Last month Vapormatt exhibited, for the first time, at the CAMX show in California, USA. In the spotlight was the Vapormatt Panther wet blasting machine which was made available to visitors wanting to see how wet blasting can be used for composite preparation.
Vapormatt have had great success delivering wet blasting equipment for composite preparation in Europe where wet blasting increases the surface activity, leading to very high bond strengths and coating adhesion. However as Vapormatt’s Agent, Frank Block, comments “The process itself is relatively new to the US composites industry” who was responsible for bringing the wet blasting technology to the composites industry at the CAMX show.
Additionally Vapormatt were joined by BTG labs with their Surface Analyst which made for an impressive demonstration of how effective the wet blast process is for composite preparation. “With BTG’s Surface Analyst we could offer very precise measurements of surface Activity, and enabled us to quickly quantify the Vapormatt process on both composites and titanium” continues Frank.
Vapormatt have a free white paper that details some of the benefits wet blasting composites and Frank concludes “The process is readily “tuned” for different materials and goals, and delivers consistent, repeatable results without damaging underlying fibers. In over 100 installations, the Vapormatt process has been able create very high strength bonds, which last longer due to the enhanced uniformity of the underlying surface finish”
Having generated a strong interest for wet blasting among many aerospace and automotive engineers Vapormatt expect to see their market share grow in the US. The product range is very diverse with manual machines, such as the one at CAMX, all the way up to high end CNC machines for larger and more complicated components.
To discuss your application you can email us today or call: +44 1823 257 976.
