Glass Beads are a round, spherical media that produce a softer and brighter finish angular medias. Glass Beads are used for blasting, peening, honing, cleaning, and light deburring.
Glass bead abrasives are manufactured from lead-free, soda lime-type glass, containing no free silica that is made into preformed round, ball shapes. They produce a much smoother and brighter finish than angular abrasives. Glass bead abrasive blasting produces a clean, bright, peened, satin finish, without dimensional change of the parts. They can be recycled approximately 30 times. Chemically inert and environmentally friendly, glass beads are an acceptable method of metal cleaning or surface finishing when properly controlled.
Available in a wide range of sizes, glass bead abrasives are primarily used in blasting cabinets for honing, polishing, peening, blending, finishing, removing light burrs, and cleaning most light foreign matter. For delicate thin-walled parts and thin welds, peening with glass bead abrasive material provides the right balance of stress relief without over-stressing and causing damage.
Benefits
Precision Finishing on Metal Parts
Highly Durable and Reusable
Round Shape
Lighter than for Peening Applications
Available Meet MIL-9954D
Silica Free
Applications
Peening and Cleaning of Metal Surfaces
Surface Preparation
Food Service, Hospital / Medical, and Engine Blasting
Honing
Light Deburring
Creating a Uniform Surface Finish / Profile
Paint Additive to Create Reflective Properties
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Sandblasting with glass beads provides the flexibility to eliminate many types of surface imperfections, including burrs, corrosion, and paint elimination resulting in a peened bright to matte surface finish. Another significant advantage of utilizing glass beads for sandblasting is because this process generates a comparatively small amount of dust. It is in part because glass beads can be blasted at a lower PSI than other mechanisms. Reduced dust levels enhance operators’ clarity during the blasting process, allowing them to operate more efficiently. Less dirt and dust also saves time and decreases the costs associated with maintaining the work area, which can have a definite impact on the long-term operating costs.
Glass beads blasting is used in a wide range of manufacturing processes. Finer glass beads are well-suited for creating a very smooth surface finish often with a satin-matte finish.
Medium-size glass beads are more suitable choice when working with metals such as aluminum and stainless steel. This grade is ideal for covering or hiding imperfections, scratches, and machine marks on the substrate surface.
Large glass beads work well for cleaning and light deburring of rough surfaces found on many metal castings and various automotive parts. Coarser grades will leave a more heavily peened look and a brighter surface finish.
ADVANTAGES OF GLASS BEAD ABRASIVE BLASTING
Deburring
Eliminates burrs from the corners and edges of a part, allowing for proper construction and maintenance of the part.
Cleaning
The cleaning process is essential for electroplating, and other metal finishing processes — glass bead blasting media will effectively eliminate surface imperfections without any resulting dimensional variations.
Peening
Glass bead media blasting provides a cost-effective, stress-resistant process of forming a stable surface on a part.
Finishing
Glass media blasting with smaller beads can produce a smoother surface, and the use of larger beads can create a more textured and brighter surface.
Specifications
Glass Bead Specifications
Grade
Average Particle Size
the smaller the mesh number, the coarser the grit
Spec Sheet
Extra Coarse
20/30 Mesh (560-850 micron)
30/40 Mesh (425-560 micron)
Coarse
40/50 Mesh (325-425 micron)
50/70 Mesh (212-325 micron)
Medium-Coarse
60/80 Mesh (165-250 micron)
Medium
70/100 Mesh (150-212 micron)
80/120 Mesh(125-165 micron)
Medium-Fine
100/170 Mesh (90-150 micron)
120/200 Mesh (75-125 micron)
Fine
140/230 Mesh (65-105 micron)
170/325 Mesh (45-90 micron)
Glass Bead Specifications
All Grades Meet MIL-PRF-9954D and MIL-G-9954A
Grade
Average Particle Size
the smaller the mesh number, the coarser the grit
Spec Sheet
Extra Coarse
Mil-3 (560-850 micron)
Mil-4 (425-560 micron)
Coarse
Mil-5 (325-425 micron)
Mil-6 (212-325 micron)
Medium-Coarse
Mil-7 (165-250 micron)
Medium
Mil-8 (150-212 micron)
Mil-9 (125-165 micron)
Medium-Fine
Mil-10 (90-150 micron)
Mil-11 (75-125 micron)
Fine
Mil-12 (65-105 micron)
Mil-13 (45-90 micron)
Additional Information
Selected Package Gross Weight
1000 lbs
Mesh Size / Grade
20-30 Mesh – Extra Coarse Grade, 30-40 Mesh – Extra Coarse Grade, 40-50 Mesh – Coarse Grade, 50-70 Mesh – Coarse Grade, 60-80 Mesh – Medium-Coarse Grade, 70-100 Mesh – Medium Grade, 80-120 Mesh – Medium Grade, 100-170 Mesh – Medium-Fine Grade, 120-200 Mesh – Medium-Fine Grade, 140-230 Mesh – Fine Grade, 170-325 Mesh – Fine Grade, Mil-3 – Extra Coarse Grade, Mil-4 – Extra Coarse Grade, Mil-5 – Coarse Grade, Mil-6 – Coarse Grade, Mil-7 – Medium-Coarse Grade, Mil-8 – Medium Grade, Mil-9 – Medium Grade, Mil-10 – Medium-Fine Grade, Mil-11 – Medium-Fine Grade, Mil-12 – Fine Grade, Mil-13 – Fine Grade