Metal finishing Q&As since 1989



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Abrasive Blasting Dents/Pits Parts and Still Slow

Q. Using S110 steel shots to do blasting on steel parts. Recently have been facing issues with regards to small pitting/denting on parts.

Have installed a drive on the impeller motor and am thinking about decreasing the shot velocity. On the contrary though I do not want to compromise on the blast cycle time and am on the line of increasing the shot flow rate (controlled by a damper). This way I believe I would be able to run at the prescribed amperage (90% of full load motor current)

1. When the amperes (measuring wheel current) are decreased, am finding that the flow rate is increasing? Would it not be other way around? I was under the impression that the amperes are a direct reflection of my blasting intensity (which is a product of mass flow and velocity as in Kinetic Energy)

Any recommendations on my thought process? Any assistance in form of technical input would be highly appreciated. Cannot figure out how to resolve this denting issue.

Thank You

Abhishek Patel
- Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
August 17, 2012