Portable Blast Equipment

Mobile dry abrasive blast systems, are typically powered by a diesel air compressor. The air compressor provides a large volumes of high pressure air to a single or multiple “blast pots”. Blast pots are pressurized, tank like containers, filled with abrasive material, used to allow an adjustable amount of blasting grit into the main blasting line. The number of blast pots is dictated by the volume of air the compressor can provide. Fully equipped blast systems are often found mounted on semi-tractor trailers, offering high mobility and easy transport from site to site.others are hopper fed types making them light weight and more mobile

In wet blasting, the abrasive is introduced into a pressurized stream of water or other liquid, creating a slurry. Wet blasting is often used in applications where the minimal dust generation is desired. Portable applications may or may not recycle the abrasive.

Blast Room

A blast room is a larger version of a blast cabinet and the blast operator works inside the room. A blast room includes three of the four components of a blast cabinet: the containment structure, the abrasive blasting system and the dust collector. Most blast rooms have recycling systems ranging from manual sweeping and shoveling the abrasive back into the blast pot to full reclaim floors that convey the abrasive pneumatically or mechanically to a device that cleans the abrasive prior to recycling.

Blast Cabinet

A blast cabinet is essentially a closed loop system that allows the operator to blast the part and recycle the abrasive. It usually consists of four components; the containment (cabinet), the abrasive blasting system, the abrasive recycling system and the dust collection. The operator blasts the parts from the outside of the cabinet by placing his arms in gloves attached to glove holes on the cabinet, viewing the part through a view window, turning the blast on and off using a foot pedal or treadle. Automated blast cabinets are also used to process large quantities of the same component and may incorporate multiple blast nozzles and a part conveyance system.

There are three systems typically used in a blast cabinet. Two, siphon and pressure, are dry and one is wet:

A siphon blast system (suction blast system) uses the compressed air to create vacuum in a chamber (known as the blast gun). The negative pressure pulls abrasive into the blast gun where the compressed air directs the abrasive through a blast nozzle. The abrasive mixture travels through a nozzle that directs the particles toward the surface or workpiece.

Nozzles come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. Tungsten carbide is the liner material most often used for mineral abrasives. Silicon carbide and boron carbide nozzles are more wear resistant and are often used with harder abrasives such as aluminum oxide. Inexpensive abrasive blasting systems and smaller cabinets use ceramic nozzles.

In a pressure blast system, the abrasive is stored in the pressure vessel then sealed. The vessel is pressurized to the same pressure as the blast hose attached to the bottom of the pressure vessel. The abrasive is metered into the blast hose and conveyed by the compressed gas through the blast nozzle.

Wet blast cabinets use a system that injects the abrasive/liquid slurry into a compressed gas stream. Wet blasting is typically used when the heat produced by friction in dry blasting would damage the part.