Finishing Services

Media Blasting

At a glance

Applicable Materials

Aluminum, Steel, Stainless Steel, Brass, Bronze, Copper

Colors

n/a

Applications

Cosmetic parts (the surface of your Macbook Pro has been bead blasted)

Texture

Matte

About the Process

Media blasting uses a pressurized jet of abrasive media to apply a matte, uniform finish to the surface of parts. The most common media used are varying sizes of glass beads or sand, though for other levels of abrasion, things like plastic beads have also been used.

This process is used to create a uniform, matte finish on parts, but can also be used to hide machine marks or remove small flaws in parts prior to anodizing or other plating processes.

Design considerations

  • Plugging threaded/reamed holes not required unless tolerances are very tight, as thickness change is minimal.
  • Avoid blasting thin walls, as they are prone to deformation.
  • Parts with intricate geometries may be difficult or impossible to uniformly finish.

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN

CNC Machining vs. Manual Machining

Humans do not like change. Believe it or not, after calculators were invented, some people refused to give up their slide rules. Similarly, CNC machining was invented decades ago, yet there are still those who prefer manual machining techniques. This preference persists despite CNC technology’s ability to manufacture and replicate precision parts that are fully […]

Learn More

Introduction to CNC Milling Cuts and Toolpaths

This article is a companion to Getting Started with CNC, an introduction to the different types of CNC milling machines and the software used to design the parts they produce. Here, we’re going to discuss CNC milling terminology, toolpaths, and common operations. Chip Formation You may have seen images like Figure 1, which show how […]

Learn More