Tumble Blasters?

[Mhajicek]

I make small, detailed, medical device parts, with nooks and crannies which I believe are too small for a tumbler or vibe to get reliably. I've been media blasting them by hand in a wire mesh basket. As quantities increase I'm thinking of getting a tumble blaster. Anyone here ever used one? What should I watch out for?

Thanks

 

[Dualkit]

Have you tried using a tumbler, vibe or rotary with blast media? It isn't a quick process but they can end up looking like they were blasted in a cabinet. I throw in a little ceramic media with the blast media. I have used both aluminum oxide and glass beads. The only issue is that the blast media will breakdown and end up the consistency of flour afetr 24 hours use, so you will burn through a good amount.

 

[Mhajicek]

I have not. I want to deviate from the current process as little as possible, since these are medical parts, and adding any new materials (plastic drum, different abrasives) could throw off the biocompatability and require more expensive testing.

 

[Doug]

The auto electric rebuilders use a small one. Some with glass bead.

It's an airless impeller type, but very simple.

the one I saw, had a 2 hp motor with the flinger wheel, in the bottom, the abrasive just went up, thru the basket, and fell back down.

No bucket conveyor needed.
ARE Industries steel shot blasters, tumble blasters, wheel blasters.

 

[Dualkit]

You can use the same abrasives as in the blast cabinet, the ceramic media just seems to speed up the process a little.

 

[Dualkit]

The auto electric rebuilders use a small one. Some with glass bead.

It's an airless impeller type, but very simple.

the one I saw, had a 2 hp motor with the flinger wheel, in the bottom, the abrasive just went up, thru the basket, and fell back down.

No bucket conveyor needed.
ARE Industries steel shot blasters, tumble blasters, wheel blasters.

Why can't places just list their base prices?

 

[Doug]

Why can't places just list their base prices?

There is another manuf, and they had the prices, I just couldn't find it right away.

Mckean Machinery had a used one, that's where I first saw them.
It had a name like "Jim's Blaster".....podunk N.C.

 

[Mud]

These fellows are not near you, but are expert in blasting, deburring, etc. I see rotary machines in their list. I buy my supplies from them and bought my zero cabinet from them 40 years ago. They can answer questions, supply equipment, and can do in house testing because they are also a job shop

Precision Finishing Inc | Mechanical Surface Finishing | United States

Precision Finishing serves all manufacturing disciplines through abrasive blast cleaning, vibratory finishing, aqueous washing, shot peening, accelerated surface finishing, waste treatment solutions and more

www.precisionfinishinginc.com

 

[Mud]

Found what I was thinking of - page 6 here - https://clemcoindustries.com/images/pdfs/13974.pdf

 

[Macds]

I talked to Dave about using his processes for deburring\polising hard milled powder metal tooling a couple years ago.
There was a bit too much edge break down for my application, but might work for you?

David A. Davidson on LinkedIn: #engineering #manufacturing #automation #mechanical #cnc #3dprinting… | 10 comments

https://lnkd.in/eutW5vR See the technical article [Isotropic Mass Finishing for Surface integrity and Part Performance]: discussing the the importance of edge… | 10 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com

 

[machinery_e]

I have one of these, awesome piece of equipment saves alot of labor-

DCM 161 Mini-Tumble Blast Cabinet - Clemco Industries Corp.

Blasts up to 25 lbs. Load parts, set cycle timer, come back to unload clean parts. Uses 17 cfm of air @ 60 psi. Automotive shops, jewelers, and dental labs.

clemcoindustries.com

 

[Mud]

I have one of these, awesome piece of equipment saves alot of labor-

What does one of those cost?

 

[Doug]

ShotKing :: Model S-5.2

I think this is the one I saw used.

 

[Doug]

I have one of these, awesome piece of equipment saves alot of labor-

DCM 161 Mini-Tumble Blast Cabinet - Clemco Industries Corp.

Blasts up to 25 lbs. Load parts, set cycle timer, come back to unload clean parts. Uses 17 cfm of air @ 60 psi. Automotive shops, jewelers, and dental labs.

clemcoindustries.com

How much air does it use ?

 

[machinery_e]

Per the specs from Clemco, the DCM-161 uses 17 cfm @ 60 PSI. I'm not sure of the new cost from Clemco, I picked mine up from HGR. It was in very nice shape, ready to use. I believe it was around $400 I paid for it.

 

[Doug]

Per the specs from Clemco, the DCM-161 uses 17 cfm @ 60 PSI. I'm not sure of the new cost from Clemco, I picked mine up from HGR. It was in very nice shape, ready to use. I believe it was around $400 I paid for it.

That's gonna keep a 5-7.5 hp compressor running solid.