A second stream finishing machine featuring Germany-based OTEC Präzisions-finish’s patented pulse drive technology ‘Pulsfinish’ has been installed at Lancashire-based Fintek (
www.fintek.co.uk), a precision component surface-finishing specialist.
The new machine follows on from the delivery of a new generation OTEC stream-finishing machine in July.
Fintek operations manager Jamie Phillips said: “The difference ‘Pulsfinish’ makes to mass finishing is substantial; it produces rapid relative motion between the media and workpiece by quickly changing the direction of rotation of the work-holding heads in a programmed and controlled way.
"High-speed acceleration and deceleration increases the finishing forces exerted on the workpiece making it possible to accurately and evenly deburr round and smooth surfaces in the range Rpk 0.2µm to 0.1µm in under 1min.”
He added: “The pulse finishing equipped SF machine is ideal for meeting the needs of manufacturers in aerospace, high-level motor-sport, automotive, medical device and tool making.”
Another important sector where ‘Pulsfinish’ is set to make a difference is the mass finishing of additively-manufactured components.
Fintek recently used the system as part of an Innovate UK-sponsored research project that brought together a team of experts, under the leadership of Croft Additive Manufacturing, that also included members from Liverpool John Moores University, the Manufacturing Technology Centre and Fintek.
In addition to Fintek’s sub-contract services, the company is also the UK agent for OTEC Präzisionsfinish’s range
of centrifugal disc, drag and stream finishing systems.
The portfolio ranges from stand-alone units to fully automated systems for inline production; it also includes process media and consumables.