Abrasive Blasting 101
Updated January 2022: Almost all problems with any abrasive blasting dust collector attached to an existing blasting cabinet are related to one of a few conditions being listed below. Most people buy these machines based on budget and not the machine’s application. This is a mistake. First, an abrasive blasting cabinet’s use can, and probably will, change over time due to an increase in production or simply finding more uses for the machine. Second, if…
Guest Blog
Nestled in the heart of the Northland, IKONICS has been an international leader of imaging technologies for more than 65 years. Made in America and distributed globally, IKONICS Imaging supplies customers an unmatched line of sandcarvers, automated washout units, photoresist films, crystal products, and training.
Blasting cabinet design are more than an enclosure to contain the blasting operation, a trigger operated paint gun for on and off abrasive delivery and a looped abrasive supply hose down into the abrasive with an entrance hole in the hose.
Media Blast Product Spotlights
It might seem a little strange for an abrasive blast cabinet manufacturer to be writing about how to sandblast outside the box, so to speak. Some people call this “manual blasting” but it is also known as “hand-eye directional blasting” and there are some very real benefits to this technique.
The 3030 Savage Direct Pressure blasting cabinet was created to run on smaller air compressors using the standard electrical power found in home garages and commercial facilities. It’s designed with the correct abrasive flow controls for smaller air volumes avoiding problems created when you try to simply install a smaller pressure nozzle size to match your smaller air compressor supply volume.
When you think about using a media blasting cabinet, i.e. sandblasting cabinet, with enclosed containment and recycling abrasive, one of the first things you will find are different types of abrasive deliveries to the blast gun. This post will help to uncover which delivery – wet or siphon or direct pressure – is best for your application.
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…
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.
The most important thing to remember about choosing the right blast cabinet is focusing on your application and not whether the part fits inside the cabinet. That’s why Media Blast & Abrasive manufactures more than 50 models and 170 different cabinets – so we can make the right machine for any application.
In the News
Welcome to the Media Blast & Abrasive, Inc. blog! We’re glad you found us and we hope we can shed a little light on the abrasive blasting industry, better known as the sandblasting industry.
