Question 1

How much does a vibratory finishing machine cost?

Accepted Answer

A vibratory finishing machine is usually quoted between USD 3,000 and USD 45,000, and the size of the bowl moves the number more than anything else on the quote: a 60 L vibratory finisher sits at the low end and a 1500 L tub vibratory at the high end. The cost breaks into four parts that are quoted separately, which is why two machines with the same bowl volume can differ by half. The machine itself is the largest single item, and a vibratory bowl of 60 to 100 L, the kind that fits a batch of small metal or plastic parts, is the entry point. The media and the compounds are a running cost rather than a purchase, and they are what a buyer usually forgets to budget for. Fixturing, baskets and a drying unit are the third line, and they are often added once the process is proven. Shipping and installation make up the fourth, and for a machine shipped to Europe or North America the freight is a meaningful part of the total, which is why the port and the delivery terms are quoted separately rather than folded in.

Question 2

What is the total cost of a finishing setup, and what else is in the price besides the machine?

Accepted Answer

A finishing setup is normally four separate costs: the machine, the media and compounds, the fixtures and the drying equipment, and the freight and installation, and on a first project the machine is usually only half of the total rather than all of it. The lines that surprise buyers are the ones that are not the machine. Fixtures are cut to the part, so a job with four variants needs four sets, and a fixture that is redone is a fixture that delays the start of production. Drying is the second one, because a wet process without a centrifugal dryer leaves a film in the blind features that shows up as spotting weeks later. The third is the media and compound stock, which should be bought with the machine so that the first trial can be run on arrival. Labour and training rarely appear on a quotation but are real costs in the first month. We quote these lines separately on the proforma invoice so that the total is a total, because a machine price on its own is the easiest number in the whole process to underestimate.

Question 3

What does it cost to deburr parts with a vibratory machine, per batch?

Accepted Answer

Vibratory deburring usually costs a few cents per part in media and compound, and the figure is driven by how much stock has to come off: a light deburr of a 3 mm aluminium bracket is cheap, while taking 0.2 mm off a stainless surgical part is not. The calculation is straightforward once the numbers are known. The batch holds a certain volume of media, the media is cut by the part load, and the compound is dosed either by volume or by weight, and the cost per part falls out of that divided by the batch count. What changes it is not the machine but the specification: the cycle time, the size of the part relative to the media, and how much of the part has to be cut. A batch that runs 20 minutes rather than 2 hours changes the cost per part by an order of magnitude, which is why the cycle time is the first number we ask for. For comparison, a disc finishing machine handling medical parts is usually the more expensive route per part, because the load is smaller and the tool contact is more precise.

Question 4

What do the media and compounds cost, and how often do they need replacing?

Accepted Answer

Media is a consumable rather than a one-off purchase, and the cost per batch is a small fraction of the machine cost, typically a few percent; the media is topped up as it wears and the compound is dosed each cycle, so the order is a regular order rather than a project. Two things drive the media cost. The first is the wear rate, which is set by the material of the part and by how hard the cycle is; a load of steel parts cuts the media far faster than a load of aluminium, and a cycle run to a bright finish wears more than a short deburr. The second is the value of the media itself, and a graded ceramic costs several times what a plastic media does per kilogram, while a precious metal lapping media costs an order of magnitude more again. The compound is a smaller line and is dosed by volume or by weight depending on the process. The practical point for a buyer is that the media order should be sized to the cycle, and a media supplier that cannot state the expected consumption in kilograms per 100 hours is not quoting a usable figure.

Question 5

What does a vibratory polishing setup cost for a factory?

Accepted Answer

A production vibratory setup for a factory runs from roughly USD 25,000 for a single large vibratory unit to well over USD 100,000 for a line with a separator, a dryer and automated handling, because at that scale the cost sits in the handling rather than in the bowl. At factory scale the question is not the machine but the labour around it. A line that still needs an operator to load baskets by hand has not saved anything, so the comparison is between a manual cell and an automated one, and the automatic version wins on cost per part only when the volume justifies the transfer and drying equipment. Factory buyers should also look at the total footprint: a vibratory bowl, a separator and a centrifugal dryer need floor space and a three-phase supply, and a line that will not fit through the door has to be re-specified before the order. We size the line against your actual part and basket dimensions rather than quote a catalogue line, and the specification that comes out of that is the one the price is based on.

Question 6

Which finishing methods are there, and how do vibratory, barrel, disc and magnetic finishing differ?

Accepted Answer

Four mass finishing methods differ in how the abrasive reaches the part; drag finishing is a fifth, for long straight parts rather than batches: vibratory drives the media past the workpiece in a flow, barrel rotates the whole charge together, disc holds the part against a rotating tool, and magnetic works a flexible needle mass around it. Vibratory is the general-purpose answer, because the media flows past the part and can reach into features, and it is what most buyers start with. Barrel is the volume answer for simple shapes, where the part can be tumbled freely and the media only has to reach the outside. Disc is the precision answer, holding one part against a rotating tool for a controlled local cut. Magnetic is the answer for small precision parts and for burrs inside slots, cross-holes and thread roots, and the needle mass follows the contour of the workpiece rather than touching it at one point. Choosing between them is a question about the geometry of the part and the tolerance on the surface, and if a part has a narrow deep feature, that feature usually decides it before anything else does.

Question 7

Should the process be wet or dry?

Accepted Answer

Use wet finishing when the material is ferrous or the part has to come off the machine bright, and use dry finishing when the material is aluminium, the part is delicate, or the dust cannot be tolerated in the area. Wet and dry are not a preference, they are a consequence of the material and the finish. A wet process uses a compound in solution, which carries the heat and the swarf away and leaves a bright surface, and it is the normal answer for steel and for anything that will be plated or passivated afterwards. It also means a drying step, and a water change on a schedule, and both are part of the cost. Dry finishing uses a compound carried in a liquid carrier that evaporates, or a dry abrasive, and it suits aluminium and brass, where a wet process can leave a film or a stain, and it suits workshops where a wet process is not permitted. The trade is that dry finishing is slower and produces dust, and it needs extraction.

Question 8

Which machine suits small precision parts: disc finishing or magnetic finishing?

Accepted Answer

Choose magnetic finishing for burrs and finishing in slots, cross-holes and thread roots, because the flexible needle mass follows the contour of the part, and choose disc finishing for a controlled, measured cut on a single held part where the finish has to hold to a tolerance. The difference is how the force reaches the workpiece. Magnetic finishing works a mass of flexible needles that are drawn to the part and follow its geometry, so the contact is spread over the whole surface without a fixed tool, which is why it reaches into a thread root and why it does not round a sharp edge the way a tool would. Disc finishing holds the part against a rotating abrasive tool, so the cut is very controlled and very local, which is what medical and aerospace work usually needs and what a measurable surface finish usually requires. Neither reaches what a vibratory flow reaches in a deep blind feature, so if the geometry includes something narrow and deep, that decides it. Sizing is by the workpiece envelope and the required removal, not by the part weight.

Question 9

How do I choose the size of a vibratory machine for my parts?

Accepted Answer

Choose a bowl roughly three times the volume of the parts in a batch, because the media needs room to move around the work, and a 60 L bowl is the usual starting point for small components while a 1500 L tub suits heavy or bulky work. The rule of thumb is that the charge should be about a third of the bowl, and the rest is the media that has to circulate. A bowl packed to the brim cannot shear the media properly, so the parts get a soft, uneven finish and the cycle takes longer than the published time. Volume also sets the batch size, and the batch size sets the number of parts processed per hour, which is the number that matters for the cost per part. Heavier machines need a three-phase supply and a floor that will take the load, so a bigger machine is not automatically the cheaper way to make the same number of parts. We size against the largest part you will run and the batch you need per shift, not against the catalogue range.

Question 10

Which finishing method suits a high-mix, low-volume production run?

Accepted Answer

For high-mix, low-volume work a vibratory or magnetic machine suits the variety and a disc finishing machine suits the precision, because a barrel or a full line is tuned to one part and one cycle and is wasted on anything else. High-mix production is penalised by setup, not by cycle time. A machine configured for one part spends most of its life empty, and the barrel is the worst case, because the charge, the media and the cycle are all part-specific. A vibratory bowl can be recharged with a different part and a different media in a few minutes, and a magnetic machine changes job by changing the fixture rather than the charge, which is the cheapest change of all. Disc finishing is the precision answer when the finish has to be controlled to a few microns on a medical part. The practical planning question is how often the line changes over, and if it changes daily, the flexible machines win on total cost even at a higher hourly rate.

Question 11

How does mass finishing actually work?

Accepted Answer

Mass finishing works by putting the parts in a charge of abrasive media with a compound, then moving the media past the parts so the cut is taken by the abrasive rather than by a tool, and the same machine covers deburring, polishing and burnishing by changing the media and the time. The three ingredients are the media, the compound and the movement. The media does the cutting, the compound carries the heat and the swarf away and decides whether the surface is cut, burnished or polished, and the movement is what turns a loose charge into a controlled cut. Vibratory and barrel machines move the charge differently: a vibratory bowl drives the media past the work in a flow, a barrel rotates the whole charge together, a disc holds the part against a tool and magnetic finishing works a flexible needle mass around it. Because the cut is distributed rather than concentrated, the result is even over the whole surface, and the finish is set by three variables a buyer can control: the media, the compound and the time.

Question 12

How do you polish plastic eyeglass frames without clouding them?

Accepted Answer

Plastic sunglasses and eyeglass frames need a two-stage approach: a fine abrasive stage with a dry or low-lubrication compound, then a clean polishing stage with a finer compound, and the mistake that clouds a frame is carrying the coarse stage over into the polish. Polycarbonate and acetate behave differently from metal, and the abrasive that works on aluminium will frost a plastic frame. The workable sequence is to establish the shape with a fine stage, clean the parts so no coarse particles survive, and only then polish; polishing over a contaminated surface is what produces the white haze, and it is usually blamed on the compound rather than on the leftover grit. Heat is the other risk, because a plastic frame can distort before the surface improves, so the cycle has to be kept short and the load kept moving. For frames that have already been scratched, the order is different again: the deep scratch has to come out first, and it cannot be polished out reliably, which is a question worth answering before the order rather than after.

Question 13

How do you polish acetate frames, and is dry or wet tumbling better?

Accepted Answer

For acetate frames, acetate sunglasses included, dry tumbling is usually the better answer and wet tumbling the fallback, because acetate softens in a wet bath and dry media keeps the frame at a stable temperature, though a wet process is used where the deposit has to be cleaned out of deep detail. A dull frame is brought back to a shiny finish in the clean polishing stage, not the abrasive one, and a frame scratched through the surface cannot be polished back to shine. Acetate is a thermoplastic, and that single fact drives the choice. A wet process holds the frame in a warm solution for a long time, and acetate will distort, and the distortion is permanent, so the wet route needs a low temperature and a short cycle. Dry tumbling with a plastic media and a light compound keeps the part cool and the cut gentle, which is why most frame work is done dry. Where the frame has deep detail that holds compound, a wet clean afterwards is sometimes needed, and the risk has to be managed. The finishing target is also different from metal: acetate is judged on clarity and on the absence of haze rather than on a mirror brightness, so the process is stopped while the surface is still slightly matte.

Question 14

How do you polish aluminium parts?

Accepted Answer

Aluminium is polished with a finer, softer media than steel, typically a graded ceramic or a plastic-bonded abrasive, and the sequence is a coarser stage to take the stock and a finer stage with a clean compound for the brightness, because polishing over the coarse stage leaves a grey haze that cannot be removed. Aluminium is soft and it is the most common source of a disappointing first trial. The abrasive that works on stainless will cut too deep and leave a rough, hard surface, and the usual recovery is to take more material off, which is the wrong direction. The reliable sequence is a staged cut, each stage cleaned before the next, and a compound that does not carry the previous stage's grit forward. The other specific problem is that aluminium polishes to a slightly different colour than steel, and a part that is later plated has to be finished to a consistent base, which is a process question rather than a machine question. We would rather run a trial on a few parts than quote a cycle for aluminium that has not been tested on it.

Question 15

How do you polish titanium parts without scratching them or losing the detail?

Accepted Answer

Titanium is worked with a fine, controlled cut and a dedicated compound, because it is hard, it work-hardens, and it picks up any contamination, so the cycle is kept short, the media is kept clean and the part is never left in a charge that has been used on another material. Titanium fails in three usual ways, and each has a cause. Scratches come from contaminated media, so the charge used for titanium is dedicated and is cleaned between jobs. Distortion comes from heat, and heat comes from too long a cycle at too high an energy, so the removal is taken in stages. The loss of detail comes from a blunt or wrongly graded media rather than from the machine, and a grade that is too coarse will round a thread or an edge no matter how carefully the cycle is run. Because titanium is expensive and often a medical or aerospace part, the part value makes the trial worthwhile: an hour on a few parts is cheap against a scrapped batch.

Question 16

What does a medical instrument part need, and what is an A-1 grade finish?

Accepted Answer

A medical part needs a fine, consistent, contaminant-free finish checked against a stated limit, typically a few microns of roughness, and an A-1 grade is the top of the finishing grade scale, meaning the surface is brought close to a mirror with the finest media and the shortest possible handling. Three requirements pull against each other on medical work. The surface has to meet a roughness figure and a specification that is usually a few microns, so the media has to be fine and consistent enough to hold that across a batch. The part must not be contaminated, so the media and the compound are dedicated to that work and never shared with a general job, because a single metal particle carried in from another batch is a finding. The third is consistency between batches, which is what a written process and a fixed cycle give. The finishing grade scale runs from the coarser A grades to the finest A-1, and the grade is set by the media and the compound, with the time adjusted to hold the result.

Question 17

Can scratches be polished out of eyeglass frames, and can plastic lenses be polished?

Accepted Answer

Light scuffs can be polished out of a plastic frame but a deep scratch cannot, because polishing removes material rather than filling it, and a plastic lens is usually replaced rather than polished, because its coating and its curvature make it a specialist job. The dividing line on a frame is whether the scratch is a surface mark or a groove. A scuff from handling or a dusty bag is a surface phenomenon and comes out with a fine compound in a short cycle. A scratch you can feel with a fingernail is a groove, and a groove can only be levelled, not removed, which leaves a surface that scatters light and therefore looks slightly hazier than the surrounding plastic. This is the point at which a frame is usually better replaced than refinished, and it is worth deciding from the part rather than after a trial. A lens is a different case again: a coated lens cannot be polished without cutting the coating, and the curvature of a prescription lens means the surface has to be handled on a machine built for it, so the cost normally exceeds the cost of a new lens.

Question 18

Should I use ceramic or plastic media?

Accepted Answer

Ceramic media cuts faster and holds its shape, so it suits harder alloys and longer cycles, while plastic media is gentler and cheaper and is the safer choice for soft alloys, thin walls and plastic parts, and the usual grades are 3 to 10 mm ceramic against 10 to 25 mm plastic. The trade is cutting rate against gentleness. Ceramic media is a harder abrasive, so it takes material off faster and keeps its geometry longer in a high-energy charge, which makes it the usual answer for steel and for the long cycles a bright finish needs. Plastic media is a filled abrasive: it wears down progressively, which gives a gentler cut and a lower cost, and that gentleness is what you want on aluminium, on thin-walled parts and on anything where a cut through the wall would scrap the batch. Media that wears too fast also becomes a consistency problem, because the charge changes character partway through the cycle, so the grade has to match the job rather than the machine.

Question 19

Which media should I use for aluminium parts, and how do I size it?

Accepted Answer

Aluminium parts take a softer media than steel, usually a plastic-bonded abrasive for the bulk cut and a fine graded ceramic for the brightness, and the size rule is that the media should never be larger than a third of the smallest feature of the part. This one rule covers most of the practical decisions. For a part with a 3 mm blind hole the media has to be smaller than 3 mm, which means a fine grade and a longer cycle, and there is no way round it. For a general deburr on a flat plate the media can be larger and the cycle shorter, because the job is only to knock the edges back. A useful check is to put the part in a bag of media: if the media does not go into the features, neither will it in the machine. Media that is too fine for the part is equally wasteful, because it cuts slowly and the part tumbles rather than finishes. The frequent failure on aluminium is using a media graded for stainless and then trying to polish out the damage, which takes more material off than the original process ever would have.

Question 20

Can you supply media to our own specification?

Accepted Answer

Yes, media can be supplied to a customer specification, and it is normal where a part has a controlled material or a supplier audit has fixed the consumable, but the specification has to be given as a grade, a size range, a shape and a cut or burnish behaviour rather than as a finished appearance. A custom media order needs four things defined. The abrasive has to be named, because ceramic, porcelain and plastic behave differently against the same part. The size range has to be given as a cut rather than a number, because a grade such as 2 mm to 4 mm covers a spread that matters on a fine feature. The shape has to be specified, because a cut triangle cuts and a rounded bead burnishes, and the same name covers both. And the surface treatment has to be stated, since a coated or greased charge behaves differently from a dry one. The quantity is then a consumption calculation rather than a guess, and we will size it against the cycle time and the material once a trial has established the rate. Where the requirement comes from a customer audit, we can supply the documentation with the order.

Question 21

How long does the media last, and how do I know when to replace it?

Accepted Answer

A charge of media lasts between 20 and 200 operating hours depending on the material and the cycle, and the signs that it is spent are consistent: the finish stops improving, the part starts to show a matte grey haze, and the cycle time creeps up because the media no longer cuts. There is no universal figure, and the honest answer is that consumption has to be measured on the job, because the same media used on aluminium and on stainless differs by several times. The indicators are more reliable than the clock. When the media is fresh the part brightens visibly within the first minutes of the cycle; when it is spent, that visible change stops and the part simply tumbles. A grey haze that was not there at the start of the week is a spent charge, and so is a cycle that needs 20% longer for the same result. Topping up with fresh media restores the cut, but blending too much new into old leaves the charge inconsistent, so a full change at a defined interval is usually more reproducible than a top-up.

Question 22

How long does a finishing cycle take?

Accepted Answer

A vibratory cycle for small parts typically runs between 15 minutes and a few hours, with a guide of 10 to 20 minutes for a light deburr and 2 to 8 hours for a high-finish polish, and the media and the compound decide which end you land on. The number that decides the cycle is the amount of stock to be removed and the finish required, and the two are not the same job. Taking a few hundredths of a millimetre off a small aluminium bracket is a short cycle; taking a few tenths off a stainless surgical part to a mirror finish is a long one, and the compound has to be changed on the way to get there. A vibratory bowl in a batch of small parts is typically run in the order of 20 minutes to 2 hours, and a barrel with a heavier charge longer. The time is best settled by a trial on your parts, because a published cycle assumes a material and a removal that may not be yours.

Question 23

How many parts can be processed in one batch?

Accepted Answer

A 60 L vibratory bowl typically holds a few hundred small components per batch and a 150 L barrel a similar number of larger ones, and the honest number comes from the part envelope and the media size rather than from a catalogue figure. What sets the count is the space each part occupies plus the media that has to move between them, and a part with a hollow or a deep feature takes disproportionately more room than its outer size suggests. Buyers should test with their own worst-case part rather than the average one, because a batch that looks fine with simple geometry can drop to half the count with a feature that traps media. The second question is how long the batch runs, because parts per hour is the number that determines whether the machine or the labour is the bottleneck. We would rather run a trial with your parts than quote a number, and a trial is the fastest way to settle both at once.

Question 24

Is a vibratory finishing machine easy to operate, and do you supply a cleaning system?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The daily operation is loading a batch, choosing a cycle from a preset and pressing start, and a cleaning system is not fitted as standard but is strongly recommended for any machine that runs wet, because dirty water and stale compound attack both the machine and the parts. The commissioning is where the knowledge goes, and it is a day's work: the first batch on a new part is run and adjusted until the finish and the cycle time are right, and from then on the operator loads, presses start and unloads. Most of the day-to-day decisions are about the charge rather than the machine, which is why the media and compound matter as much as the specification. A good setup reduces the operator to two decisions, how much media to top up and whether to add compound, and both can be written as a recipe card for each part. On cleaning, a wash-and-drain or lift-and-rinse arrangement is enough to keep the charge sweet, and changing the water and the compound on a schedule rather than by eye is the habit that matters more than the equipment.

Question 25

How noisy is a vibratory machine, and can the noise be reduced?

Accepted Answer

A vibratory machine is loud, typically 75 to 85 dB measured at one metre, and most of that is the vibrator itself; isolation mounts, a flexible drive belt and a lined or enclosed tub are the three measures that bring the noise down. The sound has two parts and they respond to different fixes. The mechanical noise of the vibrator and the motor is best handled at the mount, with anti-vibration feet or a bonded pad under the tub, which takes the transmitted sound out of the floor and the structure. The other part is the media itself, and a charge of heavy steel media in a large bowl is genuinely loud. Lining the tub and closing the machine with a feed opening reduces what escapes. On a shop floor the practical target is to keep the reading at the operator's position below the limit the local rules set, and we can supply the isolation kit for whichever machine you are buying.

Question 26

What power supply does the machine need, and what should I check when a pneumatic vibrator stops?

Accepted Answer

Standard machines run on three-phase 380 V or 415 V at 50 Hz, with 220 V versions available, and when a pneumatic vibrator stops the first thing to check is the air pressure and the leakage, because nine times out of ten it is a supply problem rather than a failed vibrator. The supply is worth settling before the order, because it is a factory change rather than a machine change, and a transformer for a 415 V machine is a lead-time item. Three-phase at 380 V or 415 V is the normal configuration, which is what the CJ, BJ, BLG, LX, PLG and YJ platforms are built for, and single-phase is available on the smaller vibratory units. On a pneumatic machine, the order that saves the most time is to work from the supply inward: check that the compressor is delivering the rated pressure and that no hose has been crushed, then listen at the exhaust, because a healthy vibrator hisses steadily and silence means the air is not reaching it, and only then open the machine to look at the bearings. Keeping a spare hose and a spare regulator on the shop floor removes most of the downtime.

Question 27

What are your payment methods and price terms?

Accepted Answer

Orders are invoiced as 30% deposit with the balance against the shipping documents, and T/T is the normal method, with L/C at sight available for larger orders; the figures are confirmed on the proforma invoice rather than on a website. The deposit covers the materials and the build slot, because a machine built to order cannot be re-sold once the plate is cut. The balance is normally taken against the bill of lading, which protects both sides if the goods are delayed in transit. For a first order the usual arrangement is the full amount before dispatch, and for repeat orders the terms can move to a credit line once the first shipment has been received and checked. Payment method, currency and any bank charges are all stated on the proforma invoice, and it is better to work from that document than from a quotation, because the specification, the lead time and the freight terms are all fixed on it.

Question 28

What is your lead time?

Accepted Answer

A standard machine from the catalogue ships in 25 to 35 days from the deposit, and a built-to-order configuration takes 45 to 60 days, with the media and compounds adding about a week if they are shipped together with the machine, and the build slot is confirmed on the order. The lead time is mostly the build slot, and it is worth separating that from the delivery time, because only the first is under our control. A machine with a non-standard bowl size, a special voltage or a custom guard takes the longer build, and adding a separator or a dryer extends it again. The shipping time on top is a sea transit of roughly 30 to 40 days to Europe and North America from Xiamen. The specification therefore has to be settled before the deposit, because everything that changes afterwards is what moves the date. A trial on your parts before the order is the most effective way to avoid exactly that kind of change.

Question 29

Which is the nearest port?

Accepted Answer

We ship from Xiamen, which is one of the nearest international ports to Europe and North America, and a sea shipment to Rotterdam or Los Angeles takes around 30 to 40 days at sea, which is a substantial part of the total time to a working machine. Xiamen is on the south coast of Fujian and serves the Europe and North America routes, and the practical consequence is that the freight cost depends on the route and the season rather than on the distance from our door. The nearest port question is worth asking first because it changes the landed cost more than any single machine option does. Air freight is available for a machine that cannot wait, and for consumables it is usually the only sensible option, since a pallet of media is worth more in transit than the media itself. The port, the Incoterm and the payment terms are all stated on the proforma invoice, so the landed cost can be compared like for like against another supplier.

Question 30

What is your packaging and shipping method?

Accepted Answer

Machines are shipped in wooden cases with the machine bolted to a pallet, and the standard packing includes the spare parts kit, the media and compound starter set, the tools and the manuals, with the cases marked for the sea route. Packing is chosen for the journey rather than for the price, because the damage that matters happens in transit rather than in the workshop. A machine bolted to a pallet inside a wooden case survives being lifted, stacked and rolled, and the case is marked with the lifting and storage marks the freight forwarder needs. It is also worth deciding early whether the machine will be crated in pieces or shipped assembled, because that depends on the door and the floor of the receiving room, and a machine that has to be dismantled on arrival costs more in labour than the freight saved. The media and the compound starter set travel in the same case so that the first trial can be run on arrival.

Question 31

Which certificates do you hold, and how do you ensure the quality of the machines you ship?

Accepted Answer

The machine range is type-examined to Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC by UDEM International Certification Centre against EN ISO 12100 and EN 60204-1, the quality management system is certified to GB/T 19001-2016 / ISO 9001:2015, and every machine is run with a charge of media before it ships. Each document carries its own number and date so it can be checked with the issuing body rather than taken on trust, and the numbers are on the certifications page of this site. The machinery certificates are the ones that matter for an import into the European Economic Area, and the quality certificate is the one a supplier audit usually asks for. On the machine itself, the check that catches the most is a loaded run rather than an empty one, because an unloaded machine can look perfect and still behave differently under a charge, and the inspection record travels with the machine so that a commissioning engineer can see what was tested. We are a factory rather than a trading company, so a visit before the order is welcome.

Question 32

Can you provide a sample finishing process before we order?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is the normal way to settle a specification: you send a few parts, we run them on the relevant media and compound, and you get the finish back with the cycle time and the consumption measured, which is worth more than any sample. A trial answers the questions a datasheet cannot: how much material has to come off, how long it takes, whether the part distorts, and how much media the batch consumes. It is also the cheapest way to find out that a vibratory bowl is wrong for the job, and it shortens the commissioning period afterwards because the process is already written down. What we need from you is a small number of representative parts including the worst case, the material, and the finish you need and the one you will accept. Trials take a few days of queue time rather than a few days of your project, and the result is usually a shorter quotation and fewer changes to the specification.

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