Every time you use your shot blast machine, wear will take place on anything the abrasive comes into contact with. In the blast wheel itself, over a given period this will result in changes that will affect your blast pattern (how and where the abrasive is thrown).

When wear occurs such as the thinning of the blades / vanes or a widening of the aperture in the impellor, the difference in the blast pattern can quickly exceed a change of 20%.  This will lead to an increased blast cleaning time, decreased production output and unnecessary wear to the blast chamber. This condition leads to greater abrasive usage caused by the blast stream firing onto the chamber wear plates causing unnecessary abrasive breakdown.

Therefore it is vital that you regularly check your blast pattern. Principally this involves blasting a test plate to see that the area of impact is where it should be.

As blasting machines come in a range of styles and sizes we will be happy to assist you with this, simply contact our service team on Tel: 0151 482 0444 at any time.

During maintenance there is a risk of blast pattern change. When the components of the wheel are dismantled and replaced, unless the settings are verified to be as per the original machine set-up, there is a good chance that a ‘repaired’ wheel is already throwing abrasive in areas it shouldn’t and you are suffering the consequences.

Even a 1 or 2 degree change from the correct settings can lead to a 10% shift in the blast pattern so it is important this is checked.  Again we can help with this.

Click the screen image to see a video showing an automated blast pattern control:

Click to read Tip No. 8 Check Your Blast Wheel Amp Efficiency

For more information on Shot Blasting please visit www.rosler.com

Post written by
Haydn Kitchen
Shot Blasting Technical Manager