Media and compound cover most applications. Additives and special media cover the rest.
Additives
They are added to the bowl to reinforce one specific property. They come as liquids, pastes or powders.
The effects they strengthen:
- grinding — stronger attack, shorter cycle
- polishing — better gloss at the end
- degreasing — parts arriving with oil
- corrosion protection — parts waiting between operations
- flocculation — helps clarify water in a closed circuit
An additive does not replace the compound. It supplements it, for a specific requirement.
Special media
These are used for operations that are not grinding as such.
Burnishing and ball polishing — balls, satellites, pins. They do not remove material. They compact it. The surface comes out glossy and the surface layer work-hardens.
Drying and fine polishing — vegetable granulate, glass beads. Vegetable granulate absorbs moisture and leaves the part dry, without spots. Glass beads give a uniform matt finish.
Anti-nesting — mineral granulate. It stops flat parts from sticking together in the bowl. Without it, two flat parts stay face to face for the whole batch and the contact areas are never processed.
When they are worth it
The practical rule: start without additives. Introduce them when a concrete problem appears — parts rusting between operations, insufficient gloss, flat parts nesting.
An additive added “just in case” is a cost that solves nothing.
Related reading
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