Other materials

Theoretically, any solid material classified in appropriate particle size can be used for blasting, as long as it can be recycled in the equipment.

The most common in Brazil or just abroad are:

Organic materials such as nutshells, corncobs, rice, Brazil nuts, peach pits among others, offer the advantage of being even less abrasive than glass beads. Its low hardness and small specific weight do not scratch or frost even soft plastic surfaces. In general, the process is slower than when using other harder materials and also has the drawback of contaminating surfaces with oil generally found in vegetables. Especially walnut, chestnut or peach shells are very durable which makes the process quite economical. In addition to cleaning and other applications to be addressed later, some materials such as ground corncob are used for drying parts.

Grinding and graded quartz can advantageously replace sand as it is more resistant to fragmentation, ensuring more uniform operations. It offers the serious drawback of also causing silicosis requiring even greater care in protecting the operators.

Plastic materials in the form of spherical or small cylinders obtained from cut wires are even more durable than organic ones. Some types of plastics or when applied to certain materials generate static electricity at high levels creating situations of great discomfort.

Antistatic plastics not yet available in granular form in Brazil have already been developed.

Non-ferrous abrasives such as stainless steel, bronze and aluminum, in spherical or angular form, have special applications, often linked to contamination or hardness problems when compared to steel.

In addition to these there are other materials that are very narrowly applied or only regionally used such as “Novaculite” which is a material discovered in the Rocky Mountains in the USA with fine and uniform grain size and fish bones or cartilage used in Spain where at some time. This year, a northern beach is littered with animals killed by a curious ecological phenomenon.

Concluding, for the time being, the applications of blasting as a part cleaning feature, it should be emphasized that the complete specification of a process should be initiated by the selection of the material to be employed, but must be completed with the choice of the most suitable type of equipment for refers to the type of acceleration (suction gun, pressure nozzle or turbine), type of equipment (open blasting, cabinet or cabin), dry or wet jet, cyclone or simple ventilation, manual, drum or automatic equipment and the type of dust collector. It is recommended, prior to a decision, to request literature and / or technical advice from BLASTIBRÁS.