Hydro-blasting / vapour blasting

Hydro-blasting also known as vapour blasting or wet blasting, is rapidly becoming the number one choice for applications requiring the highest quality of surface finish.

 

The key to hydro-blasting is that the process of cleaning is a very gentle approach by using media mixed with water to form a slurry, giving a finer finish due to the flushing action of the water. No media is impregnated into the component, nor is there any dust created by the break-up of media, unlike dry blasting where the finish is produced by sheer force of media impact.

 

A specially designed pump and impeller agitates water and media into a slurry, which is contained within the cabinet sump. Delivery of the slurry to the nozzle is via the pump and hoses located inside the machine. The slurry is pumped at a regulated pressure to the nozzle, and compressed air is introduced at the blast nozzle to accelerate the slurry and provide the cleaning effect on impact.

After contact with the component the slurry then drains back into the sump creating a re-circulating system. Fine broken down media and other contaminants are fed via an overflow to a sedimentation filter located at the rear of the cabinet.

By using different media and different pressure, you will produce varying finishes depending on requirements.

 

Advantages of Hydro-blasting 

  • Dust free process

  • Cleans by flow of water not by impact

  • Simultaneously degrease & blast clean

  • Water acts as a lubricant between media & component

  • Promotes longer media life

  • Produces a 'softer' finish

  • Avoids media impregnation on soft materials

 

Typical Applications

  • Degreasing / surface finishing of components in the automotive, reconditioning & maintenance industries

  • Cleaning of dies & moulds

  • Removal of paint, rust, scale, carbon & similar deposits in engineering industries

  • Surface preparation prior to bonding, re-painting or re-coating

  • Satin finishing of stainless steels & other special materials

  • Removal of small burrs from manufactured components

 

Some things to consider:

  • The cleaner the parts are when they are received, the quicker and more cost effective the blasting process will be.

  • Please keep in mind that while we do rinse the parts after the vapour blast process, the returned parts will need a thorough cleaning by you prior to final installation/assembly to ensure none of the slurry media is left behind.

  • Maximum part size approximately 1m square.

  • We can clean assembled parts but strongly recommend completely stripping parts before getting them cleaned.

 

 

 Contact us for more info and price lists:

jake@factory72.co.za or 083 278 1080