Abrasive blasting

All technologies keeps evolving and so is abrasive blasting. Each year there are many new thingsbecause of abrasive technology that can help you with sandblasting. Abrasive blasting is getting new items like new guns, nozzles, new media for blasting and many other things, all mainly because abrasive technology. Engineers also keep making existing sandblasting equipment better and less fragile. There are new technologies regarding materials used in sandblasting which are implements into existing equipments.

Nuzzles therefore last a lot longer, media can be used for specific sandblasting jobs you want to do, new media is being introduced and sandblasting is becoming easier to do. Apart sandblasting becoming easier there is also one other major benefit from new abrasive technology. When we are sandblasting something we can do it more detailed and sandblast effect is a lot more accurate to what we want it to become.

Abrasives have been used ever since humans learned that they could alter the surface of a material by rubbing something against it. That something is the abrasive and can be anything from coarse stones to fine sand. In abrasive blasting, the abrasive is actually propelled toward the subject surface, which has opened a whole new venue – sandblasting. Sandblasting abrasives or media typically range from dust (mineral sandblasting abrasives typically are silica sand and such) to water (ice, water also are used for abrasive blasting).

The type quality of sandblasting abrasives determines how the blasting affects the target material. The shape of beads can greatly alter the quality or even function of blasting; spherically shaped beads are ideal for surface hardening, while edged beads are ideal for contaminant removal. Using one for other purpose can result in undesired outcome, such as irreversibly damaging the underlying material. That is why you should always choose quality sandblasting abrasives; not only for the quality of blasting, you also avoid ruining the product by damaging it with wrong or poor-quality media.

Abrasive blasting cabinet is a closed abrasive blasting system which helds the parts in the interior of the blasting cabient durning the proces of blasting. The abrasive blasting cabinet reduces the cost of the whole proces because you dont need protective gear and none of the abrasive blasting parts does not escape into the air. Abrasive blasting cabinet is very useful at blasting with dangerous materials that can harm your health and contamine the air. You simply put the part you want to blast in the abrasive blasting cabinet and you can control the whole proces of abrasive blasting from the inside of the blasting cabinet without of the touch of the interior of the abrasive blasting cabibnet.

Last week we’ve discussed abrasive blasting equipment. Part of the equipment is abrasive blasting media, which has different effects based on the choice of media. Mineral media includes silica sand, which is the most commonly used type of mineral abrasive, however it is also one of the most hazardrous to health (lung disease). Garnet dust, another mineral media, is more expensive than silica sand, however it poses no health hazard. It is worth noting that in some countries (Germany, Portugal) silica sand blasting is banned.

Agricultural media is abrasive blasting media that typically uses crushed nut shells or such and is used primarily to avoid damaging the underlying surface. Uses see cleaning circuit boards prior to repairs, removal of graffiti, cleaning of bricks etc.; all those are sensitive materials and soft media is necessary. Much like agricultural media, synthetic media is “soft” abrasive blasting media used to avoid damage to underlying material. Synthetic media includes dry ice, which is very cost effective, soda (sodium bicarbonate), corn or wheat starch, abrasives created as process byproducts, engineered abrasives and recycled products. Finally we have metallic abrasive media such as steel, copper, zinc, aluminum shots and cut wire. These can give off sparks during abrasive blasting. Study each type of abrasive blasting media and choose the one that best suits your needs and circumstances.

What is abrasive blasting equipment? First, to understand the bigger picture, let us look at the definition of abrasive blasting. Abrasive blasting is the process of forced propelling of abrasive materials at target surface in order to shape the surface or remove contaminants (dirt, rust). In this process, abrasive media is used, such as silica sand, glass beads, even water and dry ice are used, all with different effects on the surface.

Now that we understand the definition, we can expand that abrasive blasting equipment is the equipment that contains and propels the media as well as any protective equipment, since in most cases we are dealing with dust that can damage lungs. Thus abrasive blasting equipment in most cases contains: propelling device, such as wheel (using centrifuge to propel the abrasive media) or compressor (using the compressed air to propel media). Then there is blasting pistol, which contains nozzles; due to the wear, the blasting pistol has to be replaced regularly. Finally, there is protective equipment, such as suit, mask, helmet and gloves, especially for work with bead or sandblasting media. Water and dry ice do not contaminate the air, so the mask is not necessary, however direct contact with stream can cause injuries. Quality abrasive blasting equipment can greatly improve your productivity and safety. You can find the best offers for quality abrasive blasting equipment on our site, so keep an eye out!