As is well known, in the vibration technique, the following are used plastic abrasives and ceramics that, inside a vibrating tank, acquire a free movement that gives them the necessary energy to impact against the parts to be polished and, by means of friction, remove the excess material from the surface of the parts to be polished.
Traditionally, the process requires the presence of water and, in most cases, chemical compounds are also necessary, which, formulated differently, can facilitate the work, obtaining the following advantages:
– They lubricate the contact between the abrasives and the parts to be treated;
– They unify its movement inside the vibrating tank;
– They keep the working mixture clean;
– They prevent the formation of mud during treatment;
– They prevent the repositioning of metal parts on the surface of the parts to be treated;
– They increase the aggressiveness of the abrasives;
– They make it easier to obtain shiny surfaces;
The disadvantage of wet vibration treatment is the formation of muddy residues which, together with the chemical compounds, require complex and costly treatments in order to be removed by appropriate dewatering systems. The residues formed during vibration processes may contain:
– plastic resin;
– vetrified argilla;
– oily suspensions;
– aqueous suspensions of abrasive particles;
– metallic powder;
– abrasive dust dispersed in the residual sludge.
The result is that in some cases, the treatment of the muddy residues from the vibration processes is more complex and costly than the finishing treatment of the parts themselves.
It is known throughout the world that the use of water for industrial purposes is, and will always be, increasingly problematic. In order to meet environmental requirements, International Chips S.r.l., in collaboration with CONIEX, S.A., after 6 years of R&D, has developed the ECOS line of products. after 6 years of R&D&I, have developed the ECOS product line, a line of abrasives for DRY vibration treatment.
ECOS abrasives allow to obtain perfectly polished surfaces without the use of water or any other liquid, thus reducing the environmental impact and the relative working costs. The use of ECOS abrasives does not always require a new installation, but it is sufficient to equip the existing vibro with a lid and a vacuum cleaner specially designed to collect the dust generated during the process.
This system allows the effective polishing, finishing and deburring of any type of material, metallic and non-metallic, and in particular, all metals that oxidize easily with water, such as iron, steel and zinc alloys, as well as brass and aluminum.
Traditional abrasives for wet processes contain polyester and/or ureic resins, whose formulation requires 30% to 60% resin to guarantee the strength of the abrasives themselves, which means that the crystals of the abrasive powder present are completely covered with resin, thus losing part of their effectiveness.
The polymer used in the production of ECOS abrasives is not plastic in nature, has high mechanical characteristics and ensures perfect cohesion between the abrasive powder and the resin itself, which guarantees direct contact of the abrasive crystals with the surface of the parts to be treated. This is the reason for a higher aggressiveness and, therefore, a decrease in working hours compared to the wet process.
ECOS abrasives are available in different shapes such as conical, parabolic, drop, cylindrical, etc. and in various sizes from 12 to 60 mm.
There are also different types of grades depending on the required applications such as deburring, polishing and, in general, finishing of all types.
The elastic properties of the resin present in ECOS abrasives make it possible to obtain:
– finished with a better roughness;
– higher efficiency of the vibro as it allows an increase in the number of parts per cycle;
– higher cutting efficiency and consequently shorter working cycles.
In addition, dry processes are used to obtain:
– perfectly dry parts and, in the case of steel parts, ready for storage without the need for passivation;
– total absence of mud;
– the dust generated during the process is 10 times less than the amount of sludge produced during the wet vibration process;
– reduction of polishing costs from 30% to 150%, depending on the parts treated;
– drastic reduction of abrasive consumption compared to the wet process;
– reduction of waste disposal costs.
While the removal of the sludge formed during the wet process requires special treatment, ECOS abrasives are manufactured with raw materials that convert the dust generated during the working process into a non-hazardous substance and therefore do not require any type of preventive treatment for its removal.
CONIEX, S.A. is in charge of the exclusive distribution of ECOS abrasives within the Spanish and Portuguese market, and the Technical Department is at your disposal to carry out the necessary laboratory tests at its facilities in Palau-Solità i Plegamans, Barcelona.
