Shot Peening and Media Blasting

Shot peening is a widely used process to enhance the compressive residual stresses and increase the strength of a material. At American Steel Treating, we have seven media blast or shot peening work cells that can process heat-treated gears and other components. 

While media blasting (also referred to as shot blasting) cleans a part by removing foreign or residual elements off its surface, shot peening is used to cold work or deform the surface and increase the part's fatigue strength. Both processes utilize compressed air with nozzles that deliver the media being used. In the case of media blasting, water is used in mixture with compressed air.