Solutions Showcase
In-Machine Deburring of Jet Engine Components Case Study

Adopting in-machine deburring does not always mean that 100% of the part is deburred in the CNC machining center. While this objective is clearly desirable, an in-machine solution that removes 90% of the burrs can still offer significant financial advantages.

A company specializing in the production of large jet engine components recently learned first-hand that 90% of a good thing is better than 0% of nothing. The manufacturer produces a variety of large engine components including the intake ring pictured below. This ring is 4' in diameter and made of Inconel. As the close-up picture shows, some of the burrs on the part are quite large. Prior to adopting an in-machine deburring solution, the processing of this part included 8 hours of manual deburring.

    

The brush which was used in this application is shown below. It is a 4" heavy-duty Nylox wheel brush with 80 grit filaments. The brush was placed in the CNC machining center and run at 2000 RPM and a depth of interference of 0.100". A rotating part fixture moved the part under the brush at a rate of 35"/min.

    

After implementing this in-machine deburring solution, the amount of manual deburring was reduced from 8 hours per part to 40 minutes per part. At a shop rate of $50 per hour, this reduced the deburring cost by $370 per part. In addition, it increased the consistency of the process and eliminated potential workplace safety issues relating to MSD's (muscular skeletal disorders) like carpal tunnel syndrome.

The successful implementation of this in-machine deburring project was assisted by an initiative to control burr size through timely tool changes. When the cutting tools became excessively dull, the burr size grew significantly and the brushes could not remove them. Improved tool management addressed this issue.

Another factor which made in-machine deburring attractive in this case was the availability of machine time. In total, the brushing process took about 40 minutes. Since the immediate upstream process was not a bottleneck operation, it was possible to extend the cycle time without effecting throughput.

Although this solution did not totally eliminate the need for manual deburring, the user was able to realize considerable financial benefits automating most of its deburring operation. For more information on in-machine deburring with nylon abrasive brushes, call Weiler's Applications Engineering Department at 1-888-299-APPS (2777).