Low noise surface preparation

The accumulator bodies are made from solid carbon and stainless steel billets, which are bored out to the required dimensions before being painted and having the internal mechanisms installed. The cylinders range from 10 to 400L capacity, weighing up to 2t.

The new blast-room (3m wide x 2.5m high x 6m long) is located within a production area, and is dedicated to surface preparation of carbon steel cylinders before they are painted. Walls and roof are double-skin prefabricated steel panels filled with mineral wool slab which Hodge Clemco says reduces noise levels outside the room by up to 30dBA compared with a conventional design. Walls and doors are lined with shot-blast curtains, and the floor is steel plate.

Media is projected by a 2452 SGV blasting machine via a tungsten-carbide-lined nozzle, which is designed to maintain maximum blasting velocity, uniform abrasive distribution and high work-rate over a long operating life. Air inlet ducts and exhaust air outlets in the chamber ensure highly effective cross-draught ventilation in order to provide good visibility for operators.

Abrasive is recovered for re-use by means of a pneumatic suction filter unit linked to a sweep-in hopper in the floor of the blast room. A vacuum silo receives all spent media, dust and debris from the floor hopper, separates out re-usable abrasive and places it into a storage hopper from where it automatically re-fills the blast machine.  The system is adjustable to allow for different types of abrasive.

Hodge Clemco also supplied a protective suit and an Apollo 600CE helmet with several advanced features for operator safety and comfort.