Hodge Clemco (www.hodgeclemco.co.uk) has supplied a self-contained blast-room to Ashbourne-based Dennis Mowers, whose lawn mowers were used at stadia for the FIFA World Cups in South Africa and Brazil and will be in action again in Russia this year.

The durable high-quality finish expected by Dennis’s customers requires effective surface preparation of the mild-steel components before they are powder-coated.

The company previously used sub-contractors for this work, but it has now brought the process in-house to improve production flexibility and quality control (and to eliminate damage to components in transit).

The new blast-room is designed to work on fabrications weighing up to 50kg, using chilled iron abrasive.

Located inside an existing building, the chamber measures 6 x 4.5m, and its walls and roof are made from double-skinned insulated steel panels that reduce sound transmission.

The blast machine is a direct-pressure unit that feeds a tungsten-carbide-lined nozzle providing uniform abrasive distribution and a high work-rate.

The abrasive recovery system consists of a large floor hopper into which operators sweep the used material; it is linked to a separator system that removes contaminants, fines and dust.

Clean abrasive is returned automatically to the main storage hopper, while the other material is collected on filter cartridges and automatically deposited in bins for disposal.