Technically speaking

SummaryChanges in American manufacturing are generating a renewed interest in barrel finishing. Most mass finishing processes were originally developed to produce edge and surface conditioning on large numbers of small or modestly sized parts in bulk. Much of this type of work has been outsourced to overseas locations.Many American manufacturers are now challenged with finding economical methods for deburring and finishing smaller numbers of much larger specialty components. The unique processing characteristics of barrels lend themselves to processing many of these unique, larger, and more complex components. Some of the larger components can be processed in barrel components overfilled with media to cushion the component. In some applications the component might be fixtured. In one application I have observed, one aircraft engine company utilized barrel finish technology to process aircraft engine blisks. These large, heavy components in which the disk and blade foils are machined as an integrated component required substantial surface improvement to blend the machined surface of the foil area. A split barrel (one in which the barrel is hinged to accommodate large part loading) and fixture was used to process this complex part configuration. This is an interesting mixture of the medieval and the modern-but one that works.