Ceramic Fiber Tools as Flexible Quality Enhancers in Metal Parts Manufacturing
Japan is renowned for its culture and razor-sharp, high-quality crafted samurai swords. When it comes to precision machining, Japan’s experts also deliver cutting-edge solutions.
Deburring & Polishing in One: Brushes Made of Ceramic Fibers
To achieve perfect surface machining results, Xebec has been offering specialized ceramic fiber brush systems for years, covering a wide range of applications, the company states. The outstanding properties of this high-performance ceramic provide many advantages that metal or nylon brushes cannot deliver. For example, ceramic fiber brushes, categorized by color with tailored abrasive performance, have the characteristic of repeatedly returning to their original shape after machining and maintaining absolute shape stability—something wire brushes are known not to do. Kempf GmbH, the exclusive distributor of Xebec tools in Germany, is happy to assist with expert advice and know-how to solve existing challenges.
Image: For deburring/polishing of lateral surfaces and edges after milling or drilling, for deburring/polishing fine threads, and for deburring/polishing bores starting at 50 mm diameter, the ceramic round brushes "Wheel Brush" are used.
High-Quality Machining with 80% Ceramic Content
The unique brushes from Xebec consist of multiple ceramic fiber rods, each bound from approximately a thousand ceramic fibers with diameters of only a few micrometers. The tips of each ceramic fiber act as cutting edges that are heat-resistant up to about 150 °C, self-sharpening, and therefore provide consistent abrasive performance.
The ceramic fiber rods are also flexible enough to perfectly conform to the workpiece surface without causing any geometric distortion. They ensure that the fibers polish and deburr the edges and surfaces of the workpiece with absolute uniformity. No secondary burr forms during machining, and the issue of adhesion caused by the so-called self-regeneration effect is eliminated.
Unlike other abrasive fiber brushes available on the market, Xebec fibers consist of 80% ceramic. This quality and the resulting unique properties lead to excellent deburring and polishing results, with users able to expect an almost perfect surface finish. For this reason, ceramic fiber brushes are already used worldwide wherever components require exceptional surface quality. They are especially popular in aerospace and automotive industries.
Manual or machine-driven, precise fine deburring
Xebec now leverages these outstanding material properties in another new development. With the newly introduced ceramic wheel-type brushes, lateral surfaces and edges can now also be polished and deburred. Another advantage of the new wheel-type brush is its universal applicability. Brushes and shafts are also available separately and interchangeable. For precise machining in both machine-driven and manual fine deburring, Xebec also offers a wide range of ceramic grinding pins, which essentially have the same properties as the brushes.
