The advantages and disadvantages of the scraper type mechanical recycling sandblasting room.
The scraper sandblasting room is one of the most mainstream and classic designs in current medium and large-sized, high-intensity sandblasting operations. Its core feature lies in the use of a scraper conveyor as the "first leg" of the abrasive recovery system.
Brief description of Working principle
In a scraper sandblasting room, the floor inside the room is usually composed of grating plates. The mixture of abrasives, dust and surface stripping (waste) from workpieces produced during the sandblasting process falls into the pit at the bottom of the room through the grid.
A scraper conveyor (usually composed of multiple units connected in series, covering the entire pit area) is installed in the pit. The scraper conveyor keeps running, horizontally conveying these mixtures to the bucket elevator at one end of the pit. Subsequently, the elevator transports the mixture vertically to the sorting system on the roof. In the separator, based on the principle of air separation, the available heavy abrasives are recovered and sent to the sandblasting tank for recycling, while the light dust and waste are sucked into the dust removal system for collection and treatment.
The advantages of the scraper sandblasting room
1. High recycling efficiency and strong processing capacity
Scraper conveyors can stably and continuously transport large amounts of abrasives, making them highly suitable for large-scale, high-intensity, and continuous operation production modes. It can easily handle the recycling of several tons or even dozens of tons of abrasives and meet the demand for multiple spray guns to operate simultaneously.
It operates stably and reliably with a relatively low failure rate
The scraper conveyor has a sturdy structure and mature technology, capable of withstanding the long-term wear and impact of abrasives (especially heavy abrasives such as steel grit and steel shot). Once the installation and commissioning are completed, its mechanical operation is very stable and it is not prone to clogging (compared with the possible pipeline clogging that may occur in pure pneumatic recovery systems when handling a large amount of abrasives).
2. The energy consumption is relatively low
Compared with the pneumatic recovery type (sand suction type) sandblasting room which requires continuous operation of high-power fans to generate negative pressure suction, the scraper conveyor and elevator are driven by motors, and their comprehensive energy consumption is usually lower. Long-term operation can save considerable electricity costs.
3. The abrasive breakage rate is relatively low
The mechanical conveying process (scraper conveying and elevator bucket lifting) causes relatively mild impact and friction on the abrasive, which is conducive to maintaining the integrity of the abrasive, reducing the abrasive breakage rate and extending the service life of the abrasive.
4. Suitable for heavy-duty abrasive materials
This is the natural advantage of the mechanical recycling system. Whether it is steel grit and steel shot with high density or relatively heavy slag abrasives, the scraper system can effectively convey them, while the pneumatic recovery system will greatly reduce the suction efficiency of heavy abrasives.
The disadvantages of the scraper sandblasting room
The initial investment cost is high
The system needs to build a simple pit to accommodate the lower part of the scraper conveyor and the elevator. This involves civil engineering works (waterproofing, support, etc.), which increases the initial construction cost and duration.
2. It occupies a large area and has poor flexibility
Due to the need for underground structures, the entire system is permanently and fixedly installed and cannot be moved. If relocation or renovation is required, the project will be extremely huge and the cost will be very high.
3. There are many maintenance points
Scraper chains and sprockets: After long-term operation, they will wear out and elongate, and the tension needs to be adjusted regularly or replaced.
Scraper: It is a vulnerable part by itself and needs to be replaced when it wears out.
Bearings: The bearings of conveyors and elevators need to be regularly lubricated with grease.
Bucket elevator: The belt may slip or deviate, and the buckets may be damaged.
Although it operates stably, there are numerous mechanical components, and there are multiple points that require regular inspection and maintenance
Although these maintenance tasks are not complicated, compared with pneumatic recovery type (mainly maintaining fans and pipelines), the maintenance workload and frequency are higher.
4. The system startup time is long
It takes a certain amount of time for the mechanical recovery system to complete the abrasive cycle once from startup. It is not suitable for intermittent short-term operations that require frequent starts and stops.
5. Potential faults have a significant impact
If the core components of the scraper conveyor or elevator (such as the main motor) malfunction, it will cause the entire recycling system to break down, and the sandblasting room must be shut down for maintenance. However, the pneumatic recovery system is sometimes composed of multiple independent modules, and a local failure does not necessarily lead to the complete shutdown of the entire line.
The scraper sandblasting room is the first choice for industrial-grade users who pursue high efficiency, large production capacity and long-term stable operation. With higher initial investment and civil engineering complexity, it has achieved powerful processing capacity, lower operating energy consumption and longer abrasive life, making it highly suitable for large manufacturing enterprises.
For situations where the scale of operation is small, the budget is limited, flexible relocation may be required, or there are restrictions on civil construction, pneumatic recovery sandblasting rooms are a more suitable choice.