Our wheelabrator shotblasting machines allow large volumes of product or material to be processed quickly and reliably. The machines have a number of driven wheels that focus shot on the workpiece, in addition, some form of automated loading or movement through the machine is usually present. These machines are all designed and built to specific customer requirements. The wear areas of our machines are constructed from high chrome cast wear plates to extend service life.
Wheel blasting — sometimes called airless blasting — uses motor-driven bladed wheels to accelerate steel shot at the workpiece at high velocity. Because no compressed air is involved, wheel machines deliver far higher abrasive throughput per kilowatt than air blasting, making them the standard choice for continuous production cleaning, descaling and surface preparation of castings, forgings, plate and structural steel.
Tilghman Rotoblast designs and manufactures wheelabrator machines in South Africa to each customer’s component envelope and throughput requirement. We also rebuild and retrofit existing wheel blast machines of most makes — replacement blast wheels, high-chrome wear plates and upgraded dust extraction — and supply the blasting media they run on.
The right machine follows the shape, size and weight of your parts and the rate you need to blast them. Every machine is built to suit, so treat these as starting points.
“Wheelabrator” began as a trade name and is now used generically for any wheel blast machine: an enclosed machine that uses spinning bladed wheels to throw steel abrasive at components for cleaning, descaling and surface preparation. Tilghman Rotoblast designs and manufactures wheelabrator machines in South Africa.
Motor-driven wheels accelerate steel shot to roughly 60–80 m/s and direct it in a controlled pattern at the workpiece. Spent abrasive falls into a recovery system where it is cleaned, separated and recirculated to the wheels, while a dust extraction unit removes fines and contaminants.
Wheel machines deliver large volumes of abrasive continuously and economically, suiting repeatable high-throughput work. Air (nozzle) blasting suits very large one-off structures, selective blasting or delicate work. Many plants run both; Tilghman manufactures wheel machines and blasting booths, and supplies blast pots.
Tumblast machines for batches of small components, hanger machines for larger irregular parts, plate and pipe machines for plate, beams and tube, table machines, and continuous roller-conveyor systems. The right configuration follows the component shape and required throughput.
Sizing is driven by the largest component envelope, the shape and weight of parts, and the required production rate. These determine the number and power of blast wheels, the handling method and the abrasive recovery capacity. Each Tilghman machine is engineered to the duty.
Almost always steel shot, selected by size and hardness for the finish required. The abrasive recirculates thousands of times before wearing out, so consumption is low relative to the tonnage processed.
Yes. Tilghman rebuilds and retrofits wheel blast machines of most makes — replacing blast wheels, high-chrome wear plates, elevators and separators, and upgrading dust extraction and controls — typically at far lower cost than machine replacement.
Yes. Effective extraction keeps the abrasive mix clean, maintains blast efficiency and controls dust emissions for safety and compliance. Tilghman machines are supplied with appropriately sized cartridge or baghouse dust collectors.
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