What Is a Blast Cabinet?
Blast cabinets are equipment used to polish and clean and remove metal surfaces.
There are two types of blasting: air blasting with compressed air and sandblasting, which enhance workability by adding sand to compressed air and blowing it vigorously. Blasting also requires regulators, filters, and dust collectors, so there are some that are equipped with these features.
Blast cabinets are widely used in areas such as surface preparation of metal products, surface preparation prior to painting, removal of dirt and rust, and dental laboratory work. Blast cabinets are efficient and safe because the operator can do the work inside the equipment. In addition, performing polishing operations inside the cabinet prevents environmental contamination and workplace pollution.
Blast cabinets are made of steel, aluminum, plastic, and other materials and come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The appropriate blast cabinet should be selected according to the intended use and workspace.
Uses of Blast Cabinets
Blast cabinets are often used for pretreatment and finishing operations that require precision in bonding and painting, whether metallic or non-metallic. In metal processing, blasting can improve the accuracy of painting and press work by making the surface uneven.
Blasting can also remove dirt and rust from metal surfaces. Furthermore, since blast processing is not affected by the size or shape of the object to be processed, it is suitable for processing fine areas and complex shapes that are difficult to process with machines.
Therefore, they are used in a wide range of fields, including aircraft and automobile parts, plastic products, and electronic components. However, care must be taken in blast processing because the type and particle size of the abrasive material used in the process and the processing pressure may scratch or deform the surface of the object. Safety measures are also taken because the dust and dirt generated by processing may contain harmful substances.
Principle of Blast Cabinets
Processing using a blast cabinet consists of mixing an abrasive with compressed air and spraying it at high speed onto an object to polish its surface. In a blast cabinet, the air is compressed by an air compressor, mixed with an abrasive, and sprayed through a nozzle directly onto the object to be processed.
The abrasive is sprayed evenly onto the object and the surface can be processed more efficiently. The process is not affected by the shape of the object to be processed, making it possible to process even complex shapes.
Furthermore, dust, sand, and other particles generated during processing are vacuumed by a dust collector, so the processing site can be kept clean.
Types of Blast Cabinets
There are two main types of blast cabinets: pressure blast cabinets and suction blast cabinets.
1. Pressure Type Blast Cabinet
Pressure blast cabinets perform processing by mixing the processing material in compressed air and spraying it at high pressure. It has high abrasive power and is effective for large objects and thick parts.
Surface finishing and cleaning can also be performed depending on the type of abrasive. However, due to the high pressure, the noise and vibration are loud and may affect the surrounding environment. Careful attention should be paid to the location and environment where it is used.
2. Suction Type Blast Cabinet
Suction-type blast cabinets perform processing by spraying the material to be processed toward the object to be processed. Because of its lower pressure and less abrasive power than pressure-type blast cabinets, it is suitable for processing delicate parts and thin plates.
Depending on the type of abrasive, it is also possible to remove surface contamination and perform light abrasive processing. In many cases, the machine is equipped with a dust collector to collect the processed materials, which also improves the work environment. However, since it is a suction type, it may be difficult to collect the processing material depending on the work object.