Purchasing new factory equipment is exciting. It provides you a way to improve your lines efficiency and help to lower the costs of producing your items. But it is important not to get swept up in the excitement. If you want to find the best equipment for your factory, you need to be sure to do your research.
While tumblers may seem like simple machines, there is a great deal of variety between the different types used. Choosing the right tumbler, then, is a matter of finding the equipment that best suits your individual needs.
In this guide, we will highlight some important points of consideration that will assist you when narrowing down your selections.
- What Type of Tumbling Do You Need?: The type of tumbling you need to perform will have a big effect on the type of equipment you need. For instance, depending on the item you are tumbling, you may need to choose between two different types of tumbler — dry tumbling, for instance, is typically kept between 28 and 32 RPM, where as wet tumbling tend to be higher. Therefore, if you only need to dry tumble your product, you will be able to make do with a less powerful tumbler than if you need to perform some wet tumbling.
- How Big is the Barrel?: While this might seem obvious, you would be surprised how often people take into account the size of their products when purchasing a tumbler. There are a number of different sizes of tumbling drums available, and which size you choose will have a large impact on your efficiency.
Remember, typically only 1/3 of the total barrel load is used for your product, meaning the smaller the barrel, the more often you will have to run it. That’s good for delicate or fragile items, but if you are mass processing something like stones, you might want to opt for a larger barrel to increase the amount of product per tumbling session. - How Durable is the Tumbling Drum?: When you are looking for the right tumbler, you should keep in mind that wear and tear will occur. You want to make sure that the tumbling drum your choose is strong enough to withstand the type of product you make, but also light enough not to burden the motor.
This can be a fine balance, especially if you have larger, more dense material like rocks or steel. Still, finding a happy medium is possible, especially if you take the time to speak to a representative from the machine manufacturer.
New equipment is a good thing, it means your business is moving towards a more effective and productive state. That is why you should take care not to impede that growth by purchasing equipment that is ill fitted to your individual businesses needs.
Keeping these three considerations in mind can go a long way to help you find the perfect tumbler for your operation and help move your business forward.
