Shot Peening’s Contribution to Blast Cleaning Equipment

Author:  Kumar Balan, Empire Abrasive Equipment
Source:  The Shot Peener magazine, Vol 29, Issue 4, Fall 2015
Doc ID:  2015043
Year of Publication:  2015
Abstract:  
While this article’s headline suggests that blast cleaning is somehow dependent on shot peening, the truth is shot peening might not exist if it weren’t for blast cleaning. For those who are familiar with the history of shot peening, and with apologies to village blacksmith whose original utilization of peening is often ignored, beneficial residual compressive stresses were discovered in automotive engine valve springs that had been shot blasted to remove paint. John Almen, an engineer at General Motors in the 1930s, made this discovery and developed the tools that became crucial to today’s commercial shot peening process.