Guidelines for Successful Finishing

Raytech offers quality finishing media and compounds that are designed for optimal performance with our finishing products. We've included the guidelines below to help you to calculate the amount of each type of media you will need. For best results, always use the finishing media recommended for your product.

All of our Finishing Media and Compounds can be found here: Finishing Media and Compounds

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Basic Guidelines

1.  Acceptable media to part ratio is approximately 70% media to 30% parts.
2.  When running conventional medias that require a wet process, be sure to have the correct amount of water and compound. Too much water will hamper the vibratory action thus giving less than desired results, as well as long cycle times.
3.  The media and compound should just barely be wet with no standing water. It is recommended to use Raytech’s compound rinsing system to ensure proper dispensing of water and compound.

How much media do I use?
To determine media capacities, multiply the media density (found with each individual media below) by the cubic foot capacity of the tumbler (found in each individual tumbler listing). Examples are listed below. Note this is total media capacity only and actual media amounts will vary in direct proportion to the amount of parts being tumbled. (See Basic Guidelines section.)
Media Processing Characteristics by Shape
MediaMobiltyShape Contact AreaMedia Shape RetentionSurface RefinementProcess Time
1=long, 5= short
Total Versatility
V-Cut Cylinder4555524
Cylinder4245318
Cone5255320
Polyhedron4545523
Triangle3545521
Pyramid4535421
Porcelain Balls5155521
Media Application Characteristics By Material
MaterialCastFabricatedLight StampingSmall Machining
Stainless Steel & Ferrous MetalsA, B, DA, B, DA, B, C, DA, B, D
Non-FerrousA, B, C, DB, C, DB, C, DA, B, C, D
Composites or PlasticsCB, CB, CB, C
Examples
Media and ProductAmount of Media
Ceramic (90lbs/cu ft) in a TV-10 (.10 cu ft)90 x .10=9 pounds of media.
Porcelain Balls (125 lbs/cu ft) in an AV-40 (.35 cu ft)125 x .35 = 43.75 pounds of media.
Stainless Steel Balls (300 lbs/cu ft) in an AV-25SS(.22 cu ft). 300 x .22 = 66 pounds of media.
Ceramalite (65 lbs/cu ft) in a TV-5 (.05 cu ft)65 x .05 = 3.25 pounds of media.
Plastic (55 lbs/cu ft) in an AV-75 (.75 cu ft)55 x .75 = 41.25 pounds of media.
Plastic (55 lbs/cu ft) in an AV-18 (.18 cu ft)55 x .18 = 9.9lbs.
Dri-Shine III (30 lbs/cu ft) in a Dri-Polisher (.12 cu ft)30 x .12 = 3.6 pounds of media.