Steel shots are spherical grains formed by atomizing (granulating) molten steel; these cast steel shots come in a variety of diameters and hardnesses. Steel scrap is used to make steel shots. Steel scrap is melted in a furnace and then water jet atomized into shot. Steel shots produce the least amount of dust due to its gentle manufacturing technique. Heavy metal parts, such as engine turbine blades, crankshafts, and heavy-duty springs, are cleaned using steel shots.
Particles that are mostly round, have a length less than twice the maximum particle width, and don't have any sharp edges, fractured faces, or other surface flaws. Steel shots are available in a wide range of sizes, ranging from S110 to S330. In contrast to grits, the bigger the number of the shot, the larger the steel shot, so a shot of size S330 will be larger than a shot of size S110. The bigger shot is used to remove thicker coatings and for peening heavier steel.
Steel grits are made by crushing hardened shot, sifting the resultant material, and tempering it to the desired hardness. It's used in contingency and rust removal situations where cleaning speed is critical and a rough finish is acceptable. Particles with a mainly angular shape, shattered faces, and sharp edges, and a shape that is less than half circular. It makes it simple to wipe the surfaces. They are employed in a variety of applications (ship building, pipe building, steel construction, granite cutting, tank manufacturing etc.). The higher hardness of steel grit, along with its perfect microstructure, ensures optimal durability and impact energy transfer. Steel grit is suited for high-demanding, harsh applications.
It removes a wide range of surface contaminants from steels and other foundry metals in a relatively short amount of time. Extends the life of common abrasive materials by roughly 1,000 to 1, lowering raw material costs, and most often used grit sizes range from G25 to G80. The size of the actual blast media particle will be smaller as the number of grits increases. Desanding, descaling, cleaning, shot peening, and other applications call for high carbon steel shot. The shot is of the finest quality thanks to the centrifugal atomization process and double heat treatment at the Airblast factories, as well as ongoing quality control methods.
Shot peening is a cold working procedure that involves bombarding the surface of a spring with small spherical media known as steel shot. Each piece of shot that hits the surface leaves a little dimple or depression. In residual compressive stress, overlapping dimples form an even layer of metal. In a compressively stressed zone, fatigue cracks will not form or propagate. When a residual compressive stress is established in the surface, the applied load's tensile stress must first overcome the residual compressive stress before the resultant surface stress can become tensile.
Steel shot and grit are primarily used in surface preparation to remove mill scale, dirt, and rust from metal surfaces, as well as to physically modify the metal surface, such as creating roughness for better paint and coating application, such as powder coating, enamelling, painting, metallization, rubber bonding, and so on. Steel shots are frequently used in shot blasters. The INR 25 billion organised Indian steel abrasives sector is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 13% over five years to INR 40 billion, in line with India's expected robust economic growth.
Historically, the steel abrasives industry has grown in lockstep with India's GDP growth. This demonstrates the industry's reliance on India's economic performance. India's impressive GDP growth of above 7% is thus a significant benefit to the country.
In the following years, the steel abrasives market is predicted to rise at a healthy pace. The primary trends driving market growth include rapid industrialization and increase of automotive production. Leading vehicle manufacturers are developing low-weight products that produce less carbon dioxide, are cost-effective, and give outstanding performance in order to reduce environmental concerns.
Steel abrasives are projected to benefit from increased demand for manufactured industrial products with high precision finishes in end-use sectors. In addition, the steel abrasives market is likely to be driven by strong growth in the construction sector around the world. Due to strong increase in industrial applications in the previous five years, Asia Pacific is predicted to be the largest market for steel abrasives. India, China, Russia, Brazil, and South America are some of the main economies with great development potential for the market.
The growing market for steel abrasives is estimated to increase at a CAGR of 6.2 percent over the forecast period (2019-2026). From 2017 to 2023, the global steel abrasives market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 6.5 percent, from $34,615 million in 2016 to $53,634 million in 2023. Abrasives are used to give a superior polished surface finish during manufacture in the automotive, electronics, construction, and industrial industries.
Key Players:
· 3M India Ltd.
· Grindwell Norton Ltd.
· Hi-Tech Recycling (India) Pvt. Ltd.
· Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal India Pvt. Ltd.
· Orient Steel & Inds. Ltd.
· Rotocast Industries Ltd.
