7 января 2025 года

Sandblasting plays a vital role in modern manufacturing and maintenance. It not only provides a smooth base for subsequent painting or other surface treatments but also effectively improves the surface’s mechanical properties and appearance quality.

It is crucial to choose the right sandblasting media in sandblasting. Although steel grit has long been widely used as a traditional sandblasting medium, ceramic blasting media have gradually surpassed steel grit in many of the same applications due to their excellent performance. This article will compare these two special sandblasting media in detail to help readers make the most appropriate choice in practical applications.

A relatively new type of sandblasting material, it has gradually been widely used as the industry’s demand for fine, environmentally friendly, durable sandblasting media increases. Sandblasting media with zirconium oxide and other highly wear-resistant materials as the main components, a unique manufacturing process that makes it have a uniform spherical structure and hard texture, which can provide an efficient cleaning effect when processing the surface of the workpiece.

It is a traditional sandblasting medium that has played a role in early industrial applications such as metal surface treatment. Its high-impact characteristics have made it an important material for surface treatment in the sandblasting process. The particles of steel grit are relatively rough and have irregular angular shapes. Compared with ceramic blasting beads, it has a shorter service life and needs to be replaced more frequently.

Электронные компоненты

• Semiconductor wafers
• PCB boards
• Connectors and plugs
• Sensor housings

Auto parts

• Engine components
• Brake discs and pads
• Body parts
• Exhaust pipe components
• Steering system parts

Медицинские изделия

• Surgical instruments
• Implants
• Катетеры
• Medical pump housings
• Needles and small medical parts

Формы

• Injection molds
• Casting molds
• Stamping molds
• Die-casting molds

Аэрокосмическая промышленность

• Лопатки турбины
• Fuselage shells
• Aircraft wheels
• Avionics housings
• Engine parts

Ship parts

• Propellers
• Hull joints

Industrial equipment parts

• Pump housings and valves

Ceramic blasting beads show significant advantages in sandblasting cleaning. These characteristics make them superior to traditional steel grit in the above application scenarios. The following details the unique advantages of ceramic blasting media in terms of environmental performance, service life, surface effects, etc.

Environmental performance: lower dust generation

According to the environmental research data of the German Industry Association, the dust generation of ceramic blasting media in actual operation is more than 80% less than that of steel grit, as shown in the following:

• Ceramic beads: dust concentration is about 0.2 mg/m³
• Steel grit: dust concentration is as high as 1 mg/m³

This not only meets the safety standards of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) but also greatly reduces the maintenance frequency of dust removal equipment.

Service life: higher cycle efficiency

Measured data show that ceramic blasting media can be recycled an average of 35 times and up to 50 times in high-intensity sandblasting operations, while the service life of steel grit is usually 7-10 times.

A comparative experiment conducted by an aviation manufacturing company showed that ceramic beads can process more than 4 times the surface area per kilogram of steel grit, and can still maintain more than 70% of its original efficiency after repeated use.

Surface effect: more uniform processing quality

Data provided by the International Material Processing Laboratory show that ceramic blasting media can control the surface roughness of workpieces more accurately after sandblasting, which is suitable for high-demand scenarios:

• Mold industry: The roughness Ra value of the mold surface treated with ceramic blasting media is evenly distributed in the range of 0.3-0.5 μm, while the steel grit fluctuates greatly, which may be between 1-2 μm.
• Ceramic blasting beads can produce a consistent matte effect on the surface of titanium alloy while maintaining the biocompatibility of the material.

Operational safety: low impact force reduces surface damage

Experiments show that the impact force of ceramic blast beads is only 50% of that of steel grit, which is specifically manifested as follows:

• After sandblasting the surface of aluminum parts, the surface indentation depth of ceramic blasting media is 10 μm, while the indentation depth of steel grit reaches 30 μm, which significantly increases the risk of material damage.
• In the application of precision equipment surfaces (such as aerospace turbine blades), ceramic blasting media can significantly reduce micro-cracks and reduce the rework rate by about 30%.

High adaptability: wide range of applications

According to customer feedback, ceramic blast beads are widely used in the following substrates and special scenarios:

• Metal substrates: used for cleaning and polishing the surfaces of titanium alloys and nickel-based alloys in the aviation industry.
• Plastic substrates: provide soft textures in the surface treatment of automotive interior parts (such as dashboards and door trims), replacing traditional chemical cleaning processes.
• Ceramic and glass substrates: achieve fine texture depiction, such as industrial glass mirror etching.

Economic benefits: reduce overall operating costs

According to actual case data, companies using ceramic blasting media can save up to 25%-40% of costs each year, mainly due to:

• Equipment maintenance costs: low dust generation reduces the frequency of cleaning the filter system, extends service life, and reduces maintenance costs by about 20%.
• Labor cost savings: the surface treatment effect produced by ceramic blasting media is finer, no additional secondary processing is required, and the operation time is reduced by 15%-25%.
• Long-term material investment: despite the higher initial cost, the average use time of each ton of ceramic blasting media is about 3 times longer than that of steel grit.

As a traditional and widely used sandblasting medium, steel grit is inferior to ceramic blast beads in all aspects, but it still occupies an important position in many industrial fields due to its unique high strength and economy.

High impact force: quickly remove stubborn surface contaminants

• When removing thick rust layers, hard oxide scales, and multi-layer coatings, steel grit can produce a strong impact effect in a short time and quickly remove surface contaminants.
• The angular particle structure further enhances the cutting performance and is particularly suitable for cleaning the surface of high-strength materials. In the surface rust removal projects of bridges, ships, and heavy machinery, steel grit is often preferred.

Cost-effectiveness: low material price

• Compared with high-end media such as ceramic beads, the initial purchase cost of steel grit is relatively low, usually 1/3 to 1/2 of ceramic blasting media, which is particularly suitable for large-scale projects with limited budgets.

• Even if it needs to be replaced frequently, the overall material cost is still highly competitive due to its low price.

Multiple particle size options: meet different process requirements

• Steel grit can provide a variety of particle size specifications according to application requirements, ranging from ultrafine particles to coarse particles:

Coarse-grained steel grit is suitable for removing heavy pollutants and creating rough surface textures, providing stronger adhesion for subsequent coating.

Fine-grained steel grit is used for relatively fine surface treatment, such as light grinding and smooth pretreatment of metal surfaces.

• For example, in the automotive repair industry, coarse-grained steel grit is used for chassis rust prevention and cleaning, while fine-grained steel grit is used for body surface sandblasting.

Superior mechanical properties: high hardness and toughness

• Steel grit has high hardness (usually in the range of 40-65 HRC) and high toughness. It can withstand high-intensity impact without being easily broken. It is particularly suitable for processing high-hardness substrates such as carbon steel, stainless steel, and cast iron.
• Even in high-temperature environments, the performance of steel grit remains stable without softening or degradation.

Low technical threshold: adaptable to a variety of equipment

• Most sandblasting equipment on the market supports steel grit as a medium, without the need for additional equipment modification costs.
• The equipment has a low cost of use, especially suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and project contractors.

Good wear resistance: suitable for repeated use

• Although the number of cycles of steel grit is not as good as that of ceramic beads, its wear resistance is still competitive among traditional media. The single service life is about 7-10 times, which is enough to meet the needs of medium- and short-term projects.
• Experiments show that the volume loss rate of high-quality steel grit under normal use conditions is less than 1.5%, showing good durability.

Wide market recognition

• The production process of steel grit is mature, the supply chain is perfect, and it can be easily purchased worldwide.
• Operators are generally familiar with the performance and use of steel grit, which reduces training costs.

As the two main stream media in the field of sandblasting cleaning, steel grit, and ceramic blast beads each have significant advantages. Their applicability depends on the specific application requirements, workpiece characteristics, and budget constraints.

In actual industrial applications, the “first coarse and then fine” sandblasting strategy is a common and efficient solution. The combination of steel grit and ceramic blasting beads can give full play to the characteristics of both:

1. Preliminary treatment: Use steel grit for high-impact preliminary cleaning to quickly remove large areas of rust or thick coatings, laying a solid foundation for subsequent treatment.
2. Refining treatment: Use ceramic blast beads to complete surface homogenization and refinement, improve surface quality, and achieve higher visual and functional requirements.

This strategy not only reduces processing time but also finds an ideal balance between economy and effect. For example, in ship maintenance, steel grit can quickly clean stubborn dirt on the hull shell, while ceramic beads are used for detailed treatment of propellers or precision parts.

Users can flexibly choose or combine steel grit and ceramic blast media according to the specific requirements of the project. In actual operation, constantly adjusting process parameters and media combination solutions is the key to meeting diverse needs. I hope this article provides you with a clear idea for choosing the right blasting media!