11th Symposium Deburring Technologies and Precision Surfaces 2023 Report

Deburring, rounding of edges, systems and tools, process and quality control as well as component cleaning were just a few aspects that the 11th Deburring Technologies and Precision Surfaces symposium came up with - and showed that knowledge about deburring is in demand.

Solutions for all aspects of deburring and the production of precision surfaces were once again the topic of the trade conference with accompanying exhibition on April 26 and 27, 2023 in the Stadthalle Nürtingen. The event organized by the private trade show and congress organizer fairXperts GmbH & Co. KG has been regarded for years as the information platform on these topics in German-speaking countries. 81 participants took advantage of the opportunity to learn about current and innovative solutions as well as best-practice applications for the deburring and surface finishing production steps.

Experts from industry, science and research offered extensive knowledge on new developments, trends and benchmark solutions in a total of 17 presentations. In addition to the deburring and production of precision surfaces with a wide variety of systems and tools, the topics included the use of robots in surface processing, the reliable cleaning of surfaces and automated quality control. The question-and-answer sessions that followed each presentation, as well as the direct dialog with speakers and exhibitors during the breaks, enabled participants to delve deeper into topics and discuss individual tasks. This also resulted in interesting discussions and contacts for the exhibiting companies. These could later be deepened at a joint evening for participants.

Christopher Krebs, research associate at Darmstadt Technical University (PTW), once again chaired the conference competently and confidently. The first block of lectures on Wednesday morning focused on the topic of deburring using special equipment. Speakers from industry and Fraunhofer IPK presented their solutions and processes for industrial deburring of a wide variety of materials and workpieces. These included vibratory grinding, thermal deburring, ultrasound, flow grinding and a special ball deburring and cleaning process.

The afternoon was then dedicated to mechanical deburring with tools as well as process-safe cleaning of surfaces and removal of burr residues. Here, various tool manufacturers presented solutions for deburring and rounding edges, for example, or the combination of drilling and deburring. Process-safe surface cleaning also plays a major role in deburring, as demonstrated by two presentations on the various cleaning processes, including their advantages and disadvantages, and on snow-jet technology.

During the breaks, the participants had the opportunity to visit the accompanying trade exhibition and to talk directly with the exhibiting companies. As a media partner, Surface Technology Online was again represented on site with a booth.

Thursday, the second day of the event, featured presentations on automated surface quality inspection. After an introduction to quality assurance in deburring by presenter Christopher Krebs, participants were able to learn about mobile surface inspection using AI as well as digital holography and imaging coordinate measuring technology. Three other presentations dealt with automated deburring and surface processing, including practical examples demonstrating automation with industrial robots.

The symposium was given an overall grade of 1.6 by the participants. The analysis showed that the program fully met the expectations of the auditorium, as reflected by comments such as "Interesting topics, good speakers, the exchange and discussions during the breaks were also super" or "An all-round very good, informative event with good organization and a pleasant atmosphere". (OM-05/23)