Deburring Tool

A deburring tool is used to remove excess edge material, or burrs, from the raw version of a product. This process creates a finished object from a rough cut so it can work as intended. It also significantly adds to the safety of the finished object, since it removes jagged edges that could cut someone or catch and pull fabric, including clothing. Deburring is a vital process for manufacturing many different goods made from a host of different materials. Use cases include:

• Finishing the edges of raw-cut sheet metal
• Trimming the edges of mold-injected plastic
• Removing excess strings of polymer left on a 3D-printed object
• Smoothing the edges of machine components so they’ll fit together properly once assembled

This finishing process is extremely common in industrial manufacturing, but also has its place in hobbies such as model making and at-home 3D printing. While manufacturers often have deburring machines for finishing standardized products, working on a custom piece with detailed finishing requirements calls for hand deburring tools. Deburring by hand offers the most control over the finished product and is therefore the choice of craftspeople or manufacturers for whom quality control is a priority.

Deburring tools all do the same thing, whether they’re automated or handheld, and regardless of which method is used (thermal deburring, tumbling, vibrating, grinding, or filing). They remove unwanted material from an object, specifically at its edges, in order to create a smooth finish. Typically, the removal happens by creating friction in order to chip or sand off burrs. For very small objects, it’s often enough to tumble or vibrate them in a machine, sometimes with the aid of a wet or gritty medium.

The tool offered by Slice is designed as a hand tool for a more custom approach. Like many other deburring devices, it relies on friction. The user essentially scrapes away at a rough edge, removing burrs and smoothing the finish. While sanding, which is a similar process, removes excess material on a flat plane, handheld tools for deburring allow a great deal of precision and maneuverability.

A ceramic deburring tool differs from a traditional one because it uses a ceramic material for the blade. This won’t be the kind of ceramic you find in your dish cupboard, though. Advanced ceramics are engineered to be extremely hard. Depending on the composition of the ceramic, it can be much harder than steel and therefore offer a great advantage when deburring metal. In addition, ceramic is chemically inert and thus is easy to clean and will never rust.

Slice uses only 100 percent zirconium oxide, an extremely hard advanced ceramic material with no impurities to weaken its structure. This blade is housed in a sturdy but lightweight glass-filled nylon handle with a slim profile that allows maneuverability for awkward angles. Because our blades are so hard, you’ll be replacing them less often than you would a metal blade, but when you do replace an old blade, no extra tools are required. Slice makes two different blade styles: convex and concave. Each shape offers different angles and with extra blade storage in the 10482’s handle, it’s easy to carry both styles to switch quickly in the middle of a job. The Slice tool also comes with a safety cap that conveniently fits on the end of the handle so it won’t get lost while you’re working.

To change the blade in the 10482, first remove the safety cap. On the back of the handle, you’ll find an orange button. Press this button down while at the same time pulling the orange end away from the grey handle sheath. Slide the sheath off the orange interior piece. The blade is held securely by the orange interior piece but can be removed easily by pulling it out of its housing. Then simply push the new blade into the housing. Slide the grey sheath back over the housing so that the orange button clicks into place and you’re ready to go. Spare blades snap in tightly to the rectangular indentation in the middle of the orange casing piece. As with all Slice items, the 10482 Deburring Tool is a well-designed, well-crafted addition to your toolkit.