A Brief Introduction of Shot Blasting Technological Innovation and Shot Blasting Equipment

Shot blasting is synonymous with sand blasting but with different media that is used to clean, peen or polish metal.  There is extensive usage of shot blasting in almost every metal industry like including aerospace, steel construction, shipbuilding, rail, automotive, and others.  Two techniques are utilized in a shot blasting machine prevalently wheel blasting and air blasting.

 

 

In the shot blasting process, most effective technique wheel blasting is suggested to utilize the motor energy of a rotating turbine wheel into kinetic abrasive energy.  There are two equal sized plates on a spindle made up of two plates attached by blades to form a wheel that throws small grits of steel through an air pressure nozzle to the area treated.  Every wheelbase has different coverage of area as per its diameter and capacity that can go anywhere from approximately 60 kg per minute up to 1200kg/min.  Very small pellets of steel are put in these wheel spindles to throw at lightning strike force of accelerated abrasive to debur or derust an area in some form. Simple table machines to fully automatic manipulators to roller conveyors and strip descaling systems are found under its automation.  However, for proper coating, maintaining the machine is crucial to get desired long term results.  Wheelbase shot blasting machines come up in varied size depending upon the type of operation they ensue.

 

 

Airblast machines unlike the propelling force of a wheel are used to treat the media from a shot blasting cabinet also called a blast room.  An air blast type of shot blasting machine builds up pressure in the cabinet by pneumatic acceleration of compressed air to the blast media that is further pushed out of a nozzle onto the component.  Wet blasting is also undertaken in the case of special applications where water and media are both mixed for desired effect.  Both air and wet blasting systems have the blast nozzles installed in a definite position which can also be operated by automatic manipulators or robots.  Here, dry or free running abrasive media can be used.

 

A surface preparation test for shot blasting is efficacious.  In wheel blast system, a monorail or conveyor carries parts in a continuous flow; or a batch system, where batches of parts are placed in a blast cabinet. The wheel rotates and throws grit toward the specimen and prepping the surface for paint.  Having a proper adhesive mix will make the work good. Multiple wheel placements in a system and in the right place ensures great efficacy.  The operator should ensure correct media type, size, concentration and basic preventive maintenance.  End result depends upon the media type used and the speed of shot blasting machine’s operation for the coating coverage requirements could vary accordingly.

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