remove the sharp edge and stingy burrs.

With high cutting power, ceramic tumbling media removes materials effectively.

Generally, the ceramic deburring process lasts 1-2 hours in a vibratory tumbler finishing machine or rotary barrel tumbler machine.

Plastic tumbling media is soft in nature.

It reduces stainless steel parts’ surface roughness so that the surface is ready for plating and coating.

Plastic media can be used to smoothen the steel surface after ceramic media deburring.

Porcelain tumbling media is a non-abrasive media.

It used for polishing, cleaning, and degreasing stainless steel parts.

However, porcelain media does not change steel parts’ surface roughness, but it improves parts’ brightness.

Stainless steel media is used in stainless steel parts ball burnishing machine.

Stainless steel media imparts heavyweight on steel parts.

Generally, the ball burnishing process takes about one hour.

The longer time the ball burnishing process lasts, the shinier the steel parts are.

Choosing the right tumbling media is crucial for stainless steel parts.

You can rely on our technical know-how to test vibratory tumbler media with different sizes, shapes, and compositions.

Our goal is to assist you in getting the perfect finish at an affordable cost.

Inovatec has over 20 years’ experience in tumbling media manufacturing.

We offer competitive tumbling media for your stainless steel parts polishing.

Whether you have stainless steel machining parts, steel knitting parts, or steel casting parts, we have the solution ready for you.

You can send us your parts for free parts running.

We will ship it back with our process and video.

Send us an inquiry, and we will boost your business with our solutions!

Tumbling Media for Stainless Steel FAQ Guide

1. What are the tumbling media for stainless steel?

You can use ceramic tumbling media, porcelain tumbling media, stainless tumbling media, and plastic tumbling media for tumbling stainless steel.

2. How do I know which tumbling media for stainless steel is right for me?

It totally depends on what you are trying to do with your stainless steel parts.

Ceramic tumbling media is used for heavy deburring, removing heat scales, rounding rough edges, etc.

Porcelain tumbling media is primarily a polishing media that can shine the parts.

Plastic tumbling media is used before porcelain media to smooth the deburring marks and stainless steel media is mainly used for burnishing.

3. Is tumbling media for stainless steel different from other media?

No. Tumbling media for stainless media is similar to other media.

But special-purpose media might be different from general-purpose media.

4. What is the purpose of using parts tumbler media for stainless steel?

Tumbling media for stainless steel are used for deburring, smoothing, polishing, and burnishing of stainless steel parts.

The parts tumbler deburring media will help to remove the burrs from the parts.

5. What can I tumble using tumbling media for stainless steel?

You can tumble all kinds of stainless steel parts using the tumbling media.

The purpose of tumbling media for stainless steel is to provide you with the desired finish via a step by step process.

6. Should I tumble stainless steel wet or dry?

When it comes to tumbling stainless steel parts, it’s always good to do wet tumbling.

As the steel is going through multiple steps of deburring and smoothing, dry tumbling might not provide the expected finish.

Moreover, wet tumbling would keep the dust particles in the tumbler rather than spreading them all over your workshop.

7. How do I keep the tumbling media for stainless steel in good shape?

The only way to keep the tumbling media for stainless steel in good shape is to use the right media for the right task.

For example, if you use porcelain tumbling media for deburring, you’ll run out of media without seeing any visible difference because porcelain media is not rated for deburring.

Using the right shape and size is another big factor.

8. Will any of the tumbling media for stainless steel damage my parts?

Under the right circumstances, no.

If you’re using the right media in the right scenario, your parts will look amazing once finished.

But if you don’t follow the standard procedure of using tumbling media for stainless steel, you might see damage on your parts.

9. Do I need to use any special lubricants?

Plain tap water works fine when tumbling stainless steel.

But if you’re looking for extra shine, you are welcome to invest in good quality shining solutions.

10. What is the media-to-parts ratio for tumbling stainless steel parts?

The most commonly used ratio for tumbling stainless steel parts is 2/3 parts and 1/3 media.

You can try different ratios to see what works best for you.

11. My tumbling media for stainless steel has sharp edges. What do I do?

It’s very common to see sharp edges on tumbling media for stainless steel, especially when it’s new.

The easiest solution is to tumble the media for a few hours beforehand to get rid of the sharp edges.

You can use an industrial vibratory tumbler machine for the tumbling purpose.

12. What tumbling media for stainless steel to use for heavy deburring?

Ceramic has the most density among the tumbling media for stainless steel.

So, you can use ceramic tumbling media for steel parts deburring.

You can make use of any of the vibratory deburring tumbler or the rotary barrel tumbler deburring machine from Inovatec.

If you want more material to be removed from the parts, then you can go for the aggressive ceramic tumbling media

13. What tumbling media for stainless steel to use for rounding edges?

For rounding edges, it’s important to use precision media instead of fast cutting media.

Plastic tumbling media is a great choice when you need to round the sharp edges on your stainless steel parts.

14. How long do I have to tumble my parts with tumbling media for stainless steel?

The time period will be different for each tumbling media for stainless steel.

For the deburring with ceramic tumbling media, it will take about 2 hours.

For the plastic media, you have to keep an eye on the parts to see if they have reached the smoothness you want.

Porcelain tumbling media takes about 1 hour to do the polishing.

Stainless steel tumbling media can burnish a batch of parts in as little as 30 minutes.

15. Can I tumble jewelry with tumbling media for stainless steel?

Yes. Except for the fast cutting ceramic deburring media, you can use the tumbling media for stainless steel to tumble your jewelry.

The plastic tumbling media will take care of the soft deburring, porcelain tumbling media will add shine, and stainless steel media can burnish your jewelry if needed.

You need to ensure that you use the right type of tumbler for deburring metal jewelry parts.

Otherwise, the risk of parts getting damaged is more.

16. Will my stainless steel parts tarnish after the tumbling?

No. Stainless steel doesn’t tarnish or rust. Stainless steel is a special kind of steel infused with Chromium.

The Chromium adds a protective layer that keeps stainless steel from rusting, tarnishing, or changing.

17. What size of tumbling media for stainless steel should I buy?

There is a wide variety of sizes available for tumbling media for stainless steel.

Different part sizes require different sizes of tumbling media. For example, small parts will utilize small media while large parts will utilize large parts.

18. What shape of tumbling media for stainless steel should I buy?

The possibilities are practically infinite when it comes to the shape of tumbling media for stainless steel.

You can go through our inventory of shapes to see which fits with your parts.

Complex parts will require more attention while choosing the media shape because the media might lodge.

19. Do I need to clean the tumbling media for stainless steel before I start tumbling?

Answer: It’s a good practice but not an absolute necessity.

20. How much media do I need for one cycle?

The amount of tumbling media for stainless steel in each cycle will vary depending on the operation.

You might need more media for heavy deburring while fewer media for burnishing.

21. Can I polish my parts with tumbling media for stainless steel?

Porcelain tumbling is a type of tumbling media for stainless steel and it works very well when it comes to polishing.

Porcelain media is non-abrasive which makes it perfect for polishing.

22. Can I ball burnish my parts with tumbling media for stainless steel?

Stainless steel ball tumbling media is a great choice for burnishing parts.

It takes about 30 minutes for one burnishing cycle.

23. Can I use tumbling media for stainless steel on rotary parts tumbler?

Yes, you can.

Most of the tumbling media for stainless steel parts are suitable for use in rotary tumblers.

The media is often referred to as rotary tumbler media when used with rotary parts tumbler.

You need to see what works for you during the actual tumbling process.

24. How much do tumbling media for stainless steel cost?

The cost of tumbling media for stainless steel will vary depending on the quality of the product and the purpose you are trying to achieve.

We have our own factory where we produce the highest quality media at a very competitive price.

25. Are all tumbling media for stainless steel abrasive?

No. Porcelain tumbling media is not abrasive.

Non-abrasive tumbling media for stainless steel is great for polishing and burnishing.

26. Can I use carbon steel media as tumbling media for stainless steel?

You can. Carbon steel tumbling media is great for burnishing and polishing.

It depends on the strength of your parts and you have to do a few runs to check whether carbon steel media is suitable for you or not.

27. Does the density of tumbling media for stainless steel matter?

It does. Ceramic is a very high-density tumbling media for stainless steel and it deburrs really well.

So, yes, the density is important in achieving the goal.