Process and equipment[edit]

Popular methods for propelling shot media include air blast systems and centrifugal blast wheels.
In the air blast systems, media are introduced by various methods into the path of high pressure
air and accelerated through a nozzle directed at the part to be peened. The centrifugal blast
wheel consists of a high speed paddle wheel. Shot media are introduced in the center of the
spinning wheel and propelled by the centrifugal force by the spinning paddles towards the part by
adjusting the media entrance location, effectively timing the release of the media. Other methods
include ultrasonic peening, wet peening, and laser peening (which does not use media).
Media choices include spherical cast steel shot, ceramic bead, glass bead or conditioned
(rounded) cut wire.[6] Cut wire shot is preferred because it maintains its roundness as it is
degraded, unlike cast shot which tends to break up into sharp pieces that can damage the
workpiece. Cut wire shot can last five times longer than cast shot. Because peening demands
well-graded shot of consistent hardness, diameter, and shape, a mechanism for removing shot
fragments throughout the process is desirable. Equipment is available that includes separators to
clean and recondition shot and feeders to add new shot automatically to replace the damaged
material.[7]
A popular method for sorting damaged/out-of-spec shot media is the use of shot separators.
Production sized separators consist of various levels of precision wire mesh, from 1 or more
sizes to sort, and is mechanically shaken. Some applications require a maximum and minimum
level of shot diameter. To maintain specifications, shot is slowly introduced where the large
shot/contamination will be sorted in the first stage, then shot within specifications are sorted in
the second level, then degraded shot below specifications is sorted last. The openings on the
wire mesh progressively get smaller in this instance. It is possible to attach a production
separator to a shot peener for continuous control of shot quality. Testing methods use a similar
concept in a much smaller package, where a technician takes a sample of shot and then sorts
the various sizes. Further testing of the samples verifies the quality of the shot media.
Wheel blast systems include satellite rotation models, rotary throughfeed components, and
various manipulator designs. There are overhead monorail systems as well as reverse-belted
models. Workpiece holding equipment includes rotating index tables, loading and unloading
robots, and jigs that hold multiple workpieces. For larger workpieces, manipulators to reposition
them to expose features to the shot blast stream are available. [7]