How to Select Blasting Media

As one of the necessary parts of abrasive blasting, it is impossible to start the blasting process without blasting media. The blasting particles that can be used include organic, metal, silicate, plastic and stone. There are so many different kinds of abrasive media for people to choose from. For people who just start knowing abrasive blasting, it could be confusing for them to know which abrasive media to choose. This article lists four aspects that people should pay attention to when choosing blasting media.

Shape

The shape of the blasting media has a big impact on the anchor profile which means the surface roughness. The shape of the blasting media can decide how deep it will cut into the metal surface. For blasting media, there are four categories of shapes. They are angular, sub-angular, sub-rounded and round. Common known angular particles include coal slag and crushed glass. Garnet and plastic are less sharp than coal slag which would fall into the sub-angular category. Even fewer media like walnut then fall into the sub-rounded category. The most smooth media like glass beads and silica sand are examples of rounded media. According to research, two different abrasive particles of the same size, the sharp one will dig farther than the other one. 

Size

The size of the particles is measured according to their “mesh” size. The bigger particles can do more work than the smaller ones. So, if people use two different sizes of particles in the same area. The amount of the bigger one is much lower than the smaller one. However, bigger particles also leave a bigger crater on the surface than smaller ones, and it can lead to creating uneven depth on the surface. Therefore, if people want to create a uniform depth profile and a thorough finish, smaller particles would be the best choice.

Hardness 

The harder the particle is the deeper the anchor pattern it creates. Sometimes people think choosing the hardest particle and high energy for abrasive blasting is the most effective choice, but there is a problem that harder particles also can be broken easily. Therefore, people need to be aware of the energy they use when choosing harder particles. 

Density

The density of the particles also plays an important role when choosing blasting media. When choosing blasting media, it is more important to see their density instead of their mass. This is because a particle with a higher density has more mass per unit volume. So, a particle with higher density can dig deeper than a particle with less density but the same mass. 

To sum up, four key properties to check when choosing blasting media includes the shape, the size, the hardness, and the density of the particles. In addition, the hardness of the surface also should be considered. For a softer surface, consider some round-shaped particles.

Blasting nozzles are also very important when abrasive blasting, BSTEC produces all types and sizes of nozzles, please let us know if you are interested.