Abrasives are being used more and more widely in the industrial field, especially in ship hull rust removal and high-precision machining. Blasting media garnet is one of the many abrasives, and its usage rate is increasing. It has long shown a trend of replacing other abrasives because blasting media garnet can not only meet the requirements of most industrial manufacturing, but is also relatively inexpensive, thus saving costs for manufacturing companies.
1. The harm to the human body
Blasting media garnet is mined from deep underground and is a non-metallic mineral that does not contain free silicon. It does not generate dust during operation and is essentially harmless to the human body. However, some other types of abrasives contain heavy metals, which generate dust during sandblasting, harming operators. Furthermore, operators need to wear very thick protective gear to prevent inhaling the dust into their lungs.
2. Abrasive Hardness
Blasting media garnet is extremely hard, with a Mohs hardness of around 7.5. This hardness is higher than commonly used sandblasting materials such as quartz sand, sea sand, and river sand, and it also has a longer service life. After sandblasting with blasting media garnet the surface of the workpiece is smoother and more aesthetically pleasing, which is unmatched by other abrasives.
3. Abrasive Shape
Blasting media garnet is an isometric crystal, so when it is made into sandblasting particles, it easily forms angular, near-cubic particles, resulting in the best sandblasting rust removal effect. Garnet not only thoroughly cleans oxide scale, rust layers, and contaminants from metal surfaces, but also, due to its high hardness, creates the desired angular roughness on the cleaned metal surface. This increases the surface area of the metal, improves interfacial adhesion, and significantly enhances the bonding strength between the corrosion-resistant protective coating and the metal surface, thereby improving the adhesion performance between the metal surface and the coating.
4. Chloride Content
The chloride content is a crucial factor in evaluating the quality of blasting abrasives and is a paramount indicator. If the chloride content is too high, the garnet abrasive cannot be used for blasting. Garnet abrasive has extremely low chloride content and will not produce soluble salts after blasting. However, some coatings have high chloride content, which easily leads to the formation of soluble salts, making them unsuitable for blasting operations.
The emergence of this garnet abrasive has largely solved the problem of sandblasting difficulties in waterjet cutting equipment, greatly improving cutting quality and efficiency.
