Shot Blast Tip 6 - Regularly Check Your Wear Parts In Your Shot Blast Machine

Wear parts in your shot blast machine are the: blades/vanes, control cage, impellor and side / top wear plates in the blast wheel(s) themselves and the wear protection plates in the blast zone (in the area calculated to have the most impact from the abrasive when it is thrown from the wheel).

Every time the machine operates these parts will be subjected to wear and so need to be checked on a regular basis. Thinning of parts / sections must be noted and once minimum material section parameters are reached the wear parts need to be changed. Options are available on many wear parts for harder materials to prolong service life, minimise downtime intervals where replacement frequency is considered too high.

In the case of wear plates in the blast chamber these are protecting the housing material of the blasting machine which would otherwise be destroyed. These need to be replaced once a minimum thickness is measured to protect your machine. In the case of Rősler machines these are quickly replaced due to the simple, hung fixing method.

Wheel spares, and in particular blades/vanes, impellors and control cages affects how the abrasive is thrown. Particular attention needs to be given to these wear parts. Blast pattern changes can result in abrasive being thrown into areas of the machine not protected by wear plates, blasting into wheel housings and missing the parts to be processed. If this isn’t addressed, considerable wear / damage can be inflicted to the machine which will be costly to rectify.

When worn parts need replacing it is important that the OEM’s rules for changing parts are adhered to (i.e. quality of the replacement parts – correct dimensions / hardness, replacement procedures, etc.). In a number of cases sets of parts need to replaced rather than the individual wear parts to ensure integrity and performance of the blast wheel after repair. These will always be advised by the manufacturer.

Click to read Tip No. 7 Check Your Blast Pattern

For more information on Shot Blasting please visit www.rosler.com

Post written by

Haydn Kitchen

Shot Blasting Technical Manager