Sand Blaster
The sand blaster (in 3-402) has a metal mesh table, under which a tapered reservoir collects the abrasive coming out of the nozzle, where it will
get pulled right back up through the tube to the nozzle (without any filtering - the mesh table is the only trap for junk).
It gets recycled through this loop repeatedly, until it wears down to
the point that we need to replace it.
Because of this unfiltered loop, we have to make sure the abrasive doesn't get contaminated with lumps of other material - they clog
the nozzle very easily.
For that reason, many materials aren't allowed in the machine.
good materials to sand blast -
metal
glass
plastic
wood
stone
properly cured concrete/plaster
No paper, foam, fabric, or other material that will tear apart or crumble into bits larger than individual grains of sand. Nothing oily, sticky, or wet.
Sand blaster dust is especially bad for your lungs, so users must be exceedingly careful to avoid inhalation.
All users must wear a properly fitted dust mask (and should wear nitrile gloves, also) when working with the sand blaster. The door MUST be locked, and the
vacuum MUST be on.
The dust cloud created during use will take a bit of time to settle/vacuum away, so in addition to locking the door before use,
users must also wait about 5 minutes to open the door after use.
Your parts must be able to fit into the machine with the door locked - NEVER operate the sand blaster with the door ajar.
Please also expect to vacuum any pea-sized bits of debris from the work surface when you
are done. This would be done with one of the Festool vacuums. Pull out any large pieces by hand and toss in casting scrap bin - the Festools choke on larger objects.
As with all shop work, all users must clean up their mess in this machine, and not leave it
for the next user to deal with.
Ask for a 5-minute training before using this machine. Let us know if you are having any issues with it.
Users should NOT attempt to refill or add abrasive themselves. It can be overfilled, and may need a full tank change, so please let
shop staff do the maintenance. Do not add any abrasive, and absolutely NEVER add waterjet abrasive to the sand blaster - we use a
different type entirely.
Please avoid letting the abrasive hit the plastic window while working - it gets very difficult
to use the machine when visibility is obscured, so we need to do our best to keep that window
clear as long as possible. It can help to wipe it down with a wet paper towel before use.
tests to check sandblasted surface quality on glass and a vinyl-cut silicone masking.
The matte surface is not super smooth - but we're using a pretty low grit of abrasive, which will affect that.
A real-life test on my thermos looked messy in the masking stencil, but the slightly fuzzy edges and messy corners aren't really
noticeable in the results, even at this scale.