Systems and methods for maintaining airflow in abrasive blasting systems

Abstract

An abrasive blasting system and associated methods are disclosed. The abrasive blasting system includes a blast enclosure that receives a component to be blasted by an abrasive media. A dust collector is fluidly coupled to the blast enclosure and collects the dust from the blast enclosure generated by the blasting of the component by the abrasive media. The dust collector includes a filter and a fan having a motor. The filter is disposed upstream of the fan. The fan draws air and dust from the blast enclosure into the dust collector and draws air through the filter to separate the dust from the air. A sensor monitors a condition of the abrasive blasting system and generates a condition signal corresponding to the condition. A controller receives the condition signal and controls the fan based on the condition signal.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An abrasive blasting system comprising:
 a blast enclosure configured to receive a component therein to be blasted by an abrasive media;   a dust collector fluidly coupled to the blast enclosure and configured to collect dust from the blast enclosure generated by blasting of the component by the media, the dust collector including a filter and a fan having a motor, the filter disposed upstream of the fan, the fan being configured to draw air and dust from the blast enclosure into the dust collector and draw air through the filter to separate the dust from the air;   a sensor configured to monitor a condition of the abrasive blasting system and to generate a condition signal corresponding to the condition; and   a controller configured to receive the condition signal and to control the fan based on the condition signal.   
     
     
         2 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a current sensor and the condition is a current drawn by the motor. 
     
     
         3 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is disposed upstream of the fan. 
     
     
         4 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is disposed downstream of the fan. 
     
     
         5 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is one of a pitot tube sensor or a static pressure sensor and the condition is one of a velocity of the air or a pressure of the air. 
     
     
         6 . The abrasive blasting of  claim 1 , further comprising a media reclaimer fluidly connected to and disposed between the blast enclosure and the dust collector, the media reclaimer configured to separate the abrasive media from the dust, wherein the controller is configured to control the fan based on the condition signal to maintain a sufficient amount of airflow through the media reclaimer to ensure an optimal amount of media is separated from the dust. 
     
     
         7 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to estimate an end of a life of the filter based on the condition signal. 
     
     
         8 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to determine when the end of life of the filter has been reached based on the condition signal. 
     
     
         9 . An abrasive blasting system comprising:
 a blast enclosure configured to receive a component therein to be blasted by an abrasive media;   a dust collector fluidly coupled to the blast enclosure and configured to collect dust from the blast enclosure generated by blasting of the component by the media, the dust collector including a filter and a fan having a motor, the filter disposed upstream of the fan, the fan being configured to draw air and the dust from the blast enclosure into the dust collector and draw air through the filter to separate the dust from the air;   a sensor configured to monitor a condition of the abrasive blasting system and to generate a condition signal corresponding to the condition; and   a controller configured to estimate an end of a life of the filter based on the condition signal.   
     
     
         10 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor is a current sensor and the condition is a current drawn by the motor. 
     
     
         11 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor is disposed upstream of the fan. 
     
     
         12 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor is disposed downstream of the fan. 
     
     
         13 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor is one of a pitot tube sensor or a static pressure sensor and the condition is one of a velocity of the air or a pressure of the air. 
     
     
         14 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to determine when the end of life of the filter has been reached based on the condition signal. 
     
     
         15 . The abrasive blasting system of  claim 9 , further comprising a media reclaimer fluidly connected to and disposed between the blast enclosure and the dust collector, the media reclaimer configured to separate the abrasive media from the dust, wherein the controller is configured to control the fan based on the condition signal to maintain a sufficient amount of airflow through the media reclaimer to ensure an optimal amount of media is separated from the dust. 
     
     
         16 . A method of operating an abrasive blasting system, the method comprising:
 blasting a component within a blast enclosure by an abrasive media;   moving air with a fan having a motor from the blast enclosure to a dust collector to collect dust from the blast enclosure, the dust collector having a filter;   monitoring a condition of the abrasive blasting system; and   controlling the fan based on the condition.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the condition is a current drawn by the motor of the fan. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , said controlling the fan includes increasing the speed of the fan to maintain a threshold level of airflow through the abrasive blasting system. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the condition is one of a velocity of the air or a pressure of the air. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , said controlling the fan includes increasing the speed of the fan to maintain a threshold level of airflow through the abrasive blasting system.