Blasting without pre-cleaning will become a standard procedure with a new blasting media additive. The new process from the PantaTec GmbH for the direct removal of oils and greases from the manufacturing process during the shot blasting process now greatly simplifies the preparation of metallic surfaces and reduces the process costs. Shot blasting without pre-cleaning and even direct follow-on coating are possible today with the new blasting media additive ULTIMATE. Simply fill the blasting system with the blasting media additive. After only a short time, this significantly improves the surface preparation for steel and other metals, which - for example – have to be coated with a protective layer for corrosion protection.

The surface preparation process is thus made shorter, more reliable and is more cost-effective. The quality of the surface preparation, which represents the basis for coatings and additional finishes, is vastly improved. By simply mixing the ULTIMATE additive with the blasting shot and oils, greases and oily separating agents are directly removed from the production process during the shot blasting process. The usual washing step for metal surfaces subjected to shot blasting is no longer required, providing savings in costs and time and also improving process reliability and quality.

The blasted surfaces are well prepared for coatings and can be coated directly following shot blasting with suitable painting systems or additional finishes. Due to its physical properties, the ULTIMATE cleaning additive is able to break away substances deriving from the manufacturing process, such as oils, greases and separating agents, and bind these. These are then separated with very high efficiency from the blasting shot, the blasting machine and – most importantly – from the surfaces of the work pieces.

The conventional air separator then removes these from the blasting process, so that they are no longer impacting the process. This prevents contamination of the blasting media and the carry-over of oils and greases.

Besides its enormous effectiveness, PantaTec ULTIMATE has also proven to be neutral for the follow-on coating step. It is biologically harmless and contains no solvents (volatile organic compounds). The PantaTec process can be used in the simplest manner. Users report considerable improvement in free-flow properties of the blasting media, and therefore an improved blasting result (purity and roughness) is already visibly apparent within a short time after mixing PantaTec ULTIMATE additive directly with the blasting media, without the need for pre-washing.

Nearly three years ago, technical complications and high costs for the manufacturing of corrosion protection layers compelled a German machine and system manufacturer to seek a new method of de-greasing. The contamination of metal surfaces by oils and greases from the production process had to be removed directly during the blasting process, without the usual costly washing and drying processes.

The auxiliary materials from the manufacturing of steelwork and machines were previously removed through washing (often manually) from the metal surfaces before the blasting process. If this step is not adequately performed or not performed at all, oils and greases are carried over to the blasting process. These impurities are then carried uncontrolled to other components; similar to the spread of an infection.

In addition to the faulty surface preparation itself, the important process reliability and therefore quality assurance are then no longer satisfied.

In the meantime, PantaTec blasting media additive is the standard product used for degreasing in the area of surface preparation for corrosion protection and metal coatings. Examples of applications can be found in the manufacture of parts for automobile production, agricultural machines and construction machines, parts such as welded assemblies, screws and stamped bending parts, for the automotive industry. In the production of valves and fittings of iron, light-weight metal and red brass in metal foundries, the use of the additive also enabled a significant improvement and stabilization of the blasting process. Mixed with the PantaTec additive, the purified blasting media exhibits outstanding free-flow properties, providing excellent support of its principal function, the abrasive removal of solid material. Greases and oils are no longer carried over to and no longer clog the dust filters of sandblasting installations. The screening of the blasting shot remains functionally stable. The operating mixture is thus held constant, an important prerequisite for consistently homogeneous blasting results with the required surface roughness and purity.

Users of blasting installations can quickly control the conditions in their own sandblasting process with simple practice-oriented tests: the water penetration test with water dripping onto the blasting shot for the evaluation of the grease content; the adhesive tape test for controlling the residual dust on the blasted surfaces; the hand-rub test of the blasting media; and the visual inspection of the blasting media and blasted metal surface colour furnish information quickly.

As a rule, the follow-on use of the purifying additive already shows a clearly visible improvement after half-an-hour to one hour. The first use requires no changes to the blasting system. It is only necessary to find a suitable position for the introduction of the additive, in order to ensure good mixing. Here, the staff of the PantaTec GmbH provides on-site support to the user, directly on the system.

The positive results already known from installations in operation have in the meantime been confirmed by scientific investigations performed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) in Bremen. Thus, for example, on the basis of the results from x-ray photo-electron spectroscopy investigations of steel surfaces, these were allowed to be classified as suitable for coating with painting systems. The PantaTec ULTIMATE additive therefore exhibits excellent test results.

Since its market launch, the PantaTec GmbH has seen a rapidly increasing number of users from the areas of corrosion protection coatings with wet painting and powder coating, metallic coatings and also in the optimization of the blasting and peening processes themselves, e.g. after heat treatment, forging, casting and other manufacturing steps. Nonetheless, individual support with the use of PantaTec ULTIMATE remains often necessary, as the operating conditions can differ for each application. The type and degree of contaminants, the design of the blasting installation, the mode of operation of the system, the type and condition of the operating mixture, and of course the objective of the blasting process are some of the important factors.

For the next step in the direction of process reliability, automatic dosing is already available from the Konrad Rump company, which can be retrofitted to existing installations regardless of manufacturer.

For Information:
Thorsten Evert
PantaTec GmbH
Carl-Zeiss-Straße 8
32549 Bad Oeynhausen, Germany
Tel. +49.5734.51488 - 610
Fax +49.5734.51488 - 688
E-mail: info@pantatec.de
www.pantatec.de