Investigation of vibratory bowl finishing

Although vibratory finishing has been in commercial use for over 40 years, relatively little fundamental information is known about the process, and industrial practice remains largely based on empiricism and trial and error. An experimental investigation into the vibratory bowl finishing process was conducted using material removal rate and surface roughness as the dependent variables. Bowl performance can best be described in terms of acceleration and depends primarily on the feed weights used, while bowl loading has a relatively minor effect. Furthermore, small changes in bowl loading resulting from normal media wear can be neglected. Results showed that material removal rates were constant over time for aluminium, brass and steel and were sensitive to hardness and bowl acceleration. Surface roughness saturated after a fixed period and was primarily a function of material composition. Surface roughness did not appear to be sensitive to bowl acceleration.