The Experience, Processes, and Technology for your Shot Blasting Needs
Shot blasting is a resurfacing process that cleans the surface of metal components. During the manufacturing process, irregularities and uneven surfaces can appear on metal parts. Shot blasting is the process of containing the part in a Shot Blast machine and flinging or air blasting media at the part, such as: steel balls, glass or ceramic, smoothing out the surface and preparing it for final application.
At Halo Metal Prep, we have multiple sizes of machine capacity to enable us to shot blast virtually any shape component. We pride ourselves on the consistency of our finishes and we inspect every batch of parts before they leave our facility.
Steel Grit Blasting
Steel grit media is an angular abrasive that we offer to deflash, texture, remove rust and scale. This process can also be used to rapidly remove coatings as well as prepare the surface prior to painting. The deep etch provides superior bonding qualities. Industries served include die casting, fabricating, powder coating friction products bonding and equipment refurbishing.
Aluminum Oxide
Aluminum oxide like steel grit is an angular media, but without the ferrous properties. It’s fast cutting capabilities make it the common media of choice for many blast procedures. There are many uses such as scale & rust removal, preparation prior to top coating, plating and bonding. Coating removal on components where steel media may be too harsh or if there is no tolerance for ferrous contamination.
Glass Bead
A common and widely used media for many reasons. This inert media provides a superior finish without impregnating the surface with oxides which could lead to corrosion later. Glass beads are used for peening also, but have a tendency to break down quickly, especially at higher pressures. Efficient reclamation and classification processes are always a major priority in our facility.
Our Superior Shot Blasting Services
Shot blasting removes rust, dirt, and solidified contaminants from the surface of metal parts. Halo metal prep accepts parts of all sizes for the shot blasting process, with equipment on site of varying sizes to accommodate both large and small pieces.
The media is loaded into the machine, and either a central centrifugal wheel flings or an Air Propelled Blast Nozzle accelerates the media at the workpiece, knocking off debris from the surface. Media can reach speeds of 200-800 feet per second during the process.
Shot blasting can be used to finish metal surfaces, but it can also be used to prepare them for painting or coating. Shot blasting with spherical media can actually reinforce the workpiece by impinging and creating residual stress. Without this process, micro-cracks that are present could worsen and lead to splitting or cracking. This shot blasting/peening process can be used as a process specification when you set parameters and perform it within those parameters i.e. how hard you hit the part, how much time processed, etc. When you perform shot blasting with spherical media under specified parameters, it is called shot peening.
Several materials can be shot blasted, including:
- Carbon steel
- Engineering steel
- Stainless steel
- Cast-iron
- Titanium
- Copper
The process of shot blasting (Colloquially known as Sandblasting)—used to involve silica sand, but any material containing more than 1 percent silica is now banned internationally due to the particulates that are created, which when inhaled can lead to silicosis.
At Halo, we take quality control very seriously indeed. Each batch of parts we finish is inspected closely for a perfect finish. Many times, the shot blasted finish is the final stage of part preparation, so it is imperative that each part is finished to the required standard.
