There are two methods for propelling media for blasting - compressed air or using a centrifugal wheel. Most people are familiar with compressed air - from sandblasting to using the small cabinets where you put your hands in the gloves. The other method, wheel blasting, uses a wheel or impeller shaft turning at high RPM's to throw the media off of the tips of the wheel or blades for propulsion. This is comely called wheel blasting. Wheel blasting has the advantage of being able to throw a lot more volume of media or shot than air blasting. It also does this for less electrical consumption. As an example, a machine using wheel blasting may have two 10 HP blasting motors and cleans a part in 10 minutes. This same process for air blasting would require a 40 HP air compressor and may take as long as 30 minutes to clean. The disadvantage of wheel blasting is the ability to control the blast stream. Very delicate parts that require a very specific profile for peening will likely require air blasting.
Most manufacturers of wheel blasting machines put the blasting wheel in the top of the machine and move the shot up to the wheel using screw augers and bucket elevators. We solve the problem of all these moving parts by putting the blasting wheel in the bottom of the machine and creating a hopper in the blast chamber to collect the media and direct back to the wheel using gravity. Note: gravity does not break down!
See the question above. Since screw augers and bucket elevators required lots of moving parts, motors, gearboxes, and bearings, the most durable solution is to eliminate the moving parts. This is why our machine is simple and durable.
Yes, many times over. In most machines, the media is typically cycled through the machines thousands of times. Compare that to sand! Basically, the media (particle) wears as it is used and eventually gets removed from the cabinet by the dust collector. Therefore, media must be replenished over time. For most machine sizes, this is only a few pounds per day.
It depends. A good rule of thumb is to figure ½ pound of steel shot per Horsepower per wheel per hour. This will vary depending on media size, media quality, type of machine, and items being cleaned.
All blasting machines require a dust collector. A dust collector is like a giant shop vac. It has a hose or pipe connected to the blasting cabinet and dust is drawn from the cabinet into the dust collector . The dust collector will have a filter that traps the dust and releases clean air. Typically the dust collector has a chamber underneath the filter that collects this dust for removal.
Manganese is austenitic (non-magnetic), work-hardening steel. Manganese thrives on severe wear conditions. The more impact and hammering it receives, the harder the surface becomes. This characteristic, known as work-hardening, plus the fact that it remains ductile underneath, makes it a most effective steel in combating impact and abrasion. It has very high strength, ductility, toughness, and excellent wear resistance in the most punishing applications. Depending on deformation of the surface crystalline structure, it can work-harden up to more than 500 Brinell. When originally put into service it is about 200 Brinell.
Yes. The bottom and side of the blast chamber is lined with 1.25" thick solid Hadfield grade manganese. The front and rear of the blast chamber is lined with ½" thick solid Hadfield grade manganese. It is also used in other wear areas depending on the machine style.
It depends. Just like a race car, the more horsepower, the faster is goes. However, most blasting cycles range from 1 minute to 15 minutes.
Actually, not as loud as you may think. Because the blast cabinet is made from heavy plate and the cabinet is hermetically sealed for dust collection, the blasting operation is insulated from most of the noise inside the chamber. Many times, the loudest part of a blasting machine is the dust collector. All of our dust collectors feature a backwardly-curved aluminum fan. This fan style was developed by Walker Peenimpac 25 years ago. The backwardly curved fan reduces the noise coming from the tip of the fan. This removes the high-pitch, jet-engine sound typical of most dust collectors. Our largest dust collector, the model CC, also features a silencer to aid in reducing the noise of the fan.
We use an abrasive resistant high-alloy steel to construct the blasting cabinet. While this material is great for building a durable blasting cabinet, it is not welding friendly. Therefore, we use a frame work of structural metal on the outside of the machine and bolt the cabinet to it. For the customer, this means that after many years of use, if you want to replace a worn area of the blast cabinet, we can send it to you and you bolt it together. Try this with our competitor's equipment!
Yes. Our simple design does not require a technician to be flown in wearing a white lab coat to fix a simple problem! The machine comes standard with a set of drawings, parts lists, and wiring diagrams. We are always a phone call away to talk you through any problem that you or your staff cannot solve.
Adel, Georgia, USA. We are not an agent, representative, or reseller. We are the manufacturer. We build the machines and all the parts. The person in our organization that sells you the machine will also be supervising the construction of your machine.
This is where you give us a call. We have a combined 50 years of experience building blasting equipment. If in doubt, send us a sample and we can blast it for you and send it back with information on machine model recommended, blasting cycle time required, and media size suggested. Challenge us!