Blasting abrasive

The effect of the blasting process on the surface depends on many parameters. On the one hand, this concerns the technical design and settings of the blasting machines. The quality of the blasting process depends to a large extent on the abrasive used. The desired result of the blasting, e.g. cleaning, roughening or hardening, therefore also determines the choice of the appropriate blasting medium.

Various manufacturers, materials, shapes and sizes are available on the market. The range of possible combinations is therefore very wide.

AGTOS blast machines are designed in such a way that turbines and abrasive circuits allow the selection of the ideal abrasive. First the material is determined, then the grain size. A grit diameter of 0.1 mm can hardly be distinguished from dust, but can be used in AGTOS blast machines thanks to easily adjustable wind sifting. At the other end of the size scale are steel balls with a diameter of 3 mm. These are also known colloquially as "cannonballs". The general principle is: as coarse as necessary, but as fine as possible.

Steel blasting media

The standard material for use in foundries, forges or in steel construction is steel. It is mostly used as cast steel, but cut steel wire also finds many areas of application.

As far as steel casting is concerned, the carbon content determines the durability and aggressiveness of the abrasive. Highly carbonised abrasive breaks more quickly. The fracture points are sharp-edged and intensify the steel process. Low carbonised abrasives are considered to be more durable and gentle. Our specialists will be happy to answer the question of when which blasting medium should be used.

If the surface is to be given a greater roughness, edged abrasives can also be used partially or completely instead of round abrasives. Aspects relating to the durability of the abrasive and the system are also taken into account. In addition to the shape and composition of the abrasive, the degree of hardness of the abrasive also plays a decisive role.

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Aluminium blasting agent

For the processing of aluminium workpieces, the use of aluminium abrasives is becoming more and more common. Here, too, there is the choice between cast abrasive and wire grit. For production, drawn wire is cut into cylinders. In this form, the abrasive is more aggressive than rounded abrasive and is more often used for aluminium forgings. Aluminium abrasive has an enormously positive effect on the wear of a system. This means that significantly lower costs for maintenance and repair work can be expected. An important point for the aluminium abrasive is its electrochemically neutral behaviour.

Zinc-aluminium blasting agent

Zinc-aluminium abrasive is also suitable for machining aluminium workpieces. The advantage here is also that it is not ferritic and therefore no rust can develop. Furthermore, the density is higher than with pure aluminium abrasive. Consequently, the effect of the blasting is stronger due to higher energy.

Stainless steel abrasive 

Stainless steel abrasives can also be used to process aluminium surfaces, for example. Ferritic components do not get into the surface of the workpieces and the specific weight corresponds to that of steel abrasives. In addition, quenched and tempered steels can also be blasted, e.g. to remove tempering colours from welding seams. It is not desirable to process the surface of these stainless steels with "ferritic" blasting media.

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The list of available blasting media can be continued with plastic blasting media, glass beads, corundum, ground nutshells and countless other exotics. Simply talk to our experts about your individual application and receive competent advice!