Finishing equipment manufacturer Guyson International has designed, built and installed a twin pressure pot, Guyson RB10 PF robotically-controlled blasting system at a manufacturer of high-performance coatings. The system serves the dual application of keying the surface of aerospace seal rings prior to plasma spraying, and the surface preparation of turbine blade tips prior to thermal-spray coating.

In operation, a 5 mm boron-carbide blast nozzle is robotically manipulated at the fixtured component. The robotic manipulation of the blast nozzle maintains the optimum surface speed, blasting angle and exact offset distance from blast nozzle to part – be that either the aerospace seal rings or the turbine blade tips.
Robotic positioning of the blast nozzle is performed by an ABB foundry plus robot system, located to the rear of the cabinet and encased within a safety enclosure fitted with fortress type interlocks that provide access for maintenance or adjustment purposes, yet ensure no one can enter the space during operation. A small 7th-axis turntable is fitted in the middle of the blast chamber and is designed to accommodate the customer’s varied fixtures, due to the multiple uses of the cabinet. The robot fixture holds two blast nozzles – each with a separate blast-media supply. However, only one appropriate nozzle linked to each of the applications is active at any one time.
Blasting is achieved via either of the two Guyson Model G55 pressure pots (55 litres each). These are used to generate the blast stream within the blast chamber, with media being fed from the appropriate pressure vessel into the cabinet through heavy-duty hose to the blast nozzle.
For further information www.guyson.co.uk