SHOT PEENING OPERATIONS *What is Shot Peening? Shot peening is an engineered blasting operation designed to target industrial steel shot against the surface of a steel part to increase its strength. The steel shot acts like a ‘tiny peen-hammer’ to dimple the surface of the part. The steel-shot pelting of the surface is measured by an Almen Strip peening sample that is also attached to the part. These Almen Strips represent the part surface and are bent and impacted by the peening process, then measured for depth and coverage to determine 100% dimple saturation. The ‘shot peen dimpling’ removes the surface tension of the part and replaces it with a compressive stress on the surface. The compressive stress protects against cracking and failure. The end result of shot peening is to reduce ‘stress cracking’ of critical parts under high duress – such as valve springs for the automotive industry, or landing gear in aircraft. As stated above about the shot blasting process, shot peening improves the strength of the component with a technical and repeatable surface process while shot blasting provides mass cleaning of component surfaces. Learn about the differences between shot peening and shot blasting on this page.
*Is the blast media used for shot peening the same as the blast media used for shot blasting? Yes, shot peening blast media is the same as standard shot blasting media.
*Which operation is faster generally, shot blasting or shot peening? Shot peening generally has slower production rates due to precision surface finishing with 100% to 200% coverage specs, repeatable, every time.
*What is a shot trap expansion chamber? Broken-down shot media can damage the DC filters and also prematurely wears-out the elbows of the duct work assembly. There is a plate inside the shot trap that creates a barrier and physically stops the errant shot, dropping it down a refuse tube into a bucket placed underneath. The rest of the dust flows past the barrier plate and is collected on the dust collector filters. A shot trap expansion chamber is used to stop good steel shot media from becoming entrained (entrapped) in the ventilated air and being pulled into the dust collector.
*Why is setting a blast pattern important? The blast pattern needs to be accurate and on-target for both shot blasting and shot peening to be efficient. When the blast pattern is on-target it cleans parts very quickly and consistently. If it is off-target, not only will it increase the cycle times required to do the work, it could end up damaging the machine over time. The blast pattern needs to be checked periodically because the control cage can shift or blade wear can alter the blasting coverage—the blast energy then is hitting the machine and not the parts.
*What is a protective liner made of? The side blast wheel liners or 12” x 12” segment liners are made of cast alloy, consisting of Nickel, Chrome, and heat-treated Molybdenum.
*Is shot peening less expensive than shot blasting? Not really. Shot peening machines are more expensive to purchase than standard shot-blasting machines because of the sophisticated electrical controls and the automated screening system that keeps shot peening media at the ‘same size’ for the peening process. NOTE: the material handling system remains the same for both systems.
*Does GOFF make shot peening machines also, or just shot blasting machines? Is there really a difference? GOFF is a leader in both shot peening and standard wheel blast machines.
*Are there industries/materials that are not recommended for shot peening? Standard sandblast abrasives (sand, aluminum oxide, garnet) are not good for shot peening operations because they are non-uniform, angular, rapidly degrading materials.
*Where does Blast-Abrade sell and service shot-peening systems, region-wise? We are the GOFF midwestern distribution sales agency, covering Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. We’ve also done business with Canadian customers and West Coast clients. We will normally refer a new contact to the appropriate GOFF dealer in other regions when we can.
Blast-Abrade offers in-stock shot peening machines (new and used), laboratory testing equipment, job-shop capabilities, rental packages, a full-time service crew, a full range of shot/grit media (including stainless steel and exotic aluminum or zinc), a full-service web site (web blog, teaching videos for maintenance and troubleshooting for shot blast systems, live-feed web-cam), 12 to 24-hour repair-parts delivery, ASAP follow-up before and after the sale, and professional and dedicated sales and engineering staff to OUT-BLAST the competition. You can also watch videos of many of our shot peening and shot blasting machines in-operation. Discover more about our history and reach-out to us here with any FAQs we have not answered on this page! Read our FAQs on shot blasting here. Thanks for visiting. |
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