It’s a fact that industrial parts and components will deteriorate over time, leading to equipment failure.

Two metal finishing applications widely used to extend equipment life are abrasive blasting and shot peening. Let’s look at the difference between these processes.

Abrasive Blasting

Also known as grit blasting or sandblasting, abrasive blasting uses high-pressure compressed air to blast different substances such as sand, grit, shot, bead, organic materials, or silicon carbide onto the part. The application of these substances cleans, polishes, and finishes the part. This streamlined process saves time and cost by cleaning and finishing in a single process. This method removes sharp edges and burrs, old paint, oxidation, rust, and mill scale. Abrasive blasting is used for surface cleaning, finishing, and preparing various materials, such as metals, plastics, wood, and glass. Steel and other metals require abrasive blasting to clean and prepare before applying protective coatings. Abrasive blasting has become the preferred method for surface cleaning and preparation for most applications.

Shot Peening

Shot peening, or shot blasting, finishes metal parts to prolong the part’s life. It is a cold mechanical impact treatment where a spherical shot strikes a metallic surface multiple times at high velocity. During the application, the shot simulates the effect of a peen hammer by dimpling the surface to create compression stresses under the dimple. The process forms multiple overlapping dimples throughout the metal surface. The shot peening metal finishing process prevents equipment failure from corrosion, galling, fretting, and cracking to increase the durability of a part. This increased strength helps lightweight parts to be more resistant to fatigue and wear. Additionally, this method smooths the texture of the surface. Shot peening is commonly used on gears, turbine blades, cams, and rock drills.

Since opening its doors in 2000, Enviro Tech Coatings has been laser-focused on delivering metal finishing, painting, and coating services far exceeding industry standards. We maintain Air Permits and are a fully approved site for blasting and painting. If you would like a bid on a project, please get in touch with us at 989-495-0000 or visit enviro-tech-coatings.com.