Built for files and rasps
Files are loaded by hand onto a driven roller conveyor and carried continuously past fixedblast guns above and below the file. A recirculated rinse and air knives then remove themedia and most of the water before each file is unloaded at the exit. The conveyor heightadjusts to suit different file profiles, and a stored recipe directs the slurry to slot nozzlesfor wider files or to energy-saving Mk9 nozzles for smaller ones, using less air andproducing less overspray.Built for files and rasps.
Files are loaded by hand onto a driven roller conveyor and carried continuously past fixedblast guns above and below the file. A recirculated rinse and air knives then remove themedia and most of the water before each file is unloaded at the exit. The conveyor heightadjusts to suit different file profiles, and a stored recipe directs the slurry to slot nozzlesfor wider files or to energy-saving Mk9 nozzles for smaller ones, using less air andproducing less overspray.
Two recipes, one machine
- Cleaning: after hardening, the cleaning recipe flushes heat scale, quench residue andgrinding fines from each tooth profile and gullet.
- Sharpening: the sharpening recipe drives the slurry at a shallow angle onto the back ofeach tooth, sharpening the cutting edge so the file bites from its first stroke and stayssharp for longer.
Both run in the same pass, with process parameters set for your cut, size and steel andrecalled from the colour HMI for every repeat run.
What alternatives cannot do
Steam-driven slurry blasting needs a boiler that is expensive to run, adds the risk ofpressurised steam and makes the blast room hot and noisy. Dry blasting is harsh on finetooth edges and fills the air with dust. Acid cleaning and etching adds handling,neutralising and waste treatment, and etches every surface evenly rather than workingmainly on the back of each tooth. The Profelis FR drives its slurry with compressed air,inside a sealed cabinet, with no acid on site.
Already running steam generating equipment? The Profelis FR runs on compressed air asstandard, and can be adapted to run from your existing steam generator system.
Find out how wet blasting compares with other finishing processes
Why Vapormatt
Since 1978, four generations of the Ashworth family have built and developed wet blastingmachines, including machines for file processing. That knowledge is built into everyProfelis FR.
- Your process, or a better one: we can replicate your existing process, matching media,blast angles and pressures, or develop new recipes for your files, then prove them onyour own files before you commit.
- Closed-loop containment: hydrocyclones, S tanks and a stainless steel reservoir cleanand recirculate the rinse water. Oil is skimmed off automatically, abrasive is dosedautomatically, and the cabinet runs under negative pressure, so nothing reaches thesurrounding line.
- Proven before it leaves us: every machine passes factory acceptance testing on yourown files, under our ISO 9001 certified quality system.
- Support for the life of the machine: a dedicated project leader from order toinstallation, then spares, servicing and Vapormatt 4.0 remote diagnostics through themachine's built-in site manager.
Read about Vapormatt's patents and R&D programme
The Vapormatt Promise: the machine meets the agreed specification, or we make it right.
The bottom line
The Profelis FR replaces steam, dust or acid with one enclosed in-line machine that cleans and sharpens every file in a single pass. Safer for your operators, sharper for your customers.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Products | Wood and metal hand files and rasps |
| Typical throughput | Around 500 files an hour for a 200mm file, cleanedand sharpened in one pass, and well above that onsome file types. Heavier work, such as coarserasps, runs more slowly. Rates are confirmed foryour files in a sample trial |
| Product entry height | 1,040mm (41") |
| Machine dimensions | 3,254mm × 1,456mm × 2,775mm (128" × 57" × 109"),length × width × height; blast cabinet 1,609mm(63") long |
| Blast guns | Up to 6 slot nozzles (3 above, 3 below) and/or 8 ×Ø10mm energy-saving Mk9 nozzles (4 above, 4below), selected by file size |
| Slurry pump | 50mm (1.97") high-efficiency Vapormatt pump; slurry system in polyurethane and rubber |
| Product handling | Driven roller conveyor through the machine, heightadjustable for different profiles; manual loadingand unloading |
| Rinsing and drying | Recirculated auto pre-rinse and auto air wipes; 2 ×4.5kW rinse tank immersion heaters withthermostat |
| Filtration | Hydrocyclones, S tanks and stainless steelreservoir; auto oil skimming; auto abrasive dosing |
| Cabinet | High-quality stainless steel; service and productaccess door; viewing window with wash bar |
| Controls | Colour HMI in English, metric units; SMCpneumatics; 24V DC control circuits; Ethernet sitemanager for remote diagnostics (Vapormatt 4.0) |
| Electrical supply | 400/480V AC, 3-phase, 50/60Hz, 35A |
| Air supply | 6 to 7 bar (90 to 100 psi); 18.7 Nm³/min (658 SCFM)with 6 slot nozzles, or 9.1 Nm³/min (320 SCFM) with8 × Ø10mm nozzles, at 5.5 bar (80 psi) |
| Water supply | 2 to 7 bar (30 to 100 psi); 13 L/min (3 GPM),intermittent |
| Weight | 2,100kg (4,630lb) empty; 2,600kg (5,732lb) with water |
| Extraction | Forced centrifugal extraction unit maintaining negative pressure; exhaust ducted to the external atmosphere |
| Upgrade possibility | Runs on compressed air as standard. Can beadapted to run from an existing steam generatorsystem, as a non-standard upgrade; ask us todiscuss |
Options
- Forced extraction with filter unit, exhausting safely to the workshop
- Automatic moving bed paper filter, 685mm
- Fine media dosing and filtration for media of 400 mesh and smaller
- Programmable ANDON status beacon for monitoring at a distance
- Operation manual, HMI screens and labels in your language
Full technical specifications are in the Profelis FR technical brochure
