What Is Steel Shot?
Steel Shot at a Glance
Steel shot is a metallic abrasive made from recycled steel and engineered into spherical or angular particles. It is widely used in surface preparation and finishing processes to clean, strengthen, or prepare metal surfaces before further treatment.
Thanks to its durability, consistency, and recyclability, steel shot has become one of the most widely used abrasives across industrial sectors worldwide.
Key Facts
- Manufactured primarily from recycled steel.
- Reusable hundreds or even thousands of times.
- Used across a wide range of industries.
- Supports circular economy principles.
- Generates significantly less waste than single-use abrasives.
How Is Steel Shot Manufactured?
From Recycled Steel to High-Performance Abrasive
The manufacturing process typically includes:
- Collection and recycling of steel scrap.
- Melting of the steel in industrial furnaces.
- Atomization of molten steel into particles.
- Heat treatment to achieve the required mechanical properties.
- Screening and quality control.
- Packaging and distribution to industrial users.
This process transforms recycled material into a durable and high-performance industrial solution.
How abrasives are used in your shot blast applications
Shot Blasting Applications
From creating profiles, removing sand from casting to reinforcing metal parts, abrasive media supports many shot blast applications.
To help categorized these shot blasting applications, we have grouped them into 5 different categories, which are: Cleaning, Preparation, Peening, Cutting and finally, miscellaneous applications requiring an abrasive media.
Cleaning involves removing sand and scale from surfaces, preparing them for further processing in industries like foundries and mills.
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Preparing is a treatment process that increases the adhesion to the surface in order to apply a coating: adhesive, paint, etc.
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Peening is the process of working the surface of a metal to improve its material properties, in our case mechanically, by shot blasting (also known as cold working process)
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Cutting is the name used to define the application of cutting blocks of granite and other hard stones with the use of Gang Saw machines.
Discover moreThe Steel Abrasives Manufacturing Process
Made from recycled steel, steel abrasives undergo a carefully controlled production process to ensure high performance, consistent quality, and exceptional durability.
1. Scrap Metal Supply
Selected steel scrap is collected and used as the primary raw material for steel abrasives production.
2. Fusion
The scrap metal is melted in industrial furnaces. Alloying elements are then added to achieve the desired metallurgical composition.
3. Atomization
The molten steel is atomized with water, transforming the liquid metal into small spherical steel particles.
4. Drying, Sorting & Inspection
The particles are dried, screened, classified by size, and subjected to rigorous quality inspections to ensure compliance with specifications.
5. Heat Treatment
The steel particles undergo a series of thermal treatments to achieve the hardness, toughness, and durability required for industrial applications.
6. Grinding
A portion of the spherical steel shot is crushed and processed into angular steel grit, which is used for applications requiring a more aggressive abrasive action.
Main Applications
From bridges and wind towers to automotive components and aerospace parts, steel shot plays a critical role in modern manufacturing and surface treatment processes.
Its unique combination of durability, efficiency, and reusability makes it one of the most widely used abrasive media worldwide. Whether cleaning, preparing, strengthening, or finishing metal surfaces, steel shot helps industries achieve higher productivity, consistent quality, and improved sustainability.
Industries That Rely on Steel Shot
Supporting Critical Industries Worldwide
Steel shot is used throughout:
- Steel fabrication
- Automotive manufacturing
- Aerospace
- Railway infrastructure
- Shipbuilding
- Wind energy
- Foundries
- Steel service centers
- General manufacturing
The Life Cycle of Steel Shot
Activities per market
Our teams around the world address very different markets, all of which are very demanding in terms of reliability and quality of products and related services.