With China’s enviable growth in recent years, companies have found themselves looking east to see what opportunities are available for industry. Vapormatt is no exception, having built up a network of distributors in the Chinese and Asian markets, the growth of machine sales has steadily increased over recent years.
One such industry where companies are investing is the aerospace sector. This very high tech, strictly controlled and valuable industry, well-established in the west, is now showing great potential in the Asian markets. However, while the growth is a strong indicator of success, there is also a need to ensure that the aerospace industry maintains the level of integrity and quality that is vital for its success.
For Vapormatt, this offers a great opportunity. As one of the world’s leading wet blasting companies, Vapormatt has had great success providing solutions to a number of major aerospace component manufacturers across the globe and, increasingly, in China. In all cases, the Vapormatt wet blast process has been proven to offer highly consistent and finely tuned surfaces for a variety of applications. To develop the opportunities in the region further, Vapormatt has now invested in the design of new systems and, furthermore, the opening of a branch office in Thailand.
Wet blasting is, in principal, a simple solution. The basic dry blasting concept of compressed air and an abrasive media is used – but instead of creating vacuums utilising the venturi effect, wet blasting uses powerful pumps and water to provide a smoother flowing, less dusty processing environment. Media such as aluminium oxide, steel shot and silicon beads can be utilised to offer cutting, peening and polishing effects, making it highly adaptable in the aerospace industry.
However, the control of the wet blast process can be extremely difficult to manage and problems here will lead to rejected components and poor finishes. Vapormatt is able to remove these issues by offering complete control of a range of variables, from gun angle to blast range, slurry pressure to particle acceleration and abrasive concentration to the temperature of the sump.
As the Chinese markets look to the west for best practice when dealing with critical components, such as stators, propellers, wheels and shafts, Vapormatt is becoming the manufacturer’s choice. To date, several Vapormatt Cougar systems have been installed in Chinese factories with great success. This mid-range model offers both manual and automatic versions with single and 4 gun arrangements that make it a popular choice, with Vapormatt systems currently being used for both commercial and military applications.
Moving forward, Vapormatt is working with its distributors in China to develop its understanding of the market, while conversations with existing customers have led to new systems being designed. One such system is the Vapormatt Leopard, which offers both vertical and horizontal configurations making it a strong choice for companies looking to process larger components such as turbine shafts.
Despite the size of these systems, controllability still remains, and with programmable HMIs, customised recipes can be installed to ensure consistency of processing. A contract has recently been agreed to deliver a second Leopard system for a large aerospace firm – a result of the success that was achieved in its UK plant.
It is contracts like these that support the view that Vapormatt is one of the world’s leading wet blasting companies. The systems are highly transportable due to the consistency of results that can be achieved, and Vapormatt is expecting strong growth and an increase in the number of aerospace applications over the coming years.
It is to support this forecasted growth that Vapormatt has taken the decision to open the branch office in Thailand, which is located near the Don Muang airport, a growing hub of aerospace activity. From here, Vapormatt will be in a much stronger position to support existing customers by reducing lead times on spare parts and increasing the availability of service engineers.
By committing further resource to China and its surrounding neighbours, Vapormatt is anticipating excellent future growth and success. By making it easier to access Vapormatt wet blast technology, and by increasing the range of systems available, more and more aerospace firms will be able to benefit from proven Vapormatt systems and capability.
