Case Study - Pilana Metal

Switching from dry to wet blasting can do more than just improve the finish of your products: it can boost your operational productivity too.

Our client, Pilana Metal, is one example. A Czech-based manufacturer of quality bandsaw blades, it’s crucial their saws have a perfect finish every time, and that their production processes are as efficient as possible.

Their old dry blasting machine generated huge quantities of dust and noise, meaning it had to be separated from the rest of their production line and housed in a sealed room. As a result, transferring finished saw blades off-line for surface treatment meant a halt in production.

Pioneering technology for a flawless finish

After renting a wet blaster from Vapormatt for a six-month trial with great results, the team at Pilana Metal decided to purchase our Profelis wet blasting with a hot wash unit: a continuous automatic machine that runs for three shifts a day. To make sure the team could hit the ground running, we sent over our own experts with the unit to help train employees at Pilana’s headquarters in Hulin.

Pilana uses the machine to provide a flawless cosmetic finish and cutting-edge enhancement to the teeth of its 13-80mm bandsaw blades. With our wet blasting surface treatment, their blades end up with a better cutting edge than through dry blasting, as well as a more reactive surface and a better hold for protective oil to prevent rusting. The ability to carry out edge radiusing also helps to prolong the life of the blade, for a complete upgrade in efficiency and quality.

A five-fold increase in line speed

BL-204-A As for the effect on production? For Jiří Michal, the owner of Pilana, it couldn’t be better. The introduction of wet blasting has improved product quality while boosting throughput from 1.5m per minute to 8m per minute.

In addition, wet blasting is now an in-line process and an integral part of the production line – there’s no need to transfer blades to a separate room.

The Profelis model also has an ‘auto top-up’ system for abrasive media that kicks in based on its time run. There is also a system that uses cyclones to remove broken down abrasive, with a re-circulated rinse package to keep the whole system as closed-loop preventing water loss.