Methods and apparatus for finishing articles
AssigneeRolls-Royce (1971) Limited
InventorsAbdou Hanna Meleka, Herbert Hilary Hall Watson, Eric Stanley Hotston
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Abstract
The disclosure of this invention pertains to the method of removing burrs from an electrically conductive article by exposing the article to a plasma flame wherein the parameters of the plasma are so chosen that the plasma becomes concentrated at the burrs and the consequent concentration of heat in the burrs causes the burrs to vaporize or otherwise diminish. The disclosure also pertains to apparatus for supporting the article and moving relative to the flame for a deburring operation.
Claims10
A method of removing a burr from an electrically conductive article with a plasma generator comprising the steps of energizing a gas into a plasma at a temperature between 5000.degree. K. and 50,000.degree. K. with the plasma generator, controlling the rate of gas flow through the plasma generator to limit the jet momentum to a value allowing selective destruction of the burrs, exposing the article to the plasma substantially to avoid arcing between the article and the plasma generator and allowing the recombination of ions present within the plasma at the burr whereby the temperature of the burr is elevated relative to the body of the article and utilizing means capable of exothermic reaction with the burr at the said elevated temperature.
Apparatus for deburring an electrically conductive article, comprising means for generating a plasma, means for supporting the article to be deburred and for exposing the article to said plasma, means for controlling the temperature of the plasma to lie in the range 5000.degree. -50,000.degree. K. and valve means for controlling the gas flow rate through the plasma generator to a value at which the plasma selectively destroys burrs on the article and wherein there is provided means capable of exothermic reaction with the burrs at the elevated temperature of the burrs relative to the article achieved by recombination of ions at the burrs.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.