HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR SANDBLASTING CABINET:

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE

Whether you&#;re searching a sandblasting cabinet for your shop or for your personal garage, there are several things to consider before purchasing this important industrial tool.

Want more information on glass blast media? Feel free to contact us.

Sand blaster cabinets, also known as media blast cabinets or abrasive blasting cabinets, are metal boxes with openings, windows, and attached gloves which allow you to use sand or another abrasive media form, to smooth rough surfaces, remove imperfections in metal, and scrap of old paint or rust.

Yet, while all sandblast cabinets are made for the same general purposes, there are many different specifications.

Types of Sand Blasting Equipment

Sand blasting machines are made in a few different styles: standard, split-level, and portable. While all three styles operate in similar fashion and can use various types of blasting media, there are significant differences to each. Choosing which style will work best for you depends on how often you want to use your sand blaster and for what purposes.

Standard

These fixed cabinet blasters have openings in the front and on both sides of the machine. They&#;re great for working on small to medium sized objects.

Split-level

Split-level blaster cabinets are also fixed and have a hatch top that opens upward on a hinge to create a larger work space. These cabinets are useful when working on larger or heavier objects.

Portable

Portable sand blaster cabinets, sometimes called mini sand blasters, are perfect for working with smaller or more delicate objects because they allow your to make more detailed alterations. And, of course, benchtop sandblast cabinets are completely movable, making jobs outside of your workshop or garage possible. They offer remote control operation and are usually more inexpensive than other types of sandblaster cabinets for sale.

 

Once you&#;ve chosen the best sandblasting equipment style for your needs, the next decision you should make is whether you want to use a siphon cabinet or a direct pressure cabinet.

 

Types of Blasting Systems

The question here is how you want your machine deliver your abrasive media to the blasting nozzle.

Siphon Blasting Cabinets

Siphon cabinets, also known as suction cabinets, are best for light to occasion use, general cleaning and light production jobs. They use a gun to pull abrasive media into your blasting nozzle where it is then shot from the end of the nozzle. This requires the use of more air pressure than direct pressure cabinets because the delivery is a two-step process.

However, these systems are easier to use and install and are generally less expensive than direct pressure cabinets.

Direct Pressure Cabinets

These machines can expel abrasive media at a higher blasting flow rate than siphon blasting cabinets can because, unlike the siphon delivery, this system pushes the abrasive media out directly, making completing your jobs on average much faster. The direct pressure cabinets also allow you to lower and raise the pressure to customize the flow rate for each job you do.

Aside from these choices, there are other considerations too. Media blast cabinet details varies with each model and some have better features than others.

 

Details and Features

Here are some helpful tips and warnings to guide you through the details and specs of the blasting machines you&#;re considering.

Doors

If you&#;re buying a standard cabinet, make sure you know what material the cabinet doors are made of. Avoid cabinet blaster machines with plastic doors, which can warp and bow out easily and could lead to machine malfunction.

Air Compressors

Some Sandblast cabinets are sold with their own air compressor unit; however, not all are. If you&#;re thinking about purchasing a sandblast cabinet without an included air compressor, make sure to check the required PSI and CFM for your new sandblast cabinet to check if it with work with your current air compressor.

Construction

The metal used for frame and body construction also impacts the quality and durability of your sandblasting cabinet. While machines with lighter steel bodies are cheaper and work fairly well for occasional use, if you&#;re planning on using your blasting cabinet on a regular basis, you will need to invest in a machine with a sturdier construction, such as heavy gauge steel.

Lighting

Some cabinet blasters come with interior lighting. While this is not always necessary for daily use, if you want extra, focused lighting to help you in your detailed work, a sandblast cabinet with an interior light is ideal.

Assembly

Another, more humdrum consideration is whether the cabinet you&#;re purchasing is fully constructed or will require assembly. Sand blasting cabinets may require hours of assembly and the assembly could be quite complex, especially if you have no prior knowledge of how these machines are built and work.

 

So, once you&#;ve decided on the types of sandblasting cabinets and systems and thought about the specific features you want, you can start shopping the sandblasting machines for sale.

 

Personal Use

Before deciding on which type of sandblasting cabinet to purchase, you should ask yourself these questions to help you narrow your search and ensure you find the sand blasting machine that fits your needs:

• · What do I want to use my sandblasting cabinet for?
• · How often do I want to use my sandblasting cabinet?
• · What is my price range?
• · Where am I going to use my sandblasting cabinet?

 

Knowing the answers to these questions will greatly reduce the time you spend deciding between different sand blasting machines.

 

Conclusion

In the end, the perfect sandblasting cabinet for you is out there. You just need to think about what features, styles, and specification will work best for what you want to use your sand blast cabinet for!

Notification will be sent to your address every time the item price is decreased.

Glass bead blasting will NOT damage your substrate (but will leave an anchor profile), and works best on softer metals such as brass, aluminum, plastic, die-cast surfaces.  (Try plastic beads if you need something even more gentle.)  Glass bead blast abrasives media comes in different sizes just like other abrasives do, but they generally use a different sizing chart, please see the chart below.  The main purpose for shot blasting with glass bead media is to create a compressive stress pattern and the elimination of microscopic defects in the surface of your part.  However, there are hundreds, if not thousands of different applications using glass beads.

Glass beads contain NO FREE SILICA.  Glass bead blasting will not leach toxins into the environment, will not leave residue on work pieces, will not cause dimensional changes to the base part being cleaned.  Bead blasting will leave even and spherical impressions on the pieces being cleaned, and will create and anchor profile for new paint to adhere to.  These glass beads are suitable for suction (80 psi max. pressure), pressure pot (40 psi max. pressure), as well as wet and dry blasting operations.  They are made from hardened soda lime glass, and is available in all standard sizes, and have a low breakdown rate, lower disposal, and lower maintenance costs vs other cleaning methods such as harsh chemical treatments.

Available in either MIL-PRF-D, or AMS (Aerospace Material Spec).  We will ship MIL SPEC, NON-AMS media unless you specify this by selecting the appropriate specification from the drop down menu.   The table below details Mil-Spec Sizing Parameters.  The AMS Spec beads are a slightly tighter size range than mil spec, and have more round beads , yet are the same chemical composition of glass beads.   (Note: The minimum % of rounded beads will differ from size to size:  65% to 90% depending on size of bead).  This is why AMS is slightly more expensive.  An AMS spec bead is generally used for shot peening and a Mil spec bead is generally used for shot blasting.  COA's are available for either Mil Spec, or AMS, but not both (simply because they are different stock numbers).  To be clear, all AMS beads will meet both Mil Spec (a lower quality, larger distribution bead) as well as the Aerospace Material Spec.  IF YOU ORDER MIL SPEC MEDIA WE CANNOT SEND IT WITH AMS CERTIFICATION AND VICE VERSA.  WHAT YOU ORDER HAS TO MATCH THE CORRESPONDING SPECIFICATION.

Current Mil Spec Certs will be PRF-D.  The letter "D" is indicative of the revision (meaning that B is older than D). The newest version of the Specs supersedes all older versions.  (For example. Glass Bead Mil-G-A:  This spec has been superseded by MIL-PRF-B, and B has now been superseded by D)  MIL-PRF = Miltary Performance Specifications

A #8 bead is the most commonly used size, and all our beads can be ordered online in small quantities of 100 lbs or more off of this page.  Please Contact Us For Pallet Pricing Here.

• Our Minimum Order For Glass Bead Blasting Abrasive is 100 lbs per order.

• Packaging:  50 lb bags on a pallet, 40/pallet = one net ton ( lbs) per pallet is standard packaging.

• Pricing Quotes:  us with your destination zip code, quantity, and size of glass bead . We will work up a freight rate for you.

• Sizes Available:   #1 through #13, either mil spec MIL-PRF-D) or non-mil spec.

• Additional Specs:  

  Our glass bead will meet SAE AMS S (This specification covers the requirements for automatic shot peening of surfaces of parts by impingement of media, including metallic, glass, or ceramic shot) as well as AMS/6C (This specification, in conjunction with the general requirements coverd in AMS establishes the requirements for glass shot to be used for peening of metal parts).

• Knoop Hardness:  515

• Mohs Hardness: 5.5

• Packaged in 50lb bags

• Color: Clear or colorless

• Lead Free?  YES!  Our beads are lead free

• Density: 2.5 g/cc

• Bulk Weight:  1.5 kg/ltr
• Soda Lime Glass:  No free silica

• Specific Gravity: 2.45-2.50 g/cm3

• Toxicity:  None

• Shape: Spherical, 65-95% as required

Applications:

• Shuffleboard Games - Order  AMS/AGB100 as these beads have a tighter distribution, more fully rounded beads, and are excellent for shuffleboard surfaces

• Surface Etching

• Shot Peening
• To Create a Uniform Appearance
• To Remove Marks and Scuffs on Surface of part
• Surface Prep prior to coating
• Peening in order to increase the strength of the part
• Burr Removal
• Making Weighted Blankets or Reborn Life Like Dolls?  Try bead sizes 1-4!  Some customers will also use the larger grinding & milling beads.   It all depends on your fabric and your stitching.  
• Shuffleboard Surface:  A variety of bead sizes can be used, depending on how smooth your surface is.  If very smooth, try a #4 bead.  If not so smooth, try a #2 (larger) bead.  We can send you some viewing samples if you like.

Sizing Generalities: 

• 1 is a 12-20 sieve (0.85-1.70 mm), #2 is a 14-30 sieve

• 3 is very coarse, see chart below

• 6 is medium to coarse

• 8 is considered a medium and is the most commonly used size

• 10 is a medium to fine

• 13 is very fine

 

MIL-PRF-D

Size

US Sieve

Inches Max

Inches Min

Microns Max

Microns Min

Min % Round

3

20-30

.

.

850

For more thermoplastic road paintinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

600

65

4

30-40

.

.

600

425

70

5

40-50

.

.

425

300

70

6

50-70

.

.

300

212

80

7

60-80

.

.

250

180

80

8

70-100

.

.

212

150

80

9

80-120

.

.

180

125

80

10

100-170

.

.

150

90

90

11

120-200

.

.

125

75

90

12

140-230

.

.

106

63

90

13

170-325

.

.

90

45

95

**  Minimum order is 100 lbs, or two boxes.

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