Improve Cutting Tool Inserts with wet blasting
A cutting edge automated process for your insert manufacturing, ensuring consistency and repeatability
Wet blasting cutting tool inserts can be beneficial in various applications within the manufacturing and machining industry. Wet blasting enhances the performance, longevity, and precision of cutting tool inserts.
Wet blasting will add value to you and your customer base by improving surfaces of your tools for manufacturing processes.
Wet blasting Applications for Cutting Tool Inserts
Deburring and Edge Radiusing: Removing burrs, sharp edges, or irregularities from the cutting edges and applying specific edge radii. Reduces damage on startup and enables for a even and high level of adhesion for coating.
Creates a reactive surface: Wet blasting gives ultimate control over your process allowing for a highly reactive surface that achieves the highest cleanliness, and aids the coating process.
Surface Smoothing: Smoothing out rough surfaces on the cutting tool inserts. Reduces friction during cutting, minimizes heat generation, and improves the overall cutting performance.
Cleaning and Degreasing: Removing coolant residues, oils, or contaminants from the surfaces. Maintains a clean cutting surface for improved chip evacuation, heat dissipation, and machining accuracy.
Surface Finishing and Texture Control: Achieving a specific surface finish or texture on the cutting tool inserts. Customizes the cutting tool surface for enhanced chip flow, improved wear resistance, or other application-specific requirements.
Preparation for Coating: Creating an optimal surface for coatings to improve wear resistance. Enhances the adhesion of coatings, increasing the tool's lifespan and resistance to wear, abrasion, and corrosion.
Quality Control: Inspecting and removing defects, irregularities, or imperfections from the surface of cutting tool inserts. Improves the overall quality and performance of the cutting tools.
Environmental Considerations: Wet blasting reduces airborne dust and contaminants during surface preparation, contributing to a cleaner and safer working environment.
Wet blasting can be customized based on the specific needs of cutting tool inserts, taking into consideration factors such as the material of the inserts, coating requirements, and the desired outcome for the machining application. Adjusting parameters like abrasive media type, water pressure, and dwell time ensures effective and precise wet blasting for cutting tool inserts.
Wet blasting process benefits
Our wet blasting process offers several inherent benefits that add to it being the prefeed surface processing method for many industries and applications. Some of the key process benefits are listed below.
Highly controllable Surface Treatment: Wet blasting is a highly controllable process compared to other methods such as dry blasting. It can effectively remove contaminants, coatings, burrs and rust without causing damage to delicate automotive components, ensuring the integrity of the surfaces.
No Dust Emission: The addition of water in wet blasting suppresses dust formation, resulting in a cleaner and safer working environment. This is crucial in the automotive industry where cleanliness is essential for maintaining high-quality standards and ensuring the health and safety of workers. This also means no static build up or hazardous environments that can occur with some materials.
Environmentally Friendly: The use of water in wet blasting minimizes the environmental impact compared to dry blasting methods. It reduces airborne dust and facilitates easier containment and disposal of waste, contributing to environmental sustainability.
Versatility in Abrasive Media: Wet blasting can utilize a variety of abrasive media, such as glass beads, aluminium oxide, Ceramics, or others, and due to the high level of control the process can also work wider a wider range of media sizes, from large coarse media to very fine if the requirement calls for it. This versatility allows manufacturers to choose the most suitable media for specific applications, providing flexibility in surface preparation.
Improved Surface Finish: Wet blasting not only cleans surfaces but also leaves them with a smoother finish. This is particularly beneficial for applications where a high-quality appearance is crucial, such as in the production of automotive parts with aesthetic requirements.
Minimized Heat Generation: Wet blasting generates less heat compared to some methods. This is advantageous for components that are sensitive to heat, preventing potential damage or distortion during the process.
Reduced Media Consumption: Wet blasting uses abrasive media more efficiently compared to other methods. The water cushions the impact and creates the ability to control and filter to a very fine level, allowing the media to be reused for a longer duration before replacement, and adds consistency and repeatability to process. This results in potential cost savings over other methods, and a more accurate level of control over your process.
Enhanced Worker Safety: The reduction of dust and the generally lower abrasive impact contribute to a safer working environment for operators. Wet blasting helps mitigate health risks associated with exposure to airborne contaminants, improving overall workplace safety.
In summary, wet blasting provides a combination of precision, environmental responsibility, cost-effectiveness, and safety benefits, making it a superior method and attractive option for various industry applications
Process driven Solutions for insert manufacture
Our aim is to work with you and supply you the process and solution(s) to meet your requirements.
Our equipment is designed to best utilise our process to meet your requirements. By utilising our years of experience and process knowledge, and combining it with our automated technology, we can provide a complete solution that delivers control and consistency to give you the perfect finish every time.
Contact us to discuss your requirements, and how we can work with you. Or have a look at our solution pages for more information.
We also design and manufacture washing equipment which in many cases complements our wet blasting solutions.
In many applications we have implemented solutions that incorporate both blasting and washing in a one step process which can remove handling steps and increase efficiency.
