Steel Shot Blasting Media Abrasive
Steel Shot is ideal for peening applications to impart a clean, smooth finish. This dense, smooth media can be used up to 3,000 times and produces minimal dust during the blasting process.
STEEL SHOT BLASTING MEDIA FOR AGGRESSIVE CLEANING, PEENING AND SURFACE PREPARATION
Steel Shot Blasting Media is a dense, spherical abrasive designed for cleaning, polishing, surface preparation, and shot peening. Its round shape produces a controlled impact that can leave a smooth, consistent finish while helping improve the surface properties of suitable metal components.
Kramer Industries offers steel shot in different sizes and hardness levels to support a range of blasting and finishing requirements. The appropriate grade depends on the substrate, level of contamination, desired finish, and blasting equipment.
What Is Steel Shot Used For?
Steel Shot Blasting Media is primarily used to clean and condition metal surfaces. Its spherical particles provide a peening action rather than the aggressive cutting associated with angular abrasives.
Steel shot abrasive blasting media can remove rust, scale, surface contamination, and other unwanted material while producing a relatively smooth surface. It is also widely used for shot peening, where repeated impacts introduce compressive stresses into suitable metal components.
Benefits
- Extreme Durability
- Very High Recyclability
- Spherical in Shape
- Magnetic
- Used in Both Wheel Blasting and Pneumatic (Air) Blasting
- Multiple Hardnesses Available
- Very Low Dusting
Blasting Applications
- Shot Peening
- Surface Preparation
- Polishing
- Cleaning
General Applications
- Cleaning Foundry Castings
- Removing Rust and Scale
- Preparing Metal Surfaces for Coating
- Polishing Metal Components
- Shot Peening
- Surface Conditioning
- Cleaning Heavy Steel Parts
Selecting Steel Shot for Surface Preparation
For high-volume operations, steel shot abrasive can be particularly useful because its durability allows it to remain in service through many blasting cycles.
Steel shot abrasive blasting media is available in multiple sizes and hardness levels. Smaller particles generally provide a smoother finish, while larger shot can provide more aggressive cleaning and impact.
When selecting a grade, consider the material being treated, surface condition, desired finish, blasting pressure, equipment type, and production requirements.
Steel Shot Size and Surface Finish
Steel Shot Blasting Media is available in multiple sizes, ranging from fine grades for smaller components and lighter deposits to larger grades for heavier contamination and larger metal parts.
Smaller shot provides greater coverage and can produce a finer finish. Larger shot delivers greater impact energy and can remove heavier deposits more aggressively.
Kramer Industries can help match the appropriate size and hardness to the application requirements.
Steel Shot Blasting Equipment
A steel shot blaster used in a properly configured system can provide consistent surface treatment across large batches of components. Because steel shot is considerably denser than many other blasting materials, equipment, hoses, nozzles, and operating conditions should be matched to the media.
Steel shot blast media can be accelerated using wheel blast systems and pneumatic air-blast equipment. Equipment selection depends on the size and shape of the parts, production volume, required finish, and selected shot grade.
Shot Peening and Surface Conditioning
One of the primary applications for steel shot is peening. During the process, repeated impacts from the spherical particles create compressive stresses on the surface of suitable metal components.
This treatment can improve resistance to fatigue and help extend the service life of components exposed to repeated loading. Applications can include crankshafts, turbine components, heavy-duty springs, and other load-bearing parts.
Steel shot abrasive can therefore serve both cleaning and surface-conditioning requirements when the process and material are appropriately matched.
Reusability and Media Life
A major advantage of Steel Shot Blasting Media is its durability and high recyclability. The particles can withstand repeated impacts and may be recycled many times in properly designed blasting systems.
Actual media life depends on the shot grade, blasting pressure, equipment configuration, substrate, contamination, and recovery system. Kramer Industries also offers recycled, remanufactured, and cleaned steel shot as an economical option for maintaining blasting performance.
Steel Shot Compared With Steel Grit
Steel shot has a spherical shape, while steel grit has an angular shape. This difference affects how the media interacts with the surface.
Steel Shot Blasting Media generally produces a smoother finish and is well suited to cleaning, polishing, and peening. Steel grit provides more aggressive cutting action and is typically selected when heavier contamination removal or a deeper surface profile is required.
Steel blasting media should therefore be selected according to the required surface profile, material condition, equipment, and final finish.
Considerations When Using Steel Shot
Steel shot is dense and durable, which provides strong impact during blasting but also requires appropriately configured equipment. In pneumatic systems, the weight of the media can affect hose handling, air requirements, and overall operator workload.
Steel shot blast media can be particularly useful for enclosed wheel-blast or recovery systems where repeated production use is required. The correct grade, size, hardness, and equipment settings should always be selected according to the application.
Steel Shot Sizes And Finishes
Steel Shot Specifications |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Shot Grade |
Approximate Size |
Finish |
Applications |
| S-070 | 0.007" | Fine, smooth shot finish. Excellent coverage. | Blasting of relatively small ferrous and non-ferrous castings. Removal of light scale from foreign and heat treated parts. Blasting of machined parts. Removal of mill scale, rust and other deposits. |
| S-110 | 0.011" | ||
| S-170 | 0.017" | ||
| S-230 | 0.023" | Medium, light shot finish. Good coverage. | Blasting of grey iron, malleable iron, light steel castings, medium forgings, heat-treated parts and heavy mill scale - rust and other deposits. |
| S-280 | 0.028" | ||
| S-330 | 0.033" | ||
| S-390 | 0.039" | Average to heavy shot finish. Average coverage. | Blasting of steel, heavy malleable iron and grey iron castings. Removal of scale from large billets, slabs - rust and other deposits. |
| S-460 | 0.046" | ||
| S-550 | 0.055" | ||
| S-660 | 0.066" | Rough coverage. Adequate for most applications. | Heavy steel castings. Removal of tough, heavy scale. |
| S-780 | 0.078" | ||
Steel Shot Specifications |
||
|---|---|---|
Size |
All material is screened to meet or exceed SAE and SFS specifications. | |
Chemistry |
Carbon: 0.80 - 1.20% Sulfur: < 0.05% Phosphorous: < 0.05% | |
Minimum Density |
7.0 g/cc (430 lbs/ft3) | |
Bulk Density |
230 - 260 lbs/ft3 | |
Hardness |
STD: 45-49 HRC (Standard) | Available by Special Order* SP: 40-51 HRC SB: 47-56 HRC SL: 54-61 HRC SH: 60+ HRC |
Spec Sheet |
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|
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What blasting media should be used on steel?
The appropriate media depends on the steel surface, contamination, required finish, and desired surface profile. Steel shot is commonly selected for cleaning, polishing, and peening, while steel grit may be more suitable when aggressive cutting or deeper profiling is required.
Q2. What are the disadvantages of steel shot?
Steel shot is dense and relatively heavy compared with many non-metallic abrasives, so the blasting equipment must be suitable for its weight and operating requirements. It can also be too aggressive for some delicate or soft substrates. Proper media selection is important to avoid unwanted surface damage.
Q3. What is shot blasting used for on steel?
Shot blasting is used on steel for cleaning rust, scale, paint, and other surface contaminants, as well as for surface preparation and peening. Steel Shot Blasting Media can provide a consistent finish and is particularly useful in applications requiring repeated, high-volume processing.
Q4. How does steel shot differ from steel grit?
Steel shot has a spherical shape and generally produces a smoother finish with a peening effect. Steel grit has an angular shape and provides more aggressive cutting action, making it suitable for heavier cleaning and deeper surface profiles.
Q5. Can steel shot be reused?
Yes. Steel shot can be recycled many times in suitable blasting systems because of its high durability. Its actual service life depends on the shot grade, operating conditions, substrate, contamination, and recovery system.
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