What pressure does the MagTrack operate at?

The MagTrack operates at pressures up to 3,000 bar (“43,511 PSI”). This maximum operating pressure applies across the full range of MagTrack water jetting tools, including the Blast Can and Curved Blast Can attachments. The sections below unpack what that pressure means in practice, from the surfaces it handles to the industries that rely on it every day.

What surfaces can the MagTrack clean at that pressure?

At pressures up to 3,000 bar (“43,511 PSI”), the MagTrack is designed to clean flat and slightly curved steel surfaces. Its magnetic crawler system keeps the robot firmly anchored to ferromagnetic substrates, making it highly effective on ship hulls, storage tank walls, cargo hold interiors, and structural steelwork found across heavy industrial sites.

The modular tool system expands the range of surfaces the MagTrack can address. The standard Blast Can tackles flat surfaces and gently curved panels, while the Curved Blast Can extends coverage to surfaces with a radius of up to 3 meters (“approximately 9.8 feet”). This makes it well suited for cleaning the curved contours of ship hulls and smaller storage tanks up to 6 meters (“approximately 19.7 feet”) in diameter.

The MagTrack Mini, the most compact unit in the range, is equally at home on straight and curved surfaces and is specifically built for narrow or confined spaces, including offshore oil rig structures. Its height-adjustable magnets and omni-wheel support system allow it to adapt to surface geometry without losing traction or cleaning consistency.

In practical terms, the surfaces the MagTrack handles most effectively include:

• Flat steel plating on storage tanks and pressure vessels
• Curved hull sections on ships and marine structures
• Cargo hold floors and bulkheads
• Offshore platform decks and structural members
• Wind girders and similar open steelwork on storage tanks

How does the MagTrack maintain stability during high-pressure operation?

The MagTrack maintains stability through a combination of powerful permanent magnets and an electrically driven, multi-wheel crawler chassis. The magnetic force holds the robot firmly against the steel surface even when the water jetting tools are operating at full pressure, counteracting the reactive forces generated at 3,000 bar (“43,511 PSI”).

The four-wheel carrier design distributes the robot’s weight and magnetic grip evenly across the surface. Height-adjustable magnets allow operators to fine-tune the holding force depending on the surface geometry and the tool configuration in use. On the MagTrack Mini, additional height-adjustable magnets are fitted at the rear omni-wheel support to maintain consistent contact on curved sections.

Remote-control operation is another key stability factor. Because operators control the MagTrack from a safe distance, there is no human body weight or manual positioning involved, the robot’s own mass and magnetic system handle all the work of staying on the surface. This also means the robot maintains a consistent standoff distance between the nozzles and the substrate, which is critical for achieving uniform cleaning results at high pressure.

The closed Blast Can system contributes to stability as well. By connecting to a vacuum unit that collects water and debris immediately, the system prevents water pooling beneath the robot, which could otherwise reduce magnetic contact and cause slippage during operation.

What’s the difference between the MagTrack and manual water jetting at the same pressure?

The key difference between the MagTrack and manual water jetting at the same pressure is operator safety and consistency. At pressures above 1,000 bar (“14,504 PSI”), manual water jetting carries significant injury risk, a high-pressure jet can penetrate skin and tissue instantly. The MagTrack removes the operator from the blast zone entirely, making it a fundamentally safer method at equivalent or greater pressures.

Safety organisations including SIR (Netherlands), EWJI (Europe), WJA (UK), WJTA (USA), and DIRV (Germany) all publish guidelines that recognise the elevated risks associated with ultra-high-pressure manual jetting. Robotic systems like the MagTrack directly address these risks by placing the equipment between the operator and the hazard.

Beyond safety, the MagTrack offers measurable advantages in cleaning consistency and productivity:

• Consistent standoff distance: The robot maintains a fixed nozzle-to-surface distance throughout the cleaning pass, producing uniform surface preparation results that are difficult to replicate manually.
• Closed-circuit water and debris collection: The Blast Can system collects water and debris in real time, leaving a clean, dry surface immediately, something manual open jetting cannot achieve.
• Reduced operator fatigue: Manual ultra-high-pressure lances generate significant reactive forces. Robot operation eliminates this physical strain entirely.
• Higher production rates: A remotely operated crawler can sustain continuous operation across large surface areas without breaks, maintaining constant pressure and speed.

Manual water jetting still has a role in tight, complex geometries where a robot cannot reach. But for large, accessible steel surfaces, the MagTrack consistently delivers faster, safer, and more repeatable results at the same operating pressure.

What flow rate and nozzle setup work best with the MagTrack?

The MagTrack Blast Can operates at up to 3,000 bar (“43,511 PSI”) with a maximum flow rate of 25 liters per minute (“approximately 6.6 US gallons per minute”). This combination of very high pressure and relatively low flow volume is characteristic of ultra-high-pressure waterblasting, where cutting and cleaning action comes from pressure rather than volume.

The rotating manifold inside the Blast Can is fitted with 8 jet inserts. This multi-nozzle rotating configuration ensures even coverage across the cleaning path of 180 mm (“approximately 7.1 inches”) per pass. The rotation distributes the jetting action uniformly, preventing the streaking or uneven removal that can occur with fixed single-nozzle setups.

For the Swing Arm tool used in open waterblasting applications, the nozzle-to-surface distance is adjustable while the robot is in motion using an actuator. This allows operators to dial in the correct standoff for the specific cleaning task, whether removing heavy marine fouling, stripping old coatings, or preparing a surface for recoating.

The Sandblaster Swing Arm variant supports 1, 2, or 3 abrasive nozzles, giving operators flexibility to match nozzle count to the required production rate and surface preparation standard. Height, angle, and pitch are all adjustable to achieve the correct overlap between passes.

Which industries use the MagTrack for high-pressure water jetting?

The MagTrack is used across a broad range of heavy industries where large steel surfaces require regular cleaning, coating removal, or surface preparation. The most active sectors are maritime and offshore, oil and gas storage, petrochemical processing, and general industrial maintenance, all environments where steel surfaces are exposed to corrosion, fouling, or contamination over time.

Specific industry applications include:

• Marine and offshore: Ship hull cleaning and paint removal, cargo hold cleaning, offshore platform deck maintenance, and oil rig structural cleaning, including confined spaces where the MagTrack Mini is particularly well suited.
• Oil and gas storage: Internal and external cleaning of oil storage tanks, including the removal of hydrocarbon residues and old protective coatings prior to inspection or recoating.
• Petrochemical and energy: Surface preparation of pressure vessels, pipework, and structural steelwork in refineries and processing plants where contamination control is critical.
• General industrial maintenance: Cleaning and preparation of steel structures, fabricated components, and plant equipment across manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.

The MagTrack’s modular design is a significant factor in its cross-industry adoption. The same carrier unit can be fitted with a Blast Can for closed waterblasting, a Swing Arm for open jetting, or a ReCycleBlaster for closed-circuit abrasive blasting, making it adaptable to the specific requirements of each sector without needing a different robot for each task.

How the MagTrack Helps with High-Pressure Industrial Cleaning

We designed the MagTrack to solve the real challenges that maintenance engineers, operators, and field technicians face when working with ultra-high-pressure water jetting in demanding environments. Here is what it delivers in practice:

• Pressure range from 500 to 3,000 bar (“7,252 to 43,511 PSI”): Covers everything from routine surface washing to aggressive coating removal and surface preparation.
• Remote operation: Keeps operators clear of the high-pressure blast zone, directly addressing the safety requirements recognised by SIR, EWJI, WJA, WJTA, and DIRV.
• Modular tool system: One carrier, multiple tools, Blast Can, Curved Blast Can, Swing Arm, Sandblaster, and ReCycleBlaster, so the robot adapts to your application rather than the other way around.
• Closed waterblasting with vacuum collection: Leaves a clean, dry surface immediately, reducing downtime between cleaning and recoating.
• Compact MagTrack Mini option: Purpose-built for confined spaces and offshore environments where full-size equipment cannot operate.
• ATEX Zone 2 certification available: Ensures safe operation in potentially explosive atmospheres common in petrochemical and offshore settings.

If you are evaluating robotic water jetting solutions for your next project, explore the full MagTrack product range or contact our team to discuss your specific surface preparation requirements.