Rainer Semsch shares his experience with the Renfert Basic quattro IS for precise sandblasting with outstanding new features.
For 15 years I worked with two aging, ie 20-year-old, sandblasters from a quality German manufacturer in my laboratory (up to three employees). Each of them had two tanks for the appropriate abrasive. Replace the tungsten carbide nozzles once in a while, renew the odd leaking pressure hose and the viewing panel again and again, that’s all we ever did. There was no need to change anything.
At first I wasn’t enticed at all by Renfert’s offer to try out the Basic quattro IS. The time and effort required for installing it and what should it do other than sandblast…? I’m sure you know what I mean. If one were to try out everything, there would be no time for working. And what happened then? I installed the Basic quattro IS after all.
First reactions
The first reaction is that ‘the glass pane is missing’, yet that’s not true. But, the viewing panel really is fantastic – giant-sized and crystal clear. At second glance I realized that it’s not the pane alone which is so great – after all, a brand new pane ought to be crystal clear – it’s the pane together with the illumination. That’s really something or, to put it better, you can actually see things and it even stays that way after six months of use!
The glass is still crystal clear and the excellent diode illumination has not faded. The blasting chamber side of the glass pane is coated with a thin layer of silicone which apparently is not affected by the abrasive – simply ingenious! Once in a while just carefully wipe the pane moist, dry it and align it. Great!
New features
Many new features and canny solutions only become apparent when you start working with the machine. For example, the working pressure for each of the large sized abrasive tanks can be selected separately. Blasting is only triggered once the desired air pressure has built up in the tank and it stops immediately when the foot switch is released (IS = immediate stop). This saves time, abrasive and money as well as promoting precise working – what more do we want?
The dust extractor uses a wide diameter duct, which removes dust reliably without creating a powerful and disturbing jet of air. This ‘flow effect’ is supported by an air inlet membrane located opposite the extractor which ensures that the influx of air ‘carries off’ the dust effectively – ingenious! ‘Odds and ends’ such as the air blower in the blasting chamber go almost unnoticed.
Precise sandblasting
And what about the actual sandblasting? Yes, I was amazed there too. Even at a pressure of 0.5 bar (and lower) precise blasting is possible. The abrasive strokes the object without choking up, spluttering or clogging to conjure up a uniform surface structure. At a blasting pressure of six bar there’s no more stroking, the microblaster develops enormous power and, together with aggressive 250 μm ‘Cobra’ aluminium oxide (Renfert) things really get going. The ‘edge definition’ of the sandblasted surface can be adjusted depending on the distance between the nozzle and object.
Without having to exaggerate, I can claim to be totally convinced of the Basic quattro IS sandblaster. I can now work faster, more precisely and relaxed – stock-taking will tell how much less abrasive has passed through the nozzles.
No way will my ‘old’ sandblasters be put back on the bench – period!
Find out more about the Basic quattro IS.
This article is sponsored by Renfert.
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