Knowledge Base

Welcome to our Knowledge Base. In this section we will pass on information that can improve your abrasive blasting operation. Because we do not sell blasting cabinets, our views are not slanted to any particular brand. They are based on decades of experience when we did sell abrasive blasting cabinets and automated blasting systems. The sections will relate to blasting cabinet installation, replacement parts, dust collection, and operational tips. Visit here often, as we will be adding information on an ongoing basis. If you have a specific question, please contact us. Generally, we will respond within the day. If your need is urgent, please call us.

Cabinet Installation.

Compressed Air Supply  An adequate volume of dry, oil free air is essential to this process. Blasting is a “volume” user of compressed air, more than a pressure user. Consult your cabinet’s air requirements to determine what you will need in CFM of compressed air. For suction cabinets, the air consumption is fixed, based upon the orifice size (not the nozzle size). Air consumption does not change with nozzle wear, performance does. If the blasting application requires 80 psig to achieve the desired results, and the compressor cannot deliver this volume consistently, the pressure will fall off and cleaning time will greatly increase and part finish will also decline.

There are 3 types of air compressors generally in use today; piston, vane, and rotary screw. For purposes of determining compressor horsepower required for blasting, a thumb nail guide is: 3 CFM per horsepower for piston compressors; and vane and screw compressors 4 CFM per horsepower.  As an example, if the air jet/orifice is 1/8″, it requires 21 CFM of air volume at 80 psig. That means 7 HP for a piston compressor or 5+ HP for a screw compressor.

Moisture in the air supply can greatly affect the blasting process. Moisture comes from water created in the compression process and oil from the compressor itself. Compressors can raise the temperature of the air to about 100F degrees over the ambient shop temperature. This temperature increase allows the air to contain significantly more water than the ambient shop air. The increased moisture affects how the abrasive will flow; glass beads are particularly affected by moisture as they are hydroscopic.

Moisture in the air supply can be reduced by several means. Airline filters, desiccant dryers, and refrigerated air dryers. Airlne filters are furnished with some manufacturer’s cabinets. Their primary function is to remove particulates from the air. Some moisture is removed due to the filter element impinging the water droplets, but this type of filter will not solve most moisture problems. A coalescing type of filter is designed to remove oil, not water. Refrigerated air dryers do the best job of water removal because by lowering the air temperature, it cannot hold much water.  Consult your compressor supplier for more information on these issues.

Air line pipe size. Generally,most shops have air piping that is 3/4″ diameter or more.  Keep in mind that long air lines will have volume/pressure losses. The air line to suction cabinets from the main air line can be 1/2″ for air jets less than 3/16″. If your cabinet has a direct pressure system, larger air lines are best because of the pressure pot’s filling requirement each time the operation is started with the foot pedal and the typical 3/16″ or 1/4″ bore nozzle requires 46 to 80 scfm of air.