Steel tumbling media is an extremely effective solution for a variety of materials and applications. It is manufactured in a varied selection of shapes, sizes and alloys to meet a wide range of needs.
Shapes
Balls
Ball media manufactured to ABMA standards delivers high polished services free from visual defects or irregularities.
Balcones
Balcones offer aggressive angles while maintaining contact consistently close to rounds and offering the burnishing action of cones. Balcones deliver excellent piece uniformity and highly polished surfaces.
Ovalballs
Ovalballs offer even more surface to surface contact than balls. They perform best in vibratory and tumbling processes where the oscillating motion helps impart a scratch and dimple free surface.
Diagonals
Diagonals are well suited for finishing objects with hard to reach spaces or odd shapes.
Forged Steel Balls
Forged steel balls are used in heavy grinding, these balls offer extreme ruggedness and maximum longevity to ensure consistent cost efficiency.
Stainless or Carbon Steel?
Stainless steel balls are divided into three big families:
- Austenitic grades (stainless steel balls) are commonly in use for stainless steel application and are widely known as 300 series. They are the most corrosion resistant of the stainless steel grades. They are recommended when there is a food contact. They have a good resistance to water, oil, steam, alcohol, organic chemicals, oxidant solutions and a relative resistance to sulphuric acid compounds. They are not or lightly Ferro-magnetic. They are not hardened.
- Martensitic grades (stainless steel balls) are corrosion resistant and have higher hardness. These grades are Ferro-magnetic. They can be used in water, oil, steam, alcohol. They are mainly used where hardness, strength and wear resistance are required.
- Ferritic grades resist to corrosion and oxidation, and are resistant to stress corrosion cracking. These steels are Ferro-magnetic but cannot be hardened or strengthened by heat treatment. They are more corrosive resistant than the Martensitic grades, but inferior to the austenitic grades.
Carbon steel balls come in two main varieties:
- Low carbon steel balls also called case hardened carbon provide substantial savings for applications where moderate loads and low speed are requested. Typical applications include: bearings, castors, conveyors, bicycles…
- High carbon steel balls is through hardened and can be used for higher loads. It is a good alternative to chrome balls.