Deburring: Deburring is removing the small raised edges and slivers of material, called burrs, left on a part by machining, cutting or punching.
Cutting tools push material ahead of them, and where a cut breaks out through an edge it leaves a sharp burr. Burrs cut hands, stop parts fitting together and can break off inside an assembly. Deburring is done by hand with a scraper or file, in the machine with a chamfer tool, or in batches by tumbling, vibratory finishing or brushing. Sheet parts from a laser cutter or punch often go through a deburring machine.
What it means for the price
Deburring is mostly labour, and it is easy to underestimate. Parts with many intersecting holes and internal edges take longer, and edges deep inside features may need special tools. A drawing note such as “break all sharp edges” has a cost; a chamfer modelled in CAD can be cut by the machine instead of by hand.
Example: 5 minutes of hand deburring at €40 per hour adds €3.33 to each part. On a part that otherwise costs €15, that is over a fifth of the price. The figures are an example.
Common confusions
Deburring removes burrs; it is not a surface finish such as polishing or bead blasting, which change the surface roughness of whole faces. Both belong to post-processing. Read what drives CNC machining cost.
Go deeper: What drives CNC machining cost, and how estimators work it out