The most common types of sand blasters

Artificial sandblasting is a process that most commonly uses sand to smooth out, clean and shape a hard surface. Solid particles are moved across the hard surface at very high speeds. Sandblasting as a process has to be done under controlled conditions, in a ventilated room, with protective clothes and mask, to avoid inhaling silica dust, the by-product of sandblasting process.

There are 2 types of sandblasters that can be used in sandblasting process, the suction feed blasters and the pressure feed blaster. The suction feed blaster uses a venturi siphoning action. It draws the blast media into the compressed air stream and then to the nozzle itself.

When it comes to the pressure feed blaster, the media is stored within the pressure pot. After the pot is sealed, the media goes through the valve and into the compressed air stream, which is placed in the blast nozzle. The nozzle then accelerates the media and it impacts the surface of the component. It is generally considered that the pressure feed blasters are much quicker then the suction feed blasters and both methods use different types of media for the process of sandblasting.