Vapormatt

Vapormatt The Vapormatt Group, designs and manufactures manual and automatic surface cleaning systems.

We are proud that the name of Vapormatt is synonymous with high quality cleaning and surface preparation across industry - from automotive and general engineering to aerospace and nuclear decontamination - and in sectors ranging from tooling to wire cleaning and extrusion die polishing. Our wide range of machines delivers high quality surface performance economically and efficiently, whatever the

size or type of application. Vapormatt designs thus play a key role in ensuring our customers’ own high standards of production are fulfilled, whether via an in-house installation or through our dedicated Vapormatt Contract Process Centres.

03/06/2026

PVD coating failures don't happen at the coater. They happen at the prep stage, or the lack of it.

Before a PVD coating bonds properly to a solid round tool, the substrate needs to be clean, activated, and consistent. Dry processes can't reliably deliver that without introducing micro-cracking.

The Vapormatt Oncilla automatic wet blasting machine was built for exactly this problem.

Fine aluminium oxide in a water cushion cleans, activates, and conditions the surface in one controlled pass. The gantry robot picks each tool by the base, lowers it into the blast stream, and processes it without touching the cutting edges. Every variable is locked. Every tool in the batch reaches the coater in the same defined condition. Not approximately. Repeatably.

The Oncilla even follows helical profiles with patented micro nozzles, delivering targeted blast streams to exactly where the coating needs to bond.

Learn more: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vTVHC0

Aluminium extrusion die cleaning doesn't end with the caustic dip...Every extrusion die shop knows the cycle. Caustic so...
02/06/2026

Aluminium extrusion die cleaning doesn't end with the caustic dip...

Every extrusion die shop knows the cycle. Caustic soak, shot blast or manual polish, back to the press. It works, until it doesn't.

The caustic dip removes bulk aluminium efficiently. What it leaves behind, fine residual particles, carbonisation, and heat discolouration on the bearing surface, is precisely what makes accurate die inspection difficult. If your inspection is compromised, everything downstream is compromised before it starts.

Wet blasting removes what shot blasting cannot reach. A calibrated slurry of abrasive media suspended in water navigates complex port geometries uniformly, flushes caustic trace from recesses, and leaves the bearing surface clean enough to inspect with confidence, without altering die geometry in the process.

Fewer faults missed at inspection. Fewer dies pulled mid-run. Die corrector time spent on correction, not preparation.

Learn more about the applications and advantages of cleaning extrusion dies by wet blasting.

01/06/2026

Our CEO, Robin Ashworth, recently travelled to Dalian, China, to share his expertise on a subject close to our hearts: the transformative power of wet blasting for cutting tools.

Hosted by our valued regional partners Asia Consult, the presentation was delivered to key figures across China's tool manufacturing industry.

From cleaning and deburring to edge honing, coating preparation and post-coat processing, the talk walked attendees through the full spectrum of wet blasting benefits for cutting tools - at the end Robin was on hand to field a wave of questions from the highly engaged audience.

It's always exciting to see our world leading wet blast technology resonate on a global stage.

Learn more about wet blasting applications for solid round tools: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vNN6F0

Wet blasting reaches New Zealand's biggest engineering stage...This week, our New Zealand partner Syntech brought wet bl...
29/05/2026

Wet blasting reaches New Zealand's biggest engineering stage...

This week, our New Zealand partner Syntech brought wet blasting to EMEX 2026 in Auckland, one of the southern hemisphere's most significant gatherings of manufacturing, engineering and technology professionals.

The Vapormate and Puma drew strong interest throughout the exhibition, giving engineers and manufacturers a hands-on look at the highly versatile manual wet blasting machines.

Learn more about our range of manual wet blasting machines: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vLq6r0

Finishing additive manufactured components with internal channels by dry blasting isn't finishing - it's guesswork...Whe...
28/05/2026

Finishing additive manufactured components with internal channels by dry blasting isn't finishing - it's guesswork...

When a DMLS or SLS component comes off the build plate, un-sintered and partially sintered powder is locked inside complex internal channels. Dry blasting forces air and abrasive through those channels without any mechanism to carry the dislodged powder out. In a complex internal geometry, you can compact loose powder further into the channel rather than remove it. The blockage remains, with no visible sign anything has gone wrong.

Wet blasting works differently. The slurry of water and abrasive media acts as a carrier fluid. It loosens the powder and transports it out with the flow. When slurry exits a cleared internal channel, it's visible. That is the only built-in confirmation mechanism available to the operator that the channel is genuinely clear, not just blasted.

Learn more about the benefits of finishing additive manufactured components by wet blasting: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vHzB50

Paint adhesion on carbon fibre starts long before the spray gun...When a composite component leaves the autoclave, its s...
27/05/2026

Paint adhesion on carbon fibre starts long before the spray gun...

When a composite component leaves the autoclave, its surface is working against you. The resin matrix leaves a hydrophobic layer that causes paint, lacquer, and protective coatings to bead rather than wet out. Apply a coating to that surface and you're not painting carbon fibre, you are painting a contamination layer.

The consequences show up later: delamination, uneven coverage, premature coating failure, and rework on components that weren't cheap to produce in the first place.

Wet blasting resolves this in a single controlled operation. The abrasive media, suspended in water, removes the waxy residue and simultaneously creates a controlled surface roughness profile, giving paint the mechanical key it needs to anchor properly. The water cushion prevents fibre damage throughout, which matters when structural integrity can't be compromised for the sake of surface finish. Static charge, which would otherwise attract recontamination, is eliminated at the same time.

The result is a hydrophilic surface where coatings wet out completely rather than bead. In our testing, a single pass takes water contact angle from the mid 80s down to 43 to 48 degrees. That surface remains stable and bond-ready for over two weeks.

Manual sanding introduces variability and cuts fibres on low-resin prepregs. Dry grit blasting leaves static charge and recontamination risk. Wet blasting is the only method that addresses surface chemistry, surface profile, and cleanliness simultaneously, without compromising the substrate.

Learn more: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vGlSR0

One wet blasting machine. Four configurations. And a footprint your production floor will barely notice.Most automated f...
21/05/2026

One wet blasting machine. Four configurations. And a footprint your production floor will barely notice.

Most automated finishing equipment is built to a price: a manual cabinet with a motor added and a controller fitted. It passes a specification sheet and struggles on a production floor. The Puma+ was engineered the other way around.

Automation was the starting point. The cabinet, blast geometry, filtration, and process control were all built to support it. The result is a fully automated wet blasting system that arrives factory-tested against your components and your agreed specification, ready to run from day one.

The same platform handles bulk finishing of additive manufactured components in barrel configuration and individual edge honing of 42 solid carbide tools simultaneously in the 'with satellites' variant. Radial and vertical configurations complete the range. Each runs up to four Mk3 blast guns, independent pressure control, and recipe-based cycle management, recalling stored parameters per component type with no operator interpretation required.

For operations where floor space is limited, the Puma+ sits at 1.47m x 1.38m. Against a wall and out of the way.
Vapormatt 4.0 connects as standard. Your engineer can diagnose a process query, push a parameter adjustment, or identify a developing fault remotely, without a site visit.

We've been refining automated surface finishing systems since 1978. The Puma+ carries that depth in a machine your team can operate from day one.

If your current finishing process is limiting throughput, consistency, or both, it's worth a conversation.

Learn more about the Puma+ wet blasting machine: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vxy_k0

20/05/2026

Surface emissivity is one of the least discussed performance variables in overhead conductor manufacturing. It is also one of the most consequential.

An untreated aluminium conductor has a surface emissivity of approximately 0.5. Wet blasting creates a uniform, non-specular finish that raises this to approximately 0.8. The result is more heat radiated at the same operating temperature, lower conductor resistance, and around 5% greater current carrying capacity at the same conductor cross-section. That is a verifiable performance advantage built into every reel you ship, with no additional material cost.

Wet blasting also meets ASTM B979 for non-specular finish on aluminium conductor, which is a supply prerequisite for overhead power cable on US Federal land. So the process delivers on compliance and on performance simultaneously.

Dry blasting meets the same ASTM B979 diffuse reflectance specification. The difference lies in what it costs to get there. Blasting dry aluminium conductor generates sustained airborne dust, a documented health risk and a regulatory liability for your plant. Finished conductor also arrives at the delivery point carrying residual contamination, requiring a secondary cleaning step before reeling. Wet blasting suppresses dust at the point of generation. The water slurry continuously flushes the surface throughout the process. One pass, no secondary cleaning, no residual dust at the installation site.

The Vapormatt Profelis was built for this application. It sits inline with existing stranding and reeling equipment, processes conductor from 1mm to 54mm in diameter, and can be configured left-to-right or right-to-left to suit your floor layout. Four blast guns at 90-degree intervals deliver consistent 360-degree coverage as standard, producing a repeatable diffuse reflectance reading across the full conductor circumference, whilst consuming around 20% less compressed air than equivalent dry blast systems. Integrated rinsing and drying are included as standard, with no additional handling step between finishing and reeling.

Learn more: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vvpJx0

Address

Bridgwater
TA64DL

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+44 (0)1823 257976

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