Blasting agent and blasting method

Abstract

A system including at least one means for mechanical processing of surfaces using a blasting agent (5), in particular steel or cast iron beads. An additive (6) for degreasing and cleaning of the surface to be blasted (2) and/or of the blasting agent is provided with the blasting agent (5), and comprising a granular material (6), which exhibits a lower breaking strength under the mechanical stresses that the blasting agent (5) is subject to during the blasting procedure than the at least one means for mechanical processing of the surfaces themselves. As the granular material (6) breaks down, additional additive (6) is added into the blasting agent (5) such that the proportion of the additive (6) in the blasting agent mixture blend (5) remains largely generally constant even at a prolonged operation of the device.

Claims

1. A blasting method, wherein during a blasting process, a granular blasting agent (5) is blasted onto a surface of a workpiece (2), said method comprising the steps of: providing an additive (6) to the granular blasting agent (5) prior to said blasting agent (5) being blasted onto a surface of a workpiece (2), said additive (6) configured for degreasing and cleaning of a surface of the workpiece (2), said additive (6) comprising new and used granular additive material (6) which exhibits a lower breaking strength than a breaking strength of the granular blasting agent (5) under the mechanical stresses that the granular blasting agent (5) and granular additive material (6) are subject to during the blasting procedure, whereby granules of the granular additive material (6) are intentionally configured for being at least partly crushed by said granular blasting agent (5) during the blasting process; providing a device (7) for the metered addition of new, unused granular material additive (6) to said used granular blasting agent (5), and wherein said device (7) is configured for maintaining a volume ratio between new and used granular material additive (6) and the granular blasting agent (5) for the mechanical processing of surfaces at a constant level utilizing a control feature; blasting said granular additive material (6) containing granular blasting agent (5) onto said surface of said workpiece (2) to be blasted utilizing a spinner blasting device (1), said spinner blasting device (1) configured for receiving said granular additive material (6) containing granular blasting agent (5), said step of blasting creating at least a crushed portion of said granular additive material (6) and used granular blasting agent (5), wherein said step of blasting and creating said at least a crushed portion of said granular material additive (6) increases a relative surface area of the granular additive material (6) such that contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece being blasted adhere to the crushed granular additive material (6) and not to the granular blasting agent (5); and separating the crushed portion of the granular material additive (6) and the adhered contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece being blasted from the used granular blasting agent (5).

2. The blasting method as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the used granular blasting agent (5) including at least partly crushed granular material additive (6) and the adhered contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece being blasted are collected and returned to the blasting process after a processing procedure.

3. The blasting method as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the crushed portion of the granular material additive (6) and the adhered contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece being blasted are separated from the used granular blasting agent (5) during a processing procedure.

4. The blasting method as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that new, unused granular material additive (6) is added to the used granular blasting agent (5), whereby a volume ratio between new and used granular material additive (6) and the used granular blasting agent (5) is preferably kept at a constant level utilizing a control feature.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1, further including providing a processing device (8), configured to separate the used granular blasting agent (5) into a first portion (13) containing the granular blasting agent (5) for the mechanical processing of surfaces and an uncrushed portion of used granular material additive (6), and a second portion (12) containing said crushed portion of the granular material additive (6) and the adhered contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece (2) being blasted during the blasting process.

6. The method as set forth in claim 5, characterized in that the processing device (8) configured to separate the used blasting agent into first and second portions comprises one of an air separator or a cyclone separator.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said granular material additive (6) includes perlite.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said perlite includes expanded perlite.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said granular material additive (6) is a salt or oxide, wherein said oxide includes a silicon oxide or perlite, and wherein said perlite includes expanded perlite.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said granular material additive (6) is a granular material whose granules exhibit an inner porosity.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said granular blasting agent (5) further includes beads, and wherein said beads are selected from the group of beads consisting of steel beads and cast iron beads.

12. A blasting method, wherein during a blasting process, a granular blasting agent (5) is blasted onto a surface of a workpiece (2), said method comprising the steps of: providing an additive (6) to the granular blasting agent (5) prior to said blasting agent (5) being blasted onto a surface of a workpiece (2), said additive (6) configured for degreasing and cleaning of a surface of the workpiece (2), said additive (6) comprising a granular additive material (6) which exhibits a lower breaking strength than a breaking strength of the granular blasting agent (5) under the mechanical stresses that the granular blasting agent (5) and granular additive material (6) are subject to during the blasting procedure, whereby granules of the granular additive material (6) are at least partly crushed by said granular blasting agent (5) during the blasting process; blasting said granular additive material (6) containing granular blasting agent (5) onto said surface of said workpiece (2) to be blasted utilizing a spinner blasting device (1), said spinner blasting device (1) configured for receiving said granular additive material (6) containing granular blasting agent (5), said step of blasting creating at least a crushed portion of said granular additive material (6) and used granular blasting agent (5), wherein said step of blasting and creating said at least a crushed portion of said granular material additive (6) increases a relative surface area of the granular additive material (6) such that contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece being blasted adhere to the crushed granular additive material (6) and not to the granular blasting agent (5); collecting the used granular blasting agent (5) including at least partly crushed granular material additive (6) and the adhered contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece being blasted; processing the used granular blasting agent (5) including at least partly crushed granular material additive (6) and the adhered contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece being blasted to separate the crushed portion of the granular material additive (6) and the adhered contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece being blasted from the used granular blasting agent (5) and the used, uncrushed granular material additive (6), wherein said processing step includes utilizing a processing device (8), configured to separate the used granular blasting agent (5) into a first portion (13) containing the granular blasting agent (5) for the mechanical processing of surfaces of a workpiece (2) and an uncrushed portion of used granular material additive (6), and a second portion (12) containing said crushed portion of the granular material additive (6) and the adhered contaminants removed from the surface of the workpiece (2) being blasted during the blasting process; adding, using a device (7) for the metered addition, new, unused granular material additive (6) to the first portion (13) of the used granular blasting agent (5), whereby a volume ratio between new and used granular material additive (6) and the used granular blasting agent (5) in the first portion (13) is preferably kept at a constant level utilizing a control feature of said device (7); and returning the processed used granular blasting agent (5), the new, unused granular material additive (6) and the used, uncrushed granular material additive (6) to the blasting process to be reused.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description, taken together with the drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(3) The exemplary device according to the invention exhibits a blasting device 1 in which the blast 3 impacts the workpiece 2. The blasting agent 5 used is captured and supplied to the processing device 8. In said processing device, a first portion 13, which essentially contains the actual blasting agent as well as the un-crushed portion of the additive, is separated using a sizing cyclone separator or an air separator, and separated from a second portion 12, which is preferably discharged by a carrier air stream and that contains the crushed portion of the additive as well as abrasions of the workpiece and/or of the blasting agent and the contaminants to be removed from the process, all of which are provided to a filter device 9. The second portion 12 can be removed from the carrier air stream using a filter 10 and discharging only uncontaminated air 11.

(4) In the preferred embodiment, the additive may be a material such as PantaTec ULTIMATE available from PantaTec GmbH of Bad Oeynhausen Germany, the specification, use and testing of which is fully incorporated herein by reference. As is known in the art, the optimum concentration of the additive is determined in advance by conducting measurements. Throughout the cleaning process, the concentration of the additive in the mixture is determined as indicated by the manufacturer of the additive. Depending on the degree of contamination, experimental data gives the user an indication of how much additive to add. The step of adding additional additive can be performed either by hand (by simply pouring the additive directly into the blasting agent) or by using an automatic device as is well known in the art and shown, for example, in the PantaTec brochure.

(5) According to one feature of the invention, a device 7 as is known in the art may be present for the automated metered supply of the granular additive 6 and is used to add the additive to the circulating blasting agent 5 and that preferably meters the added additive such that the proportion of the additive in the blasting agent mixture blend 5 remains largely constant even at a prolonged operation of the device.

(6) Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is not to be limited except by the following claims.