What is Deburring, and How Does it Improve Your Metal Parts?

Deburring is an easily overlooked step that can greatly impact the finished part quality. Its importance ranges from being a good practice to an essential step depending on how the deburred parts will be used.

The Importance of Deburring

Deburring is sometimes viewed as an unnecessary extra step, not worth the time or effort for a “marginal” improvement in quality. But there are a few really good reasons for taking the time to deburr your parts.

1. Safety – Anyone handling the part, from materials handlers and shippers to installers and end-users, could be exposed to sharp edges.
2. Alignment and Uneven Stress Distribution – If the part belongs to an assembly or infrastructure project, burrs can prevent easy alignment of mating parts down the road. And in cases where external forces would be applied over the surface area around the burr, the burr can concentrate stresses to a localized area, increasing the chances of early equipment failure.
3. Performance – In pressurized components, like hydraulics, burrs can prevent a proper seal, causing leaks that prevent the assembly from holding pressure. They can also increase friction between components, which can increase the resistance in a moving assembly like a performance car.
4. Is undoubtedly important, but it isn’t a “do it or skip it” kind of operation. Spending more time or using a different method can create very different results, ranging from just removing large burrs to polishing on a microscopic level.

Choosing the Best Deburring Process

As we mentioned at the start, deburring is a quality step, but the best deburring option for your part isn’t always the one that creates the finest surface finish. For example, cheap hinges, latches, and other fittings sold in bins at hardware stores may only need to be quickly brushed under wheels or rollers to remove unsafe edges.

On the other hand, parts with stringent quality requirements, like medical devices and aerospace parts, will need more meticulous and precise deburring matched with the needs of the part. They may even need multiple different deburring operations to achieve a result that meets design specifications.

Shenzhen Xinsheng Precision Hardware Machinery CO., LTD can leverage a variety of debarring tools and methods to achieve a finished quality that meets or exceeds your expectations, all at an affordable cost. Check out our expert CNC machining services to see all that it has to offer.