Sandblast engraving is often called the "Panadol of engravers" because of the way it makes many jobs simple. Complex shapes can often be difficult to engrave because of the set up and alignment. With sandblasting the process can be reduced to minutes and profits can quickly be realised. All engravers know that some jobs take way too long to get done to be profitable but we do them because of customer service. Sandblasting in your workshop changes this profit leak.
Even things such as the TCD's coated drinkware range can be done by sandblasting to speed things up or give access to sales in that area. As you know, cylindrical laser engraving is slow and probably not your most profitable line. Anything cylindrical can be sandblasted quickly and easily. Even with resist preparation and application 100 sandblasted travel mugs will take about the same amount of time as 100 lasered.
Laser engraving timber is awesome except for the inevitable streaky nature of the work die to different timber densities. With sandblasting you don't get the burn contrast but with a quick light spray of charcoal paint you get what looks like laser engraved but with a perfect burn consistency. A great option for high end product. Oh. By the way, if you're not sold on that one then try out our LazerMask product on timber and either spray paint or boot polish while the mask is still on.
For metal engraving you have choices. 1. Traditional rotary engraving that cuts into the metal surface. It's messy, noisy, slow and requires expert skills. 2. Acid Etching which takes a lot of set up and environmental waste issues. 3. Fibre Laser engraving which is easy but slow and requires thick metal for large plates so the metal does not buckle under the heat and the finish is not really black but sufficient for industrial labelling. Cermark, a messy and toxic process that does provide a reasonably black finish but not ideal for workers health and safety. 4. Sandblast and paint fill. This process creates sharp black (or any colour) finish that lasts for many years. The abrasive surface is a perfect key for the paint to stick to paint to adhere to and as long as you use high quality outdoor paint you will produce a product that outlasts most engraved products.
Glass trophies and glassware sandblasted products are far superior than laser engraved products and the choice comes down to your desire to produce the best product possible for the customer. Sandblasting, unlike laser, does not care about the quality of glass you are engraving, it will give you a superior finish every time with no re-runs needed in a batch.
Stone and ceramic is easily engraved by sandblasting. When somebody comes in with a lucky stone to engrave a pet memorial it's no problem or if somebody have a piece of marble or granite for a house sign you can easily engrave it with sandblasting.
These are just some examples for the value of sandblasting in any engraving business. It gives you the versatility to engrave almost anything in house and do it quickly so that you get high profits from specialised work. It truly is the panadol for engravers.
ProBlast offers three cabinet blasting solutions:
The flagship 2034VXA. A top of the line efficient pressure pot system that is quite and efficient
The smaller 1924. A smallerr more budget system with seperate extraction
The big dog 2634VX. A large cabinet for people regularly doing large panel work