What is Airless Blasting?
Airless blast cleaning is a widespread method of cleaning casting surfaces, particularly when large volumes must be handled. Airless blast cleaning uses a motor driven blast wheel rotating at high speed. The abrasive is propelled by the blast wheel, which uses radial and tangential forces to impart the necessary velocity to the abrasive. The wheel's position from which the shot is projected is controlled to concentrate the blast in the desired direction. The outward force from the spinning is what powers the fast movement of the abrasive materials being used.
How Does Airless Blasting Work?
Airless blasting consists of a centrifugal wheel to propel blast media at a product’s surface. Blast cleaning with metallic shot or grit is the most common finishing technique. As pellets strike a casting surface, they make slight indentations that cause plastic flow and stretching of the surface fibres of the metal, imposing a residual compressive flow at the surface. This effect cleans and prepares the surface.
Airless Blast Cleaning Abrasives
Blasting results depend heavily on abrasive choice and application; choosing the right abrasive is the first step. The most widely used types are chilled iron, annealed iron and cast steel.
Abrasives Include:
- Fine flours
- Aluminium oxide
- Glass beads
- Quartz
- Silica
Important Factors of Airless Blasting
- When a work mix is either too coarse or too fine, it can increase cleaning cycle time by as much as 30%. Longer cycle times mean greater abrasive consumption and unnecessary machine wear and tear.
- Improperly balanced work mixes will not produce an acceptable finish if the blast-cleaned profile must meet rigid specifications.
- Effective blast cleaning is a combination of efficient machine operation and maintenance plus the selection of the right work mix.
- Planned maintenance programs are essential, they are important to maintaining and achieving an economical operation.
Benefits of Airless Blasting
- Easy control of velocity
- High production capacity
- Freedom from the moisture problem encountered with compressed air
- Improves fatigue life
- Reduces porosity
- Does not require high volumes of compressed air which can be expensive
- Wheel blasters are typically faster at prepping a surface by using a mechanical method of sending media at the surface of a product as wheel blasters typically move more media in a given time than a sandblast nozzle.
What Makes Up a Blast Cleaning System?
- Wheel units
- Abrasive cleaning and recycling
- Dust collection
- Cabinet
- Work conveyor
- Controls and Instrumentation
Airless blasting or centrifugal wheel blasting is a great solution for products with a uniform surface that require the removal as well as the creation of a surface profile. Due to its automated capabilities and faster processing times compared to air blasting, centrifugal wheel blasting can be great. At Riley Surface World, we have wheel blasters available and airless shot blast turbines to suit your needs. They are highly efficient and effective machines that offer a range of benefits over general shot blast cabinets that can make a significant difference.
Riley Auto Alloy Wheel Blaster
Quick and quality automatic blasting of alloy wheels. Reduces staffing costs and increases throughput (approx 3.5 minutes per wheel) with a consistent quality finish, Airless technology.
- Stock No
- NEW200
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- Riley Auto Wheel Blaster
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- 1x Alloy Wheel
- Work Handling Method
- Automatic
- Other Info
- Fast, airless blasting
- Condition
- Brand New
- Availability:
- Available subject to build time
- Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
Surface Dynamics Automated 4 Gun Twin Axis Shot Peening System
This blasting system is designed for the automatic cleaning of jet engine blades. The blast cabinet includes a powered turntable and fitted to a linear actuator are 4 blast nozzles. Media recovery including sieving for re-use is also used, plus a powerful dust extraction system.
- Stock No
- SB957
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- Surface Dynamics ALOX 180 Auto Blasting
- Year of Manufacture
- 2007
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- 1010 x 700 x 1130
- Work Handling Method
- Manual Load Rotary Table 4 x Recip' Guns
- Other Info
- Programmable auto Blast Process
- Condition
- Seen working by RSW, Excellent Condition, Current Model
- Refurbished Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
- Sold As Seen Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
Vacublast (Wheelabrator) Ventus 150S, Semi Automated Blast Machine
The Wheelabrator Vacublast Ventus model 150S Semi Automatic Peener is a suction feed air blast cabinet that has been designed specifically for production applications where a less aggressive surface treatment is required.
- Stock No
- SB976
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- Vacublast (Wheelabrator) Ventus model 150S
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- 1500 x 1300 x 900
- Work Handling Method
- Semi Automatic
- Other Info
- Unimaster UMA 152 Dust Collector
- Condition
- From a working environment, Seen working by RSW, Good Condition
- Refurbished Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
- Sold As Seen Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
Vixen Surface Treatments JB 220 Jetblast Machine
The Jetair JB220 is ideally suited to cleaning components which can be tumble-blasted using steel shot to remove rust, scale and paint such as those in the re-manufacturing industries. Very low run hours.
- Stock No
- SB983
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- Vixen Surface Treatments JB220
- Year of Manufacture
- 2000
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- Ø525 x 700
- Work Handling Method
- Manual load auto blast
- Other Info
- Compact Airless Tumble Blast
- Condition
- Good Condition, Current Model, Seen powered at RSW
- Refurbished Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
- Sold As Seen Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
Odlings MCR R100 Rotoblast, Barrel Blast Machine
The Rotoblast 100 shot blasting cabinets have been used in various industries for blast cleaning parts like turbos, transmission cases, scaffolding clips, calipers and brake shoes in the re-manufacturing industries.
- Stock No
- SC1011
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- Odlings MCR Rotoblast 100
- Year of Manufacture
- 2012
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- Ø570mm x 1100mm long
- Work Handling Method
- Manual Load Auto Barrel Rotation Blast
- Other Info
- Twin Blast Motors & Drum Rotation
- Condition
- From a working environment, Excellent Condition
Wheelabrator Wheelabrator M101 Self Contained, Fully Packaged, Tumble Belt Shotblast Machine
The Wheelabrator M101 shot blast machine offers a low-cost solution to batch clean tumble-proof components in the most efficient and economical way.
- Stock No
- SC1017
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- Wheelabrator Tumble Blast M101
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- 825 x 600
- Work Handling Method
- Manual load, Automatic cycle
- Condition
- From a working environment, Good Condition
- Refurbished Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
- Sold As Seen Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
Goff USA Manufactured Model 60" Table Blast Machine
The Goff 60" TB rotary shot blast table machine offers total flexibility in your shot blast operations, whether you are cleaning welded structures and fabrications, cleaning and deflashing castings, or shot peening dynamically stressed components.
- Stock No
- SD1019
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- Goff 60" TB
- Year of Manufacture
- 9/30/1998
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- Ø1560 x 1575
- Work Handling Method
- Ø1560 x 1575
- Other Info
- Twin Wheel Blasting
- Condition
- From a working environment, Refurbished by RSW, Good Condition
- Availability
- Available for immediate collection
Wheelabrator Spencer Halstead M101 Shotblast Machine
The Wheelabrator Spencer Halstead M101 is a flexible, low-cost solution to batch clean tumble-proof components in the most efficient and economical way.
- Stock No
- SZ891R
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- Wheelabrator M101
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- 825 x 600
- Work Handling Method
- Manual load auto unload
- Other Info
- Hours Run 31656
- Condition
- Seen working by RSW, Excellent Condition
- Availability
- Available for immediate collection
- Sold As Seen Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
CM Modena CM L50 Shot Blast Machine
CM Modena L50 Tumble blast type machine is particularly suitable for shot blasting of small parts loaded in bulk.
- Stock No
- SZ901
- Category
- Airless & Automated Blast Equipment
- Model
- CM Modena CM L50
- Year of Manufacture
- 1980
- Work Envelope (WxDxH mm) [?]
- 500 mm wide belt
- Work Handling Method
- Manual load - auto product tumbling
- Other Info
- Run Hours - 4882
- Condition
- From a working environment
- Refurbished Price [?]
- £ Login or Register for price.
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- Process Cooling
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- Air Compressors
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