dust extraction is a health and safety essential

There is no getting around health and safety regulations in the work place. Shot blasting, water abrasion, sand blasting and all other kinds of micro abrasion carry a significant risk on inhalation for workers. Accidentally breathing in shot blast materials is the number one safety concern, and even masks and suits might not cut it.

A dust extraction plant will safely and quickly remove all particles from a shot blasting unit. The units store them conveniently, ready for disposal. Installing one of these machines ensures that both the abrasive material and the debris is fully removed.

Attached to the outside of a blasting room, these vacuum machines can shift tonnes of material in minutes. Keeping the blasting area clear is essential for an efficient removal of rust, dust and grime. More built up particles in a room, the less effective the shot blasting will be.

introduction to industrial sweepers and scrubbers for your resturant

Introduction To Industrial Sweepers And Scrubbers For Your Restaurant

When you work in the foodservice industry, cleanliness is a necessity. If you risk cooking in a dirty kitchen, there can be unwanted consequences for both your staff and diners.

There are several kinds of bacteria and viruses that can creep into an unclean kitchen. Experts say that restaurant floors tend to get soiled very quickly during the day, which immediately leads to significant bacteria growth. When this happens, you can be exposed to germs and bacteria, which can lead to several kinds of illnesses and infections.

This is why it’s important to take cleaning seriously. To make sure you can clean effectively and thoroughly, there are a number for professional cleaning equipment like industrial sweepers and scrubbers that you can use.

automatic street sweeper

Protective Coatings

Protective Coatings

The most common type of surface protectant used on aboveground storage tanks and underground storage tanks are organic epoxy coatings. In addition to preventing corrosion, the coatings reduce volatile organic component losses, maintain quality levels, reduce wear to tank components, and help protect the environment. Shell coatings also significantly extend rim seal life.

When tanks contain naphtha and gasoline, they may also contain antistatic, non-conductive or electro-conductive coatings to reduce static electricity caused by aboveground tank floating roofs. These protective coatings often contain nickel oxide, zinc, aluminum and graphite to increase their electrical conductivity and give them antistatic properties.

The majority of coating failures are not due to the coatings themselves, but their improper application because of poor surface preparation techniques. Proper surface preparation for coating applications involves more than cleaning tank surfaces well. It also requires maintaining an environment that prevents recontamination and the formation of condensation, maintains appropriate relative humidity levels, promotes ventilation, and controls air and tank surface temperatures.

Because the weather is unpredictable, the petrochemical industry looks to temporary climate control solutions, such as those designed by Polygon, to create an environment that’s conducive to successful tank surface preparation and coating projects. When paired with other corrosion control methods, climate control technologies for surface coating projects protect one of the industry’s greatest assets—its workers.

tank surface preparation and coating tips

Tank Surface Preparation and Coating Tips

• Keep the surface clean: Moisture, salts, oil, weld spatter and fumes, dust, and ionic species on a tank’s surface affect a protective coating’s performance and reliability. The best way to clean and prepare a tank depends on its age, the types of contaminants on its surface, and the previous protective coating. Abrasive blasting and solvents are among the most common cleaning agents. When cleaning a tank’s surface, ensure that fasteners also receive proper attention.  
• Prepare the edges: Coatings tend to pull away from sharper edges, leaving a thin, ineffective layer. Clean cut edges and grind them so they’re round to improve a coating’s coverage and adhesion.
• Maintain ideal temperature and relative humidity levels during the surface cleaning and preparation process: If ambient conditions are not ideal, they may hinder your preparation and coating efforts. When preparing a tank, surface temperatures are as important as air temperatures because metal absorbs heat during the day and radiates it at night. The temperature changes could lead to the formation of condensation on a tank’s surface if you do not control relative humidity levels. Furthermore, high relative humidity levels could cause flash rust to form on the surface in as little as 30 minutes.
• Maintain ideal temperature and relative humidity levels before, during and after coating applications: You will experience the best results when you control the ambient conditions from the moment you begin preparing a tank’s surface. Allow the controlled conditions to persist at least 48 hours after the final coating application. Conditions that are too hot, cold, dry or humid will prevent a protective coating from drying and curing properly.

benefits of wet blasting in the aerospace industry

BENFITS OF WET BLASTING IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

You may be familiar with wet blasting: the metal finishing process that involves the use of compressed air to project a combination of abrasive media and liquid onto the surface of a substrate.Wet blasting has been used since the 1950s for applications such as degreasing, die and mold cleaning, paint removal, and surface preparation prior to painting and edgebreaking.

Aerospace is one of the many industries that now uses wet blasting in various manufacturing processes. Aerospace wet blasting applications can range from metal removal from jet engine turbine discs to surface preparation when manufacturing or repairing various aircraft parts and components.

Shot Blasting Tips: Things You Should Know

If you’re looking for a shot blasting or surface treatment solution, there’s a couple of things you should know beforehand. Shot blasting is highly efficient and effective, blasting high velocity abrasive material for cleaning, reinforcement or preparation of metal surfaces and components. There are several types of blasting machines for different abrasive delivery operations. Which one is suitable for your business and operation depends on the type of job you’re doing.

Compressed air and pneumatic systems are good for lower production applications, and finishing steel welds and frames. These systems use compressed air to fire steel shots like giant high-powered airguns, allowing you to direct shots horizontally or upwards and therefore greater flexibility.

Centrifugal turbine systems, on the other hand, use a central wheel to accelerate shot more economically. They allow you to direct shot in a specific direction and allow for greater speed and quantity control, using one or multiple turbines. Centrifugal systems are more common but often bulkier.

When using your shot blasting machine, there are a wide variety of precautions and safety protocols that must be followed. These machines are surprisingly dangerous, both in terms of raw cutting power and the respiratory damage that can result from airborne and pulverised blasting material. Always wear protective gear, make sure the blasting room is clean and well-ventilated (better still, blast inside a specifically designed protective booth with vacuuming systems, also available from Shotblast.

Alongside protective gear, make sure you keep your machine clean. Correctly adjust control cages and locks to avoid considerable damage to your machinery. Replace the impeller regularly – if worn it makes cleaning less efficient and may damage the machine. Make sure you add abrasives in the correct proportions and refer to the manual to ensure blasting is done properly and get a good surface finish.

What You Need to Know About Structural Detailing

Before any structure could come about, proper planning has first to take place. By doing so, the soundness of the structure, regardless of the material used can be ascertained. As with anything else, of course, proper planning means putting into “writing” what the structure should be like. Included in these writings are the materials to be used and the dimensions of each of the part.

In order for someone to understand what how a structure comes about, a thorough appreciation of steel detailing is important. That being the case, you first have to understand that steel detailing is the term used in order to describe the creation of blueprints. In most cases, steel detailing is also referred to as structural steel drafting. In this process, the blueprint for the structure is prepared typically by a draftsman. There are, however, some instances when the same is prepared by architects and engineers.

Structural steel drafting typically involves creation of two sets of drawings. The first drawing is generally used by the steel fabricators. This drawing would include details on what material to be used for each of the part as well as the dimensions that each of the steel part should have. The second drawing, on the other hand, is typically mean for the steel erectors. This drawing usually includes details on how each of the steel structure is to be assembled and put into place.

A steel detailing draft is typically done once the engineers and the architects have been called for a project. In order to come up with the draft, the engineers and architects would have to consult with local government units to understand what the different requirements are for the construction. All the information would then be passed on to the draftsman who would start preparing the drawings. Construction companies as well as clients would oftentimes take advantage of tilt up panel detailing especially if they are on a budget. Specifications such as these are typically relayed to the draftsman beforehand. This type of construction procedure is fast becoming popular due to the ease by which it makes the construction progress.

What is shot blasting?

Blasting cleaning uses grit, beads or sand in order to clean wall surfaces, metal parts and machinery. Blast cleaning can remove built up fungi, rust and chemicals that, if left, can damage the surface, appear unsightly, and present health and safety issues.

Shot blasting equipment uses a variety of materials to clear away surface debris. Harsher materials, like glass beads, sand or grit are better for removing undesirable surface contaminants quicker, on stronger materials. For weaker materials, such as soft or thin metals, hydro-blasting might be more appropriate for cleaning away built up grime. Very fragile materials, such as paint work, can be cleaned using air pressure blasters, which will remove build up, with less chance of damage to the surface beneath.

Dust extraction and cleaning up after blasting is also an essential to preventing shot blasting from becoming hazardous, and the safe disposal of material is essential for any and all dangerous substances, such as moulds, fine grit and asbestos.

Abrasive Blasting Methods

Abrasive Blasting Methods

• Bead blasting: Uses glass beads to remove surface deposits; it works well for cleaning fungus, paint and calcium deposits
• Wheel blasting: An airless blasting technique that uses centrifugal force to shoot abrasives against a surface without the help of a propellant
• Hydro blasting: Also known as water blasting, this technique uses high-pressure water to remove paint, debris buildup and chemicals
• Wet abrasive blasting: Uses cold or hot water to remove grease, dust and hazardous materials; a user has the ability to add detergent to the water to improve cleanliness levels
• Dry ice blasting: A technique that uses air and dry ice to dislodge items from a surface, as well as decontaminate; because the dry ice sublimates, cleanup is minimal
• Micro-abrasive blasting: Also call pencil blasting, this dry blasting technique uses a small nozzle that directs a fine stream of abrasive media to a targeted area; this method is suited for detailed work
• Bristle blasting: Instead of using a blast media, this technique uses a high-carbon rotary steel brush that prepares a surface and makes it coarse
• Automated blasting: An automated blasting process done within a chamber

Media Used for Abrasive Blasting

Media Used for Abrasive Blasting

• White aluminum oxide: A sharp, reusable and durable abrasive that cleans and penetrates metal; technicians often use it to prepare a metal surface for painting
• Aluminum oxide grit: A standard blasting media used for grinding, polishing, surface cleaning and surface coating preparation
• Glass beads: Reusable glass media that’s lead- and silica-free to clean and polish metal without causing dimensional changes
• Crushed glass grit: An abrasive made from recycled glass bottles that’s used to remove coatings from materials like coal tar, epoxy, paint, vinyl and polyurea
• Acrylic: A gentle abrasive used to strip sensitive surfaces
• Corncob grit: A reusable, biodegradable, organic media made from corncobs to clean and remove surface contaminates
• Pumice: An abrasive made from lightweight volcanic rocks that’s ideal for less aggressive operations
• Walnut shells: Blasting media made from walnut shells that cleans and polishes a surface without marring, scratching or etching it
• Silicon carbide grit: The hardest blasting media available; used for etching stones and engraving glass
• Steel grit: Used when aggressive cleaning is needed on steel or foundry metals; also used for metal surface coating preparation

Abrasive blasting

Abrasive blasting uses various materials to strip imperfections, paint, rust and other contaminants from a surface. It’s an important step in surface coating preparation, as it cleans a substrate and creates a surface that will hold a protective coating. Blasting takes the place of more labor-intensive cleaning methods like wire brushing or sanding, and can speed up the surface preparation process by up to 75 percent.

Benefits of Abrasive Blasting for Surface Coating Preparation

Benefits of Abrasive Blasting for Surface Coating Preparation

Abrasive media is generally inexpensive and many types are reusable. Blasting offers additional economic advantages because it efficiently cleans surfaces better and faster than traditional techniques. It’s also effective at removing rust on metal surfaces.

Abrasive blasting prepares surfaces for coating applications effectively. During the process, it’s important to keep temperatures and relative humidity levels low using temporary climate control solutions to eliminate excess moisture that could hinder the protective coating’s application and drying. Temperature and humidity control is particularly vital when preparing metal surfaces, as the bare metal’s exposure to the environment makes is susceptible to oxidation.

What industries use shot blasting?

Shot blasting is a simple way of cleaning equipment free from rust or grime, which is why we are very popular with the rail industry. 

Other industries use shot blasting equipment, however. The aerospace and avian industries alike use shot blasting in a similar way to the rail industry – for cleaning, maintenance and upkeep.

It is possible to restore all kinds of motors via shot blasting. Individual components of a motor can be shot blasted in preparation for powder coating, repair or as part of their maintenance. Manual shot blasting can be used on vintage car parts to help clear rust or paint for renovation, or on modern motors for maintenance and repair where rest has built up.

Shot blasting is typically considered something used on metal surfaces, however, stone masons can use shot blasting for carving intricate designs on memorial pieces. This is a much faster and more effective method than chiseling, simply reducing the stone to a fine sand as opposed to chipping it out.

Shot blasting has a wide array of uses in many varied industries. We sell a wide range of shot blasting machines and equipment for many uses, for many industries. Find out more about what shot blasting can do for your workshop.

What Is Ball Burnishing?

A bright, highly reflective surface can be achieved in a vibratory process commonly referred to as ball burnishing.   This specialized process combines the weight and brightness of steel media with compounds designed to produce a specific color and luster in the work piece(s).   It’s major function is to make parts look bright or “burnished”.
In ball burnishing heavy, dense steel media impacts the work piece(s) peening over the peaks
of the surface profile creating a larger area in one plane to reflect light.  This is
perceived visually as shine.   There is no abrasive in the steel media so rough edges, surfaces and burrs are simply rolled or pounded over.  An added benefit to ball burnishing is that the weight of the media and process actually work hardens the surface thereby strengthening the part.
Achieving a high degree of reflectivity, brightness, depth and clarity of finish is sometimes referred to as producing a “mirror” finish.  The quality of an image reflected in the surface of a ball burnished part doesn’t match the sharpness and color of an image reflected by an actual mirror but it does produce a highly reflective part.
So while vibratory finishing doesn’t produce a surface that reflects a distortion free image it can produce bright, shiny, attractive parts with a surface that feels very smooth to the touch.

Category Archives: Aluminum Oxide Blast Media

choosing the right blast media for your application

Glass Bead should be your media of choice when your part specifications call for a bright, clean, andsatin finish. Glass bead is used primarily in blast cabinets to create a uniform finish, light peening, and isoccasionally used to remove light burs. Glass Bead is a silica free media and comes in course and fine sizes.  Crushed Glass should be your media of choice when a more aggressive media is required.  Crushed glassis used for stripping paints and coatings, and to achieve a surface profile without removing a lot of metal.Crushed glass is commonly used in outdoor applications due to its low cost and environmentally friendlyqualities. Crushed glass can be your media of choice if you use or plan to use sand or coal slag (black beauty) without the health risks.  ALUMINUM OXIDE  Aluminum Oxide should be your media of choice when you need a sharp, cost‐effective recyclable abrasive.  It comes in two colors, brown and white.  Brown aluminum oxide is the more commonly usedof the two, its sharp angular and hard characteristics make it capable of cleaning a surface and handlinghigh PSI in the blast process.  The white aluminum oxide is a cleaner abrasive, while still able to handlehigh PSI it is more commonly used on medical and electronics parts.  Aluminum Oxide is used in a varietyof industries and applications including automotive, aerospace and medical. 

Blasting Oily Parts?

Many operators make the mistake of blasting parts contaminated with oil, grease or water in a cabinet not designed handle those soils.  The majority of blasting is done in a dry cabinet, airless or wheel blast machine and contaminating media will gum up hoses and guns causing down time and lost production.   Added time and money to a down operation is unfortunate however avoidable, with proper review of your parts and blasting operation prior to production.

Although majority of blasting is done with a dry abrasive or glass media there is equipment and media that, when necessary, have the capabilities of blasting oily or greasy parts.  Wet blast applications use a mixture of water and abrasive or non-abrasive media to
clean or prep the part and can only be used with special equipment designed for this process

Another option would be to use sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda.  This media has many unique properties, one being removing grease and oils without causing problems for the equipment. This like wet blast, is used in equipment specially designed to handle this type of application.

Advantages Of Using Quality Abrasives

Many times when there are problems with the blasting process it is not that the material is bad, it is just miss-applied.  Therefore it is imperative to take the time to truly understand and determine why you are blasting the part and what finish is required.  Are you blasting for an anchor pattern, to apply a coating, remove heavy scale, uniformity, rust removal etc.?

Once this is determined, in order to consistently achieve your required finish you need to consider the quality of abrasive to use.  Many people are incorrect when they feel there isn’t much difference between abrasives.  Lower quality abrasive will definitely affect the consistency and uniformity of your blasting results, decrease your productivity while at the same time use more material because it breaks down more quickly.  The final outcome is higher operating costs and inconsistent results. 

Top criteria for determining quality abrasive:

• Is abrasive screened to required size tolerance for uniformity and consistency?
• Chemical makeup – How the material is made will have and affect on its durability.
• Shape of abrasive – This will tell you whether the abrasive is best for blasting or use in sandpaper. Sandpaper material does not perform well in blasting applications.
• Bulk density  – This will affect consistency and durability

What is Wheel Blasting?

Wheel Blasting is an airless blast operation that uses a wheel with centrifugal force to propel the abrasive against the parts. Because the wheel spins at 3600 RPM, it is a high velocity, high efficiency blasting operation with typically quick time cycles. Due to it’s high velocity this type of blast utilizes metallic abrasives such as steel shot, steel grit, stainless steel shot and grit and cut-wire which are available in different hardness’s.
The advantage of wheel blasting over air blasting is its speed of cleaning and the ability to efficiently blast large components. Also, it does not require compressed air to operate like air blast equipment. This can be very expensive, especially when blasting a large component which would require multiple air blast guns. However, the high velocity is also its nemesis because it can damage parts that can’t withstand this pressure and you are also limited to the type of abrasive that you can use.
Typical wheel blast machines are tumble blast, table blast, spinner hanger and feed thru structural steel machines. The size of the wheel blast machine and number of wheels necessary will depend on the parts to be blasted as well as production rates.

How to Safely Recover Steel Shot Dust?

How to Safely Recover Steel Shot Dust?

Steel shot blasting is the most widely used process for cleaning, stripping and improving a metal surface. The grade or size of steel shot will determine the ultimate finish achieved on the surface of the metal. The round ball shape of the steel shot produces a clean, smooth and polished surface through a peening action created by the acceleration of the shot.

Steel Shot is manufactured by melting selected scrap in electric induction furnace. The chemical composition of molten metal is analyzed and strictly controlled by spectrometer. The molten metal is atomized and transformed into round particle and subsequently quenched and tempered in a heat treating process to obtain a product of uniform hardness and microstructure, screened by size according to specification.

Cast steel shot and grit are nonhazardous as received. Fine metallic dust is generated as the abrasive breaks down from impact and wear during normal use. Since the ferrous content is >96%, dust or fumes will consist mainly of iron or iron oxide. In addition, the fine steel dust created can be a mild explosion hazard.

Inhalation of dust formed during use, or shot, grit or dust particles will harm the lungs.

Abrasion injuries are possible during blasting operations or similar exposure, with high velocity direct exposure to skin.

Shot spilled or leaked onto floors can create hazardous walking conditions. When cleaning up large quantities of dust, a respirator should be used. Spilled shot and grit can be reclaimed for reuse, or disposed of as a nonhazardous solid waste.

Collected dust from blast cleaning or shot peening operations always contains contaminants from the surfaces of the parts being processed.

Suggested Industrial Vacuums for Recovery of Steel Shot Dust

PrestiVac HEPAPlus* Vacuums are specifically designed to safely vacuum toxic dusts. Equipped with a Certified Absolute HEPAPlus*filter with an efficiency of 99.995% on 0.2 micron so there is no risk of exposure or contamination for the operator or the environment. These vacuums are tested for absolute filtration. Testing Method: IEST RP-CC034.3. H14. MIL-STD 282 / A.S.T.M. - D2986-91.  MPPS method EN 1822.

• HEPA Vacuums
• Industrial Vacuums

Which Industries work with Steel Shot?

• Automotive / Body Shop
• Metals
• Military / Defense
• Shipyard / Dockyards
• Warehouse / Distribution