Tooling manufacturers, coating centres and reconditioning companies should exploit wet blasting as a powerful method of edge honing and face processing cutting tools to within a few microns, says Tim Berry, application specialist.

A lot of the time we find ourselves in situations where an application may work with both wet and dry blasting processes. To remain competitive we have developed wet blasting into a controlled process so, when we are up against dry blasting, our systems become clear winners.

With a myriad of companies around who can offer wet blasting machines for a range of applications it can be hard to differentiate between suppliers. As one of the leaders in the wet blast process Vapormatt offers a lot more.

But first, some clarification.

The wet blast process was pioneered by Norman Ashworth in the 1950’s meaning over 60 years have passed for people to replicate the technology.

Peening involves the use of spherical medias to “hammer” the surface of a material and is a very effective way to improve the fatigue strength of a part. By bombarding a part with a peening media the substrate becomes exposed to compressive stresses that consequently improve strength by giving the grain structures a shallower depth with a more random texture pattern. The change to a surfaces structure through peening makes them far less like to fracture and crack.

The Sabre, the latest wet blasting system from Vapormatt, will be launched this year at GrindTec 2014, which takes place between 19th and 22nd March 2014 in Augsburg, Germany.

Cutting tools, used in the latest generation of machining centres, have to conform to ever higher standards of performance and accuracy.  To achieve this, tooling manufacturers and reconditioning companies need to exploit the best methods of achieving a precise cutting edge, for optimum accuracy and longevity.  Today, wet blasting is offering a powerful method of creating precise cutting edge profiles to within a few microns, says Tim Berry, application specialist.

The Vapormate wet-blasting cabinet from Vapormatt is allowing innovative manufacturer i2M to achieve a faster, more cost effective production process for its high quality, low volume components.  The Vapormate wet blast unit is now an essential part of the i2M production process, giving them the professional final finish that they require time and time again.

Vapormatt is taking wet blasting into the North Asian market with the help of Japanese distributor A.K. Techno.  The partnership will enable local businesses to discover equipment that will clean, degrease, descale, etch or satin polish all wire, cable and strip products with an extremely consistent and uniform surface finish.

I would imagine that when people think of Thailand manufacturing is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind.

It certainly wasn’t for me…

That was until we decided to look into the market opportunities that the ASEAN region could bring for providing wet blasting solutions.