Should You Buy A Wet Blast Machine?

Many might be questioning whether to buy a wet blast machine or a dry blast cabinet. Both dry and wet blast cabinet have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s dive into each of the cabinets and see what the hypes is all about.

So, why is wet blasting chosen for certain applications?

With the help of water, it can be applied to delicate parts, such as internal engine parts. A good example is pistons. You can vapor hone a piston and not worry about it changing the topography of the part. The reason the process can do this is that water cushion the abrasives.

Benefits

With a wet blast cabinet, the blasting process will generate less heat and not damage the original topography of the part. Wet blasting also produces no dust, which will allow you to place any of our machines anywhere without worries. Because wet blasting does not emit dust, this process is also known as dustless blasting. With all these benefits; automotive, airplane parts, and aerospace industry applications are examples where wet blasting is preferred. Compared to a dry blast cabinet, wet blast machines cost more due to the extra components that must be added such as a pump. Wet blast cabinets must also be built to a higher standard to support the extra weight added by the water. A wet blast system will need rust inhibitors to keep the blasted parts from rusting whereas dry blasting doesn’t.

Dry Blast Cabinets

Dry blasting is the most typical kind of abrasive blasting. They cost less than wet blast cabinet and is suited for certain applications. Dry blast cabinet operates on using direct pressurized air and the blasting process will generate heat. With dry blasting, it is important to note that, it emits dust into the air. Which will need to isolate the dry blast cabinet for health and safety reasons. Dry blasting will need a dust collector to pick up the emitted dust in order to keep better visibility inside the cabinet. Dust collectors could range from three hundred to $4000 dollars plus. It is preferred not to use dry blasting on delicate parts whereas, the media will embed itself onto the blasted surface.

Conclusion

Wet blast cabinets are pricier and you can do way more than a dry blast cabinet. The wet blast cabinet offers more benefits than the traditional dry blast cabinet and will continue to. With all the benefits wet blasting offers, the question falls back to “should you buy a wet blast cabinet?”

If you are interested in a wet blast cabinet, please give us a call at 828.202.5563 or contact us online
If you like to see our wet blast cabinet in action, visit our YouTube channel.