Sandblasting is a popular technique used to clean, strip, and shape various surfaces by propelling abrasive media at high speeds. The effectiveness of sandblasting depends significantly on the choice of blasting media, which can impact both the finish quality and the overall cost of the process. With numerous options available in the market, selecting the right sandblasting media can be a daunting task. This comprehensive guide aims to assist you in making informed decisions when purchasing sandblasting media in .
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Before diving into the specific types of sandblasting media, it’s essential to understand the basic factors that influence their effectiveness. The most critical factors to consider when selecting sandblasting media are:
Now that you have a basic understanding of the factors influencing sandblasting media performance let’s explore the most common types available in the market:
Glass beads are a popular choice for achieving a smooth and bright finish on various surfaces. They are gentle enough for use on delicate materials like aluminum and stainless steel, making them ideal for automotive and aerospace applications. Glass beads are also reusable and environmentally friendly.
Aluminum oxide is a hard and sharp synthetic media, ideal for aggressive cleaning, deburring, and surface preparation. It is commonly used for etching glass and removing rust, paint, or scale from steel surfaces. Aluminum oxide is also highly reusable, contributing to its cost-effectiveness.
Silicon carbide is the hardest sandblasting media available, making it suitable for aggressive and rapid material removal. This media is ideal for applications such as stone engraving, cleaning engine parts, and removing heavy rust and paint. Due to its high cost, silicon carbide is generally reserved for specialized applications.
Crushed glass is an eco-friendly abrasive media, made from recycled glass bottles. It offers a good balance between aggressiveness and gentleness, making it suitable for a wide range of applications, including removing rust, paint, and graffiti. Crushed glass is a single-use media, which may increase the overall cost of sandblasting.
To select the most suitable sandblasting media for your application, consider the following factors:
Choosing the right sandblasting media is crucial for achieving optimal results and minimizing costs. By considering factors such as surface material, desired finish, cost, environmental impact, and availability, you can select the best media for your specific needs. Don’t forget to purchase from a reputable supplier, consider bulk buying, and stay informed about industry trends. With the right knowledge and resources, you can make well-informed decisions for your sandblasting projects in and beyond.
In our “State of Titan Abrasive” report from late December , we talked about the ups and downs of the business. Like most every manufacturer, we struggle with supply chain issues. And, like everyone, we’re seeing costs rising, sometimes dramatically.
With that in mind, our team came up with five tips you can use to help keep your blast room costs in check – whether you’re currently using a blast room or considering a new one.
Media comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and materials. From metal shot to plastic to organic materials such as walnut shells, each media type is suited to specific functions.
You also have to order a lot of it; ordering the wrong blast media means you’ll have a costly material sitting around unused.
Choosing the right blast media depends on many factors, such as, the surface finish required, type of material being removed (paint, rust, mil scale, powder coating), application and material type, the blaster (nozzle size, pressure), and how often the media will be reclaimed. If you have a question about which media to use, please call us. We’re happy to help.
Abrasive blast equipment requires more maintenance than almost any other equipment in a plant. Why? The constant stress and wear from the abrasive media.
Follow good “housekeeping” practices by cleaning up in and around your blast room at the end of each shift.
Inspect doors and others areas weekly for wear or leakage and fix promptly.
Regularly check valves, hoses, nozzles, and protective gear, including helmets, gloves, etc. Air filters should be replaced based on number of hours used or manufacturer’s recommendation. Follow maintenance schedules as listed in the equipment manuals.
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Titan cartridge dust collector filters are self-cleaning and DO NOT need to be sent out. For detailed info, read our FAQ: Should We Send Our Titan Filter Cartridges Out for Cleaning? (Repeat: No!)
You can purchase Titan replacement parts for our blast rooms, blast machines, abrasive regulator valves, and other components at the Titan Parts Store.
You may be tempted to save money by using generic parts, such as filters for your dust collector. A customer tried this, but the filters didn’t fit properly. Due to poor fit, dust got into the blower and coated the wheel, causing vibration. The result: Destroyed bearings. Read the story.
The customer ended up having to replace the blower. Needless to say, the small savings on filters went right out the window. Always use Titan brand nanofiber cartridge filters, which have been designed for your dust collector.
Fabricating a high-end blast room yourself isn’t the same as doing a house project. Even if you have construction skills, blast rooms have their own set of requirements, including the proper amount of air flow/exchanges, dust/media containment, lighting, etc. — not to mention OSHA safety requirements.
One customer, for example, ordered a Titan blast room and decided to save money by handling the ductwork themselves. This meant they fabricated and installed it. Bad news. They ran into several issues, which delayed their blast room installation. Instead of saving money, they lost money, plus the time that could have been spent blasting.
Read our piece, Everything You Wanted to Know about Blast Room Ductwork! to see a photo of the DIY ducting that used too many elbows, which inhibited air flow.
If you do choose to install Titan equipment yourself, we HIGHLY recommend our Startup Service. You may be able to assemble equipment, but getting it tuned-in and running at optimal performance is best left to one of our expert Titan technicians.
One thing that significantly drives up installation costs is last minute changes because our engineering department didn’t have all of the space dimensions, and other important details, when designing the blast room.
Then, when our installers arrive, they have to stop production because of problems with overhead beams, floor obstructions, or doors that don’t allow enough access.
Another cost overrun is not having electrical or compressed air feeds in place before Installation Day. This means our installers have to come back to connect everything, do a test run, optimize the system, etc. This gets really expensive really fast.
Read Preparing for Titan Blast Room Installation by Titan’s Chief Installer Ken Cloonan. Once you place your order, you’ll also receive a PDF checklist of information we need, and tasks you need to complete, so that we can efficiently design, build, and install your blast room.
The more hands a product passes through, the higher its cost (e.g. markup). At Titan, we removed these unnecessary markups by eliminating the middleman – meaning you buy directly from us and pay a lower price.
When you call Titan, you talk directly to our engineering team (or heck, even me, the CEO). By working directly, you eliminate all the back and forth and get expert answers to your questions.
We can customize any application, regardless of how big or small the project. For example, we created a blast room for Framatonme’s Nuclear Motor Refurbishment business in order to eliminate the potential for radioactive contamination. Read the case study.
For Fab-Tek, we created a custom blast room to clean and polish stainless steel for food processing conveyor systems. The new system includes a mechanical recovery system with cross screw (auger), two 6-cubic-foot blast machines, and a 12,000 CFM cartridge dust collector. Read the Installation Tech Tip.
If you’re considering a custom blast room or need blast equipment for your operation, contact Titan or complete our RFQ form.
Our custom-engineered blast rooms have been purchased by companies large and small, including the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, GE Aviation, and NOAA, and installed across the US and Guam, and around the world, including Canada, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, and Ukraine.
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