Steel Shot Blasting Media

What is Shot Blasting?

Shot blasting is a mechanical cleaning process that uses spheres of material to remove oxides and other debris from the surface of another material. Although less commonly mentioned than sandblasting, shot blasting belongs in the same family of abrasive blasting processes in which sandblasting is categorized. The main difference between shot blasting and sandblasting is that shot blasting uses spherical shot as an abrasive media and a centrifugal wheel for propulsion, while sandblasting uses grains of sand and almost exclusively uses compressed air for propulsion.

How Does Shot Blasting Work?

Shot blasting works by propelling round materials known as shot media against a surface which in turn removes the contaminants of the surface and also can improve its finish. What type of shot media is used is a very important decision for the shot blasting process. The size and hardness of the shot material will dictate how much surface removal of the material being cleaned will occur. The type of material being cleaned will also play a role in the effectiveness of the shot blasting process. Typically, the shot material and size will be selected depending on the composition of the material whose surface is being shot blasted.

Another important part of the shot blasting process is the propulsion method and the resulting velocity of the shot material. The most common way to propel the shot blasting media is through the use of a centrifugal wheel. To propel the shot blasting media, it is unloaded into a centrifugal wheel. Once the shot blast material has been accelerated by the wheel to the desired velocity, it is expelled from the wheel and into the shot blasting gun. Then the operator or machine holding the shot blasting gun directs the flow of the shot media to clean the material surface.

Many shot blasting equipment cells also include a recovery system. The shot blast recovery system will collect the material shot that has already been propelled and impacted against the material being cleaned and return it to the propelling device to be used again. Shot blast recovery is typically performed through the use of a vacuum.

What Materials Can Be Shot Blasted?

There are many materials that can be cleaned by shot blasting. These include, but are not limited to:

Carbon Steel

Alloy Steel

Stainless Steel

Cast Iron

Titanium

Copper

Concrete

Certain types of ceramics

There are also many types of materials that can be used as shot blast material. These include, but are not limited to:

Steel

Aluminum

Zinc

Copper

While other materials can be used for abrasive media blasting such as glass beads and nutshells, they are not considered shot and are therefore not included in the list.

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