At the start of the sandblasting industry, almost all the blasting was wet abrasive blasting. Wet delivery is great for containing the blasting abrasive for recycling and controlling the dust created during blast operation.
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It is highly likely the first abrasive blasting “machines” were fast-moving rivers or dry desert windstorms. (If you have ever driven in a sandstorm, you understand first hand the power of a particle to remove paint and or etch glass.) Somewhere in history, someone noticed the results and an idea was born.
Updated February 2022: An abrasive separator reclaimer is a pneumatic centrifuge capable of separating usable abrasive from dust and unwanted worn abrasive while creating the negative cabinet air pressure required for all blasting cabinets. This not only helps reduce the cost of abrasives, it vastly improves visibility inside the cabinet as smaller dust and spent abrasive – carbon, paint and rust – are removed while the unit is being used.
Updated January 2022: The first dry blasting machines relied on siphon abrasive delivery method which uses an abrasive media gun to siphon, or pull, the abrasive to the blasting nozzle where it is then boosted in particle velocity and injected into the cabinet. Think of this like using a cue ball to hit the eight ball into the side pocket. While it gets the job done, some energy is lost when the two balls come in…
The N-200 by Media Blast is an Industrial Siphon Blast Cabinet which means it utilizes siphon abrasive delivery. True Industrial Siphon Blast Cabinets must have a blower and dust collector capable of handling a large abrasive gun size delivering up to 10 pounds of abrasive per minute. Most of the applications today can use the Industrial Siphon blasting cabinet, which is open to atmosphere. This enables continuous operation without the need to stop and re-pressurize like the pressure pot…
External abrasive storage in abrasive blast cabinets refers to situations where abrasive is stored outside of the blast cabinet. In a direct pressure abrasive delivery system where a pressure pot and the external abrasive storage are used, all the abrasive is removed from inside the cabinet each time it exits the nozzle which allows the use of many different pressure pot sizes. Because the pot is sealed when blasting, it must stop blasting to refill the pot….
Direct Pressure abrasive delivery is a process that uses a pressure pot to pneumatically push abrasive to the blasting nozzle inside a blast cabinet.
The PowerStrip by Media Blast is a direct pressure blast cabinet that uses a pressure pot assembly to create direct pressure abrasive delivery. It also includes a pneumatic conveyor that removes the abrasive from the cabinet each time it exits the blasting nozzle. This design allows any pressure pot size to be used to extend pot run time before the pot needs to be re-filled.
Updated January 2022: Not all blast cabinets are created equally and abrasive media selection is very much dependent on the application and machine at hand. Whether you’re doing aerospace engineering or cleaning a car part, using the right abrasive in the right machine is key to the success of your project. If you aren’t sure you have the right machine, check out our buying guide to confirm you have the right cabinet.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves it’s crucial that you understand many abrasives used in sandblasting are the same as the abrasives used in sandpaper, abrasive belts, sanding pads as well as all types of grinding wheels. These abrasives are not to be confused with actual sand and softer slags such as Black Beauty that are used only once. If this comes as a surprise, remember that sandblasting is like hamburger – there’s…