Installing and using the Fuse Blast Large Tumbler Basket
Installing and using the Fuse Blast Large Tumbler Basket
The Fuse Blast comes with a tumbler basket that can hold 1–2 Fuse 1 generation build volumes. The tumbler basket rotates to agitate parts and ensure even coverage during automated media blasting. The Large Tumbler Basket expands the capabilities of your Fuse Blast, allowing it to blast up to 50% more parts, depending on part size.
The Fuse Blast Large Tumbler Basket is available for purchase on the Formlabs Store.
You can swap the stock Fuse Blast tumbler basket for the Large Tumbler Basket with no additional changes to your machine.
You can swap the stock Fuse Blast tumbler basket for the Large Tumbler Basket with no additional changes to your machine.
To replace the tumbler basket on your Fuse Blast:
- Open the blasting chamber door.
- Pull the blast gun off its mount and carefully place it within the Fuse Blast workspace.
- Tilt the blast arm to the right to move it away from the tumbler basket.
- Grip the tumbler basket with two hands and pull it towards you, off its shaft.
- Remove the Large Tumbler Basket from its packaging. Using two hands, carefully slide it onto the tumbler basket shaft. The shaft is keyed so that the basket will only fully seat on the shaft in the correct orientation.
Using the Large Tumbler Basket
When using the Large Tumbler Basket, follow these best practices:
- If possible, tumble printed parts that are similar in size and shape to one another.
- Avoid loading long, slender parts into the tumbler basket. They do not tumble well, will not be effectively cleaned, and may be damaged.
- Do not load more than 6.5 kg of parts into the basket, with no single part greater than 1 kg. Overloading may cause the basket to stall. Repeated overloading may damage your Fuse Blast.
- The Large Tumbler Basket will interfere with the air whips positioned around the inside walls of the Fuse Blast. This is expected and should not interfere with the functioning of the machine. If the blasting chamber walls get dirtier than usual, use the blast gun’s rinse function to clean them.
- Point the blast gun downwards when not in use so that excess blasting media does not fall onto any parts left in the basket.
- The Large Tumbler Basket may interfere with the blast arm, blast gun, or ionizer when the blast arm is at one of the extreme ends of its travel. Take care when moving the blast arm to keep it from scraping against the Large Tumbler Basket during use.
- When running a manual blasting cycle, remove the Large Tumbler Basket to maximize your workspace.
Maintaining the Large Tumbler Basket
Like the stock tumbler basket, the Large Tumbler Basket has a liner that cushions your printed parts and assists in powder removal. This liner can wear down over time, reducing its effectiveness. The lifetime of the liner depends on media type, blasting pressure, and part geometry.
Replace the liner when it wears enough that you can see the metal frame of the tumbler basket or liner material is shedding onto the work surface. Replacement liners for the Fuse Blast Large Tumbler Basket is available for purchase on the Formlabs Store.
