About Me

Why Manufacturing Is Still Important

Many people think that manufacturing is dead or that it has all been outsourced to foreign countries. However, that is not the case. In many industrialised countries, manufacturing has actually increased over the last few decades. However, due to improvements in processes, more advanced machinery and even the rise of artificial intelligence, a lot of manufacturing is no longer done by a human. However, it's still critical. If you are a consumer, a product developer, or even someone who works in the industrial and manufacturing industries, check out these posts. They explain and explore a lot of the reasons why manufacturing is still important and arguably more important than it has been in years.

Search

Latest Posts

Why Manufacturing Is Still Important

Abrasive Blasting – Mediums You Could Use To Prep Your Surfaces

by Terra Franklin

If you have a small-scale manufacturing and processing business, chances are sanding is your go-to technique when looking to resurface materials for an assortment of purposes ranging from painting, rust removal, smoothening or even to give them a different texture. Over the years, though, there has been the introduction of other materials that can be used in abrasive blasting and can prove better than traditional sanding for one reason or another. If you have been looking to branch out from using sand in your abrasive blasting processes, here are some of the mediums that you could use instead for the preparation of your surfaces.

Abrasive blasting using steel shot

Steel shot refers to a process that, as the name suggests, makes use of tiny particles of steel. During the abrasive blasting process via steel shot, high velocity is used to shoot the steel particles directly at the surface you are looking to clean. Thus, this medium is best utilised when you are looking to brighten the appearance of a material. However, it should also be noted that the steel shot process could be used to cut through materials depending on the velocity of the process. Steel shot can also be a good option when looking to fortify a material by bending it.

Abrasive blasting using minerals

There are a number of mineral compounds that are hard enough to abrade surfaces but are not as expensive as diamond. Some of the minerals that you could contemplate for abrasive blasting include staurolite, garnet and olivine compounds. The significant advantage that mineral offer to the abrasive blasting process is that they do not produce as much slag and dust particles as compared to other mediums that you could utilise. Therefore, the clean up after abrasive blasting with minerals is hassle-free. Moreover, since they are a natural resource yet cheaper than diamond, they make a cost-efficient alternative.

Abrasive blasting using ceramic beads

Ceramic beads, also commonly known as ceramic grit, is one of the abrasive blasting mediums that is typically found in the auto industry as they offer an excellent solution for sloughing off paint from the body of the car. In other manufacturing processes, the ceramic beads work well with stainless steel as they facilitate the creation of a smooth and shiny surface without the steel or the beads degrading. If your business typically handles metallic substances, ceramic grit can also be utilised in rust removal. 

Share