Once upon a time there was sand blasting

The term “sand blasting” generically identifies a mechanical cleaning process whereby a high pressure jet of silica sand is used for the abrasion of a surface. The impact of silica grains removes unwanted dirt scale and rust from the point of contact.
But sand has several downsides – the grains have uneven dimensions and shapes, they crush on impact and generate a lot of dust, and they are not recyclable. The more modern use of steel microspheres of fixed a dimension, instead of sand, has almost solved the problem of the fragmentation of grains, improved the abrasive power and reduced the energy needed by the process. Today the terms “shot blasting” or “shot peening” indicate this method, which uses metal microspheres, in the mechanical engineering industry.
At Merlo, technological innovation has pervaded even this phase of the working process! The new powder paint plant utilises a "cylinder blasting" procedure. Microspheres have been replaced by steel microcylinders with huge advantages - higher abrasive power on impact (a cylinder is more efficient because, in contrast to a sphere, has sharp edges), reduced consumption of material, less request of energy, and higher productivity.