Blast Cabinets

A Blast Cabinet is a piece of equipment used to blast the parts to be treated from outside of the cabinet to prevent the operator from coming into contact with the blasted abrasive particles. They incorporate four basic components which are the cabinet, the abrasive blasting system, the abrasive recycling system and the dust collection. The operator places both arms inside the gloves attached to the glove holes, turning the blast on by using a foot operated pedal, while viewing the part to be treated through the window on the front of the cabinet. As well as manual blast operated units there are automated units available which are used in high volume situations. These automated machines can use multiple blast nozzles and a part conveyance system. There are three basic blast systems which use a blast cabinet, namely the siphon blast system, the pressure blast system and the wet blast system which injects an abrasive liquid into a compressed gas stream. The nozzles used come in a variety of shapes and sizes and materials, but tungsten carbide, silicone carbide and boron carbide are probably the most widely used in larger cabinets whereas ceramic nozzles are used in smaller cabinets.