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in Vol. 27 - March Issue - Year 2026
Automatic Media Concentration Monitoring and Top-Up Technology to Advance Process Control and Repeatability in Wet Blasting Operations
Aquablast compact
Aquablast cube
In the Spotlight
About Vixen Surface Treatments: Founded more than 30 years ago, Vixen Surface Treatments Ltd is a UK-based manufacturer specialising in wet blasting, ultrasonics, washing, and degreasing systems. The company’s Aquablast® range is used globally for surface finishing and precision cleaning of metals, composites, and additively manufactured components. Vixen’s design philosophy combines automation, process reliability, and environmental responsibility—delivering equipment that enables manufacturers to achieve consistent quality, repeatability, and safety in their surface treatment operations. Vixen is a global leader in surface treatment solutions, ranging from wet blasting, washing, and degreasing to ultrasonic tank lines, with test centres worldwide offering free sample processing.
Vixen Surface Treatments, a global leader in wet blasting technology, has announced a major step forward in process control with the introduction of its Automatic Media Concentration Monitoring and Automatic Media Top-Up Technology. Engineered into the company’s renowned Aquablast® range of wet blasting solutions, this innovation enables continuous, intelligent regulation of blasting media concentration—providing a new benchmark for consistency, uniformity, and repeatability in surface finishing.
A Smarter Way to Maintain Perfect Process Conditions
For decades, Vixen has been at the forefront of wet blasting system design and process automation. This latest advancement allows each unit to monitor all process variables—including water, media, and air pressure—ensuring they remain within programmed tolerances at all times.
At the centre of the development is a real-time monitoring system that continuously measures media concentration during blasting. As the process progresses and the abrasive media naturally breaks down through use, the system automatically compensates by adding fresh media as required. This maintains a stable and precise slurry concentration, removing the variation that can occur in manual operations.
By integrating this self-correcting mechanism, Vixen’s Aquablast systems deliver a fully automated, closed-loop control process that can operate without operator intervention. This ensures consistent results shift after shift—an enormous advantage for industries where repeatability, traceability, and controlled surface parameters are critical.
Automation That Enhances Efficiency and Quality
Traditional wet blasting relies on skilled operators to manually maintain slurry consistency and process setup. However, even small variations in concentration can directly impact surface roughness (Ra), brightness, and overall component quality.
Vixen Surface Treatments’ automatic concentration monitoring removes this uncertainty by maintaining the precise ratio of abrasive particles to water defined for each specific application. This ensures that every cycle produces identical surface finishes, meeting stringent customer specifications time after time.
Furthermore, the automation of media top-up not only ensures consistent quality but also frees up skilled personnel from repetitive adjustment and visual monitoring tasks. Operators can instead focus on inspection, programming, or higher-value operations, improving both resource efficiency and shop-floor workflow.
Consistency, Uniformity, and Repeatability — Built In
Vixen Surface Treatments’ Aquablast technology has long been recognised for delivering uniform, non-aggressive finishes ideal for aerospace, additive manufacturing, and precision engineering components. By maintaining stable process conditions automatically, the new system builds on this heritage, enhancing the already inherent consistency and uniformity of the wet blasting process.
Key benefits include:
• Continuous live monitoring: Real-time measurement of slurry concentration throughout the blasting cycle.
• Automatic top-up: Immediate, self-regulated addition of fresh media to maintain exact concentration tolerances.
• Hands-free operation: No operator presence required once parameters are set.
• Data-driven control: All process parameters can be logged for quality assurance and traceability.
• Improved repeatability: Identical surface quality from part to part, shift to shift.
A Step Toward Autonomous Surface Finishing
Speaking about the development, a Vixen Surface Treatments spokesperson commented:
“This advancement is about empowering customers with control, reliability, and efficiency. The automation of media concentration management eliminates one of the few variables remaining in wet blasting, allowing our systems to run autonomously and confidently, producing the same quality every time. It’s a key step toward fully automated finishing processes.”
Vixen’s innovation reflects a broader trend in manufacturing—Industry 4.0 integration—where real-time data and intelligent control systems are replacing manual adjustments. The new automatic media concentration and top-up system complements other smart process monitoring features already available across Vixen’s automated product range, including closed-loop pressure control, temperature monitoring, and automated water management.
Applications Across High-Performance Sectors
This level of control is particularly beneficial in sectors demanding precision and traceability, such as aerospace MRO, additive manufacturing, automotive, medical implants, and general precision engineering. For example, in component refurbishment and post-build cleaning of additively manufactured parts, maintaining an exact slurry ratio ensures consistent Ra values and cosmetic quality across batches and materials.
Such accuracy also supports applications involving deburring, surface preparation, and coating adhesion improvement—where consistent texture and cleanliness are vital for subsequent process performance.
Engineered and Built in the UK
All Vixen Surface Treatments equipment, including this new automated solution, is engineered, assembled, and tested in-house at the company’s headquarters in Darlington, UK. This vertical integration allows Vixen to maintain strict quality control while tailoring equipment and automation functions to each customer’s production needs.
With installations across aerospace, automotive, performance engineering, and industrial sectors worldwide, Vixen continues to expand its reach through technology-driven innovation and customer-focused design.
For Information:
Vixen Surface Treatments Ltd
73 Jay Avenue, Teesside Ind Est
TS17 9LZ, UK
Tel. +44.1642.769 333
E-mail: chris.owen@vixen.co.uk
www.vixenaquablast.com
