25 Jan Types and Applications
A Comprehensive Guide to Metal Finishes: Types and Applications
There are myriad methods and techniques when it comes to metal finishes, all of which have the ultimate goal of preparing metal to perform better and last longer in its final application — whatever that may be.
Eaglemaster has been in the metal surface finishing business for more than 30 years, providing high-quality work and utilizing our hard-earned expertise for clients across a wide range of industries. This guide will walk through the basics of metal finishing, including techniques and types of finishes, as well as the services we offer.
Understanding the Basics of Metal Finishing
Metal finishing is used to alter metal components in order to prepare them and improve overall performance while being used in their eventual application. Often, we will use specific metal finishing techniques to increase durability, improve strength, completely clean a part’s surface, increase adhesion or prep the part for additional work. In many cases, we use methods that achieve many of these outcomes at once.
In general, we work with carbon steel, stainless steel, brass and aluminum. Although other metals (and even some plastics) can be finished, these are the most common metals we see.
Types of Metal Surface Finishes Offered by Eaglemaster
We provide a variety of top-quality, highly efficient metal finishing services that are used for components that end up in a huge variety of industries. Some of our most used services include shot blasting, abrasive blasting, vibratory/tumble deburring, shot peening, mechanical polishing and centrifugal barrel finishing.
Shot Blasting
During the shot blasting finishing process, round media, usually made of carbon or stainless steel, is propelled against a metal surface. Shot blasting is a fast, economical way of cleaning parts for immediate use or further manufacturing and results in a uniform particulate finish. The speed and effectiveness of shot blasting makes it a great finishing process for components that will end up in almost any industry, including medical and automotive.
Abrasive Blasting
The main difference between abrasive blasting and shot blasting is the type of media used. Instead of rounded shot, abrasive blasting uses angular media to blast the surface of metal. In addition to cleaning the surface — like shot — the angular media scores the metal, making it more adhesive for later painting, as well as receptive to plating, anodizing or coating. While we only handle the blasting, we often work hand in hand with companies that provide these later services to produce parts for industries like aerospace and OEM manufacturing.
Vibratory/Tumble Deburring
Instead of propelling media at the surface of parts, vibratory finishing uses a tumbling machine that rubs media against the parts to smooth and polish them. This process results in both an attractive polished finish and the removal of unsafe sharp edges and burrs, making it a vital process for products in the food service and technology industries.
Shot Peening
During the shot peening process, spherical shot is propelled against the surface of the metal, resulting in a finish with many, many small dimples. Because the metal naturally tries to restore itself to its original shape, the dimpled area is highly stressed in compression, improving the metal’s overall fatigue strength and lifespan. These properties are critical in things like automobile components, agricultural equipment and aerospace parts.
Mechanical Polishing
Mechanical polishing is a multi-step process that begins with a mass finishing method, such as tumble finishing, to smooth the parts before they move on to a polishing stage that brightens and shines each component. This results in a reflective finish with a smoothness that allows for less friction in components, leading to less wear and tear and longer fatigue life. Some of the most common applications for mechanical polishing include uses within the jewelry, hardware parts and medical component industries.
Centrifugal Barrel Finishing
This technique of metal finishing is ideal for deburring and polishing parts in much less time than more traditional tumble finishing methods. Centrifugal barrel finishing is often used for high-value parts that need a highly cosmetic appearance while maintaining low micro-finish requirements. The combination of high energy and precision allows us to take on precise finishing projects that could not be completed with our normal processes.
Applications and Industry Uses
We’ve had the opportunity to use our metal surface finishing services for components that span a large number of industries. Some of the highlights include:
Aerospace
The aerospace industry is highly technical and heavily regulated, with many of the parts involved needing multiple processes during manufacturing. We’ve shot peened springs for better fatigue life, blasted helicopter landing gear in preparation for plating and prepared different surfaces for various finishes, all while adhering to the highest quality standards required in the aerospace industry.
Architecture and Construction
High-quality construction requires high-quality equipment, down to the finest detail. Our tumble and vibratory deburring processes are excellent at cleaning slag off of steel components and removing both burrs and sharp edges to ensure the construction equipment made from these components meet safety and industry standards.
Consumer Electronics
Few industries require more precision than electronics. We use various metal finishing techniques for components in the electronics industry, including surface preparation and highly precise blasting and shot peening. These methods can be used to make a uniform surface, create a number of desired appearances or prepare parts for later plating or coating.
Medical
In the medical field, every tool and component must be clean, reliable and high quality, which is why we are often brought in to provide metal finishing services for many medical applications. Our blast finishing techniques are great for cleaning the surfaces of metal components, while mechanical finishing produces excellent surface finishes.
“Eaglemaster is one of the finest examples of what customer service should be, they have always gone the proverbial extra mile to help with our deburring needs.” Wrico Stamping – Ron K.
“Ryerson needed a dependable supplier to support our ongoing surface preparation needs with flexible lead times, Eaglemaster gets it done for us. Our experience with Eaglemaster has always been and still is excellent. Their reliability is one of the primary reasons we do business with them. I would absolutely recommend the service of Ealgemaster to anyone looking for surface preparation work” Ryerson Inc. – Jeff P.
The Eaglemaster Advantage
When it comes to choosing a company for your metal surface finishing needs, there is nowhere better than Eaglemaster. We use the latest available technologies in combination with experience, expertise, and excellent customer service to set ourselves apart in the metal finishing industry.
When you’re in need of metal finishing services, don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation or more information. We would be happy to guide you through choosing the best finishing process for your parts and beginning your next project.