5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Blasting Glass Beads？

Updated January : Almost all of our blast cabinets are able to use glass bead abrasive media. Most operators and manufacturers know when to use glass beads and why. We’re sharing some tips that we’ve picked up over the last 50+ years in this industry remember Media Blast  manufactures more than 180 machine models.

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5 Reasons to Use Glass Beads in Blast Cabinets

1. Recycle Rate. The harder the blasting abrasive the more times you get to use the abrasive, normally. This is known as the Recycle Rate and normally you can find the different harnesses on the Mohs Scale for Mineral Hardness. You can easily access a list but understand we are normally talking about minerals and this scale measures hardness from the softest (Talc) to the hardest (Diamonds).
2. The round shape of glass beads makes them stronger than glass typically ranks on Mohs Scale of hardness. Let us explain: Glass beads normally bounce off steel parts using 80 psi siphon delivery and 40 psi direct pressure delivery. Other abrasives with a similar ranking on Mohs Scale shatter the first time they hit a steel part at the same speed. This turns the machine area into a huge mess while overloading the dust collector.

ProTip: Garnet, slag abrasive, and glass beads all rate about 6.0 on the Mohs Scale. Garnet and slag are not recommended for blasting cabinets; yet glass beads are one of the most used recycle abrasives. Why? The secret is in the shape, ROUND!

3. Abrasive glass beads are fairly cheap considering they can often be recycled twenty to thirty times when used properly. Some operators might think it’s a good idea to turn up the air pressure to increase abrasive blasting pressure and cut processing time. Unfortunately, increasing abrasive blasting pressure can cause the glass beads to break apart. This reduces the recycle rate and increases the cost of the abrasive but more importantly it can overload a dust collector.

ProTip: If you are buying an inexpensive abrasive like slags that recycle very few times, it’s good to reference that glass beads recycle 20 to 30 times. So you may actually be paying more for slags which create a huge mess when they quickly plug up any dust collector.

4. Cabinet Visibility. Blasting glass beads, unlike dark, cutting abrasive, impact and spin against parts. They remove nothing from the surface and make a small, moon crater with the displaced material around the hole. This is called a physical part surface change and is technically making the part larger if you only measure the peaks of the surface. Chemically changed surfaces occur when the part surface is changed into something else. The sealed surface collects more light, similar to a mirror telescope, and makes the part brighter in color. This improves visibility inside the cabinet. Glass Beads are the same product used in the painted lines on roadways. Glass beads cause the lines to glow when your headlights hit them.
5. Peening and Part Strengthening. Peening makes a part stronger by eliminating surface scratches. When surfaces have flaws created by cutting threads, machine marks or something else, the integrity of the part surface is compromised. Shot Peening parts, normally done using round steel shot and direct pressure delivery, removes the deepest irregularities from the part surface. Softer parts like aluminum can be strengthened using glass beads and shot peening. Peening degree (intensity) has different scales based on how strong you want the part to become.

ProTip: Larger beads do not withstand the same pressure as smaller beads. Normally you need to reduce the pressure about 15% when blasting a stainless steel part, and even more when blasting super metals. The abrasive delivery method should also be accounted for because siphon and direct pressure have very different maximum impact velocities.

To Sum Up Using Glass Bead Abrasive Media

Blasting glass beads are a great choice for most abrasive blast cabinets because they recycle when used appropriately, maintain the integrity of most parts they contact, and improve visibility. Many of our abrasive blast cabinets are designed to use glass beads, check out our extensive line of machine models today.

Glass bead is one of a variety of medias that you can blast with. Like any blast media it has a variety of benefits and drawbacks. This guide will cover important things to know about glass bead blasting including the benefits and drawbacks, equipment considerations for glass bead blasting, and more.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Blasting Glass Beads. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Glass Bead Blasting Pros

Glass beads can be safe compared to other blast medias. In particular, glass bead blast media can be a good alternative to silica sand depending on your application, which while silica sand is still legal it is becoming more regulated and is recognized as a source of a variety of health problems including silicosis. For more on silica sand and sandblasting check out this in depth guide. Additional benefits of glass bead blasting include that you can use them for a few cycles before they no longer clean a surface. It is common for glass bead media to last 4 – 6 cycles before needing to be replaced. Finally, glass beads can be used in a suction or pressure blast cabinet. This makes it versatile and can help offer a blast cleaning media that keeps your blast cabinet costs down (suction feed cabinets are more affordable than pressure feed).

Glass Bead Blasting Cons

Its not as fast as other medias at cleaning and doesn’t last as long as harder blast medias like steel. Since glass is not as hard compared to steel grit, steel shot, and even coal slag it doesn’t clean as fast as these blast medias. Additionally, glass beads do not leave a profile, which can be problematic if you need a profile for your paint to adhere. Finally, compared to steel grit or shot and aluminum oxide glass bead blast media is only reusable a few times compared to numerous times with steel blast medias.

Common Glass Bead Blast Media Uses

Knowing the benefits of glass beads, it is also good to know the common uses for glass bead blasting. Glass bead blasting is well suited for use in sandblast cabinets where blast media will be recovered. It is effective at cleaning a surface without leaving much of a blast profile. This makes it ideal for cleaning paint or coatings off a part as well as removal of rust. If a profile is needed though blast media like steel grit or aluminum oxide can be required as glass bead typically doesn’t profile when blasting

Common Glass Bead Blast Media Sizes

While glass bead blast media comes in a variety of sizes ranging from 40 – 325 mesh sizes there are mesh sizes that are more common. Common mesh sizes for glass bead blasting include 50-70, 60 -80, 70-100, 120 – 200.  The fastest cleaning glass bead is typically 60-100 mesh.  The right size blast media will ultimately depend on your individual application.

Glass Bead Blasting Equipment

Glass bead is meant to be reused and so will require specific equipment. Glass bead is typically used in asandblast cabinet. Specifically, since it is not a very heavy blast media it works well in a suction feed sandblast cabinet. Using glass bead with a standard sandblast pot is not very common but you can used crush glass with a standard sandblast pot.

Glass Bead Blasting Tips

In general the higher pressure you use the greater impact and faster you will be able to blast. However, it can also create changes in your product surface.  Between suction and pressure blasting, pressure is faster but again can create changes in the surface (if blast time or pressure is not well controlled). It is always a good idea to start at a low blast pressure and gradually increase to determine the blast pressure that is best suited for your needs. The maximum blast pressure for glass bead blasting is typically 80 psi for suction blast cabinets and up to 40 PSI for pressure blasting. Using these reference numbers you should be able to slowly determine the right blast pressure and time that will work well for your use.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website 80 Grit Glass Bead.