It is important to understand that Media Blast® does have and offer double doors on many of its standard cabinets. Repeated observations over more than 40 years show that nearly all blast cabinet operators use the right side door only for loading and unloading. The exceptions are usually operations that require a pass through system to another workstation. The second reason stems from the general physical characteristics of people. About 90% of the world’s population is right handed. Therefore, it is safe to assume that about 90% of blast cabinet operators are right handed, too. Right-handed blast operators typically blast with the nozzle angled (more or less) towards the left side of the cabinet. If there is a door on the left side of the cabinet, extreme stress is placed on the door seals. In a relatively short period of time, the door seal will fail. Abrasive and dust will escape from the cabinet through the failed door seal. This problem is usually alleviated by frequent replacement of the door seal, duct taping the door to prevent dust and abrasive release or welding the door closed (because it is never used anyway). Finally, one well built double skinned, no spill door is better than two single, poorly constructed pan type doors. Pan types simply place the seal on the cabinet, and then close the pan type door. Each time you open the door, abrasive falls to the floor.
Free standard dust collector, Media Blast® manufactures a complete line of Free Standing Blasting Cabinet Dust Collectors, are used commonly for the high DDC machine operation. If you need to remove an operator from the dust collector cleaning cycle, and or the machine is used for high daily operation, you will want to include an automatic cleaning type dust collector. These are either Automatic Reverse Pulse Cleaning type, or Automatic Pneumatically Vibrator Cleaned dust collectors.
Creating a compact machine footprint is important today. This means cartridge type filters that offer the largest filter area in the smallest footprint allowing self-contained or attached dust collector. Self-Contained allows easy movement of the machine if required.
Machine DDC, Daily Duty Cycle, determines the amount of filter dust storage area you want to have vs. the daily blasting time the machine will be used. Filter cartridge style dust collectors offer the most filter area in the smallest machine space. Today the machine footprint is very important.
Filter Cartridges offer a rigid filter assembly great for automatic cleaning cycles and while cloth normally only filter 5 to 6 micron particle sizes, the cartridge type is certified to MERV Testing at a particle size much smaller. A 10 MERV Rating is standard and used because this number is easily cleaning using automatic cleaning cycles. While we also offer HEPA After Filters you want to remember that HEPA’s are not cleanable so you want the best possible primary filters in from of any HEPA and that means Cartridge type.
Because the filer cartridge is ridge in construction, it makes reverse pulse and vibrator cleaning assemblies easily added. Unlike cloth that often requires something resembling an old bedspring assembly that allows bags to move from side to side, vibrator and reverse pulse use gravity to move the dust down the filter cartridge assembly.
The best answer we can offer is we manufacturer our own blowers for blasting cabinets and dust collectors. These blowers are made to operate on Media Blast machines and not the market application that may only be operating on a bench sucking smoke. We use the motor hp right for the blasting cabinet but know some standard units are high-voltage and not fractional motors. These are blasting cabinets with a higher DDC, (Daily Duty Cycle), mostly used Industrial to process the most parts per single shift operation.
Abrasive Separator Reclaimers come in two types, Internal and External. Internal are when the abrasive is stored inside the main cabinet and external is storage outside the cabinet. Abrasive 150 mesh and larger easily flows down the main machine hopper slope. External Abrasive Separators normally use pneumatic conveyors to remove the abrasive and store outside the cabinet. Fine abrasives are kept dry and aerated for flow when using a pneumatic conveyor. While a pneumatic conveyor can operate with almost any size abrasive, pneumatic conveyor wear is higher with larger abrasives. Cost of operating a pneumatic conveyor on all blasting cabinets results in a high machine maintenance that is unnecessary. Media Blast/® is one of the few manufactures offering both Internal and External type separators.
If the parts are low in height, a greater window slope is needed to allow easy sight when looking down. This greater window slope prevent operator window fog created by breathing.
Less window slop angle is better for taller parts helping to reduce window protector wear and allowing a higher inside cabinet height.
A Square Cabinet design with flat windows for observation only using automated blasting and or an Insert window is best to create the largest possible door opening, often time required.
Media Blast is the only company offering all three types.
Quick to change, flappable allowing multiple usage, white for better light and remember any type of material being used will wear out. This type of protection is to be used as an early warning wear plate to help identify and add additional protection for fixed gun usage or direct pressure cabinets using large abrasive types. Covering the inside of a cabinet completely when only certain areas are required can be expensive.
We use all types; the standard is the treadle pedal type acting as a dead-man pedal. Most cabinets include the safety door interlock with the dead-man pedal as increased safety.
The very best answer is direct pressure cabinet, bar grates are standard on almost all direct pressure models, used with the orientation of the bar grate prevents hopper wear. If you are replacing a direct pressure cabinet right now, look at the hopper on the one you have.
It takes eight, (10), abrasive delivery types to supply the buying market today with MediaBlaster® Cabinets. Media Blast® offers both Wet and Dry models using Siphon, Gravity Feed and Direct Pressure Abrasive Delivery for 43 years. The Media Blast® line includes specific models for Micro Blasting for siphon and direct pressure, Plastic blasting, Soda blasting, Tumble Barrels and Tumble Baskets. The DDC, (Daily Duty Cycle), is often referred to as Light Duty, R&D General Purpose and Industrial. We have 170 separate pieces of equipment from bench to room size, not counting Special Layouts, and only one is really right for your application. It takes 10 different types of abrasive deliveries to make sure you get the right machine the first time.
