Glass bead blasting / lapping

upper right: smooth and evenly shaped glass bead perls assure well lapped metal surfaces; magnification 100x

Utilizing beads, glass bead blasting is more protective than the well known sandblasting. Glass beads of 40 µm, 90 µm, 110 µm, 170 µm in diameter are used.

The beads are made of hard elastic lime carbonated glass. Pressurized air accelerates them to a speed of approx. 100 m/sec. The beads hit the work piece and ricochet from the surface without damaging it. The roundness of the beads provides for homogeneous pressure onto the surface.

Above circumstances avoid damage to the surface.
Narrow dimensional tolerances, edges and sealing surfaces are preserved.

The work space of the low pressure vacuum cabins in our facilities Otterfing and Garching-Hochbrück is sized as follows: 1070 mm wide x 670 mm deep x 930 mm high. The work pieces can weigh up to 350 kg.

The technology of glass bead blasting is especially useful for:

Cleaning
Prior to plasma nitriding remains of paint or oxide layers like light tempering cinder or rust films can be removed this way. After plasma nitriding, glass bead blasting can remove possibly objectionable masking agent or the gray coloration

Mat finishing
Mat finishing can only be done at low surface hardness, in order to achieve an optical effect (diffuse reflection) or to create a decorative surface.

Smoothening (Lapping or Finishing)
Smoothening by glass bead blasting takes place before and after plasma nitriding. Before, in order to largely remove machining traces, and after nitriding to create a smooth, metallic bright surface by removing lose iron nitride particles

Deburring of workpieces
We deburr complex small parts, gears, punched metal parts etc.. This process can be performed better after nitriding due to the burrs breaking away easily being hardened.