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Anyone ever tried bead blasting for deburring ?

jcarne

Well Known Member
Patron
Just curious if anyone has found bead blasting to work for deburring smaller parts like ribs (the nooks)? If it works it would come with the added benefit of primer prep at the same time without having to scrub with scotchbrite.

Anyways, never tried it but it might be worth it if it works. Anyone got some experience here?
 
blasting

Put a piece of thin aluminum sheet in the blaster as a test. You will likely find that blasting it will actually deform the piece of metal if you are using typical blast media. Using a soda blaster or a different blast media will likely have different results...
 
Put a piece of thin aluminum sheet in the blaster as a test. You will likely find that blasting it will actually deform the piece of metal if you are using typical blast media. Using a soda blaster or a different blast media will likely have different results...

Ya I’m assuming this is something that a guy would have to get blast media and air pressure correct. The benefits if done right would be huge though which is why I ask if anyone has done it. I don’t currently have a setup but would certainly buy one if it worked.
 
OK "No" I have not or would ever consider it, as normal deburring is an easy job and really wants to be done right.
A good story that is true.
About 40 years ago an employee of mine want to do it the easy way of sanding down his 62 Impala car so he could repaint it.
We were sand blasting a 50" x 140" 7 story block building during one summer and he decided to blast the paint off. WOW!!! he did, and the next day when he came to the job with a RED car. It had rained the night before.
No blasting of my airplane for me. I'll just go back to deburring the old way.
Good luck, Art
 
OK "No" I have not or would ever consider it, as normal deburring is an easy job and really wants to be done right.
A good story that is true.
About 40 years ago an employee of mine want to do it the easy way of sanding down his 62 Impala car so he could repaint it.
We were sand blasting a 50" x 140" 7 story block building during one summer and he decided to blast the paint off. WOW!!! he did, and the next day when he came to the job with a RED car. It had rained the night before.
No blasting of my airplane for me. I'll just go back to deburring the old way.
Good luck, Art

Not sure I follow the car story.

Bead blasting is a fairly common prep stage in many industries. Just wonder if anyone has tried it before. If one could get the setting right for prepping for paint I'm wondering if it would also debur in the process. Just an interesting thought I had.
 
I’m thinking if the blasting media had enough umph to debur the edges, it’s probably work hardening the radius and may lead to cracks.. I wouldn’t want to experiment on my wing ribs only to find out I ruined them all and have to build new wings in the future. Like it’s been said, regular debur methods aren’t that hard..
 
I’m thinking if the blasting media had enough umph to debur the edges, it’s probably work hardening the radius and may lead to cracks.. I wouldn’t want to experiment on my wing ribs only to find out I ruined them all and have to build new wings in the future. Like it’s been said, regular debur methods aren’t that hard..

Ya I think you might be right. Hadn’t thought of that. Worth a thought anyways. Lol

Just dreaming of a faster way. Nothing worth it is ever easy though. :)
 
Bob has it right. Bead blasting aluminum sheet is a bad idea for a whole list of reasons.
 
Thanks for the help guys. Back to stocking up on scotchbrite and aluminum oxide turners clothe. Guess I’ll do my next one like I did the first. :)
 
Just to add an explanation point to the bead blasting.

I never thought much compressive stress would be applied by the tiny glass beads. This requires yielding of the surface of course. As a result, I was very surprised to learn ( and quantified by our met lab) that 100 psi beads blasted onto a heat treated 52100 (bearing) steel that has a 62 Rockwell C hardness imparted 30,000 psi of compressive stress to the surface. The process is used to increase fatigue life of diesel injector tip radii.

I would agree the overhead of a blast process would be greater than scotchbrite wheel and hand deburring. Parts from the blaster would have to be cleaned.
 
I don't think it would work well for deburring but maybe for priming preparation.
It would certainly speed up the prepping process instead of scrubbing with a scotchbrite. You can get a cheap setup for $300.
There are several ways it could go wrong and not work. But, with the right air pressure and media, it might work well.
I would start with low pressure and walnut media.
 
Wheel. Reinvent the wheel? No need.

Please follow the standard sheet metal methods and tools and practices as published in many manuals and AC 65-15A, FAA-H-8083-31A, and many other great books on aircraft aluminum sheet metal working.

There are many ways to deburr, but 'bead blasting" sheet metal or plate will not result in anything good as others have said.

Bead blasting is often used in machined aluminum parts to compress the outer surface, close the grain improving the fatigue quality with a residual compressive layer. Sheet metal (often clad) does not need closed grain (as it is rolled) and is too thin to risk any media blasting.

Deburring an edge, drilled hole can be done best with deburring tools or a deburring wheel on your bench grinder. BTW deburr does not mean chamfer or countersink... it means break the sharp edge. I have seen armateur sheet metal workers over do it.
 
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