The Challenge
Asphalt milling and removal bits are submitted to extreme pressure (up to 8,000 PSI). Bits are formed from tungsten carbide and require blasting to remove a carbonized coating left over from the manufacturing process.
Using silicon carbide, blasters would spend 30-60 minutes cleaning the surface before treating the underside of the tips with flux cleaning agent and then brazing the tip to the base of the part. Often the brazed bits would fail in testing and require rework.
The 10X Breakthrough
With EpiX EP superoxalloy abrasive, 10 minutes of blasting delivered the desired surface profile and eliminated the need for flux cleaning, reducing surface preparation time by 67%. The brazed bond, test without flux, did not fail. At 18,000 PSI, the tungsten carbide tip cracked. EpiX EP delivered a clean bond that exceeded the strength of tungsten carbide.