The uses of steel grit and steel shot in iron and steel production

Surface cleaning and rust removal
During smelting, rolling, or storage, iron and steel surfaces are prone to forming scale, rust, oil stains, or other impurities. By high-speed spraying steel grit/shot through Sandblasting (or shot blasting) equipment, these attachments can be quickly removed, exposing a clean metal substrate on the steel surface. This provides a good foundation for subsequent processes such as painting, plating, and welding, ensuring coating adhesion and welding quality.

Surface treatment of castings/forgings
For iron and steel castings (e.g., cast iron parts, cast steel parts) or forgings, their surfaces may retain foundry sand, flash, or oxide layers. Steel grit (sharp-angled with strong cleaning power) or steel shot (with uniform impact force to avoid excessive damage) can efficiently remove these impurities through projection action, smoothing the workpiece surface to meet subsequent processing accuracy requirements.

Surface strengthening (shot peening)
In the production of high-strength steel components (such as bearings, gears, springs, etc.), high-speed injection of steel shot (round-shaped with soft and uniform impact force) can cause plastic deformation on the workpiece surface, forming a layer of residual compressive stress. This process can effectively counteract the tensile stress during operation, significantly improving the fatigue strength, corrosion resistance, and service life of steel components. It is one of the key processes to enhance the mechanical properties of steel products.

Steel pre-treatment
For raw steel materials such as steel plates and section steels, surface pre-treatment with steel grit/shot before cutting, welding, or painting can thoroughly remove scale, rust, and dirt. This not only ensures the stability of subsequent processing but also extends the storage time of steel and reduces losses during transportation and storage.