PART III

1.6 Surface Finishing Processes

These processes should not be misunderstood as metal removing processes in any case as they
are primarily intended to provide a good surface finish or a decorative and/or protective coating
on to the metal surface, although a very negligible amount of metal removal or addition may take
place. Thus, any appreciable variation in dimensions will not be affected by these processes. The
common processes employed for obtaining desired surface finish are the following:
1. Buffing: it is the process used to shine metal, wood or composites using a clot wheel filled
with cotton powder or ridges.
2. Polishing: it is the using of abrasive materials like sand paper to furnish the work surface of a
piece.
3. Lapping: it is a process in which two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive between
them by hand movement or using a machine.
4. Belt grinding: it is a finishing process used in industries. A belt coated in abrasive material is
run on the surface to be coated in other to remove material and produce the desire finish.
5. Metal spraying: it is the spraying of nonmetallic material on a metallic material.
6. Painting: it gives components exceptional wears and corrosion resistance and a good surface
finish by using brushes.

1.6.1 Finishing Tools used in Fitting Workshop

They are used to remove the material from the surface of the workpiece in order to get a high
surface finish. The Finishing tools are also called as Files.
Files are multi-point cutting tools. They are used to remove the material by rubbing on the
metals(workpieces) to get a good surface finish.
Files are available in a number of sizes, shapes, and degree of coarseness.
The various types of Files are as follows as discussed in section 1.4.3.
 Flat file
 Square file
 Triangular file
 Round file
  Half round file
 Swiss or Needle file

1.7 Safe Work Practices in Fitting:

 Wear leather shoes and not sandals.
 Do not touch any Electrical appliance.
 Don’t wear loose clothes in the workshop.
 Clean the unwanted material from the workbench before starting the operation.

1.8. Power tools in fitting workshop

The tools which are driven by means of Power (Electric current) are called as Power tools. In this
article, I will be listing out 4 Power tools used in the Fitting workshop.
 Power Hacksaw
 Circular Saw
 Grinding Machine
 Drilling Machine

1.8.1 Power Hacksaw:

 A power hacksaw is a type of hacksaw that is powered by its own electric motor (also
known as an electric hacksaw).
 Most power hacksaws are stationary machines but some portable models are also in
existence.
 A Power Hacksaw is used to cut the metal at required shape and size by means of a
hacksaw which is driven by means of Electric motor.
 The construction and working of Power Hacksaw were presented below. Fig 30.
 The forward stroke is the cutting stroke and the backward stroke is the idle stroke. In the
backward stroke, the chips are removed from the workpiece.
 The workpiece is fixed between the two ends of the machine vice.
The Power Hacksaw consists of the following parts (see Fig. 19)
 1. A Vertical column with Gears and Power buttons.
2. Hacksaw
3. Coolant
4. Base
5. Machine Vice
6. Foot/Emergency Switch

Fig. 30: Power Hacksaw

1.8.2 Circular Saw:

The circular saw is most commonly used for cutting wood, which may be used less optimally for
cutting other materials with the exchange of specific blades.
Basically, all circular saws consist of a motor with a circular blade fitted on a spindle. It can be
carried from one place to another place for performing the operations.

1.8.3 Grinding Machine:

Grinding Machine is used to remove the material having low surface finish from the surface of a
workpiece by means of a Grinding wheel.
It is also called an abrasive machining process where abrasives are placed on the surface and
corners of the grinding wheel so as to do the finishing process with much more accuracy.
Each Abrasive particle acts as a single point cutting tool whereas the grinding wheel, with full of
abrasives called a multi-point cutting tool.
 Fig. 31: Surface grinding machine

The advantages of Surface Grinding Machine are as follows.

 A high surface finish can be produced.
 The surface grinding machine can produce a smooth surface on metallic and non-metallic
surfaces also.
 High productivity
 No skilled operator is required.
 Manual and Automatic operations can be performed on it.
 The work can be easily performed on this machine.

The disadvantages of Surface Grinding Machine are as follows.

 No grinding in the reverse direction.
 The grinding wheel is constantly degrading and requires much spindle power.

The applications of Surface Grinding Machine are as follows.

 It is useful for the grinding of various tools and cutters.
 It is used to finish flat surfaces and cylindrical surfaces.
 Abrasive milling can be performed on the workpieces.
 It is used in various industries and institutions.
1.8.4 Drilling Machine:
Drilling Machine is used to drill holes on the components.

Fig. 32: Drilling machine

The parts of Drilling Machine are as follows.

 Base
 Vertical Column
 Swivel Table
 Power Transmission system (Stepped Cone Pulley)
 Drill Feed Handle (Hand Wheel)
 Chuck
 Table Clamp
 Drill bit
 Spindle