Custom-built blastroom
May 1st 2006

A self-contained custom-built blastroom has been installed by Hodge Clemco at the Doncaster works of Railpart UK as part of a £1 million investment by the company in facilities for overhauling bogies on railway rolling stock.

High-performance dust extraction, ventilation and abrasive recovery systems give good working conditions for operators while minimising abrasive costs. Four sets of blasting equipment can be used a time, all of them high-production direct pressure units connected to the abrasive storage hopper, and so providing a fully enclosed feed system. A water separator prevents moisture entering the system in order to keep abrasive dry and free-flowing.

The dust collection system has a filter area of 158m2 and is rated at 10 000cfm, giving a linear air-flow of 43ft/min along the length of the room, which provides good visibility and comfortable working conditions for operators by drawing dust to a freestanding collector outside the booth.

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