The MassDOT Bridge and Highway specification requires that prior to fabrication, all new steel is to be sandblasted to an SSPC SP10.
Some steel suppliers can deliver pre-blasted steel directly to the fabricator. When suppliers with sandblasting capabilities don’t offer a needed shape or size, fabricators are forced to purchase elsewhere and hire a sandblaster to pre-blast the steel stock.
Automated Blasting
What makes our facility unique is the use of an automated centrifugal force blaster. These machines are sometimes referred to by their brand names, Wheelabrator or Pangborn.
Our facility has a Pangborn with a 9’x5’ opening that is capable of blasting to an SSPC SP10 at a rate of 6 linear feet per minute. This allows us to rapidly produce mass volumes of blasted stock prior to fabrication.
Coatings
In the case with the Rocks Village Bridge, the fabricator returned the fabricated structural components to our facility for zinc rich epoxy primer applications. The structural members were finish painted in the field. The primer for this project was an Organic Zinc Rich Primer, Sherwin-Williams Zinc Clad III HS.
Ornamental Fencing Panels
The Rocks Village Bridge has a series of ornamental fencing panels that were fabricated to mimic the original design. Our facility was tasked with finish painting the panels before they were installed. The processes involved a Sherwin-Williams NEPCOAT system that included Zinc Clad III HS, Macropoxy 646 and Acrolon 218.