:: Basic Comparison :: 

CHARACTERISTIC	CAST STEEL SHOTS	OUR
Raw Material	Basic Raw Material has far lower physical property & composition, obviously causes blowholes & porosity which makes the shots to fracture into small particle.	Raw Material is of exact composition without any material defect (blow holes, porosity, shrinkage etc. ), and wears out nominally during it's use.
Dust Generation	Higher Dust generation	No Dust generation
Environment Friendly	Deteriorates environment of work place and it's dust is considered hazardous to health	Environment Friendly
Performance Consistency	Consistent Performance not possible due to fast size deterioration	Consistent Performance
Time Consumption	Higher consumption in Shot Blasting/peening increases Working Cycle time	Reduced Time for Shot Blasting/Peening
Shot Consumption	Higher Consumption	Consumption decreases i.e. 33% to 67% less to cast shots (case to case basis)
Inventory Cost	Higher consumption requires high Inventory, more money and Space as well	Lower Inventory required for the same job
Operation Cost	Higher Operation Cost	Lower Operation Cost
Shape Variations	Shot being produced are of mixed size hence product is a mix of various spherical sizes.	All shot being made out of same wire are identical, no variation of size anywhere.
Hardness Variation	They have larger variation in hardness.	Uniform hardness throughout
Micro-Structure	In Micro-structure carbide always there	Micro-structure is only Tempered martensite
Grain Size	Grain size of cast shot is unstabilized	Due to drawing passes grain size is stabilised

Photo CCW35 - 1000 cycles	Photo CS330 - 1000 cycles

                                                                  The media consumption cost of CCW 35 is 58% that of the S-330 shot.

Dust Generation -
During Durability testing, and also during use, the Dust Generation Rate (DGR) of a particular media can be determined. If 100 grams of media is tested in a life Tester, a small amount of the sample will exit the test machine as dust. The amount of dust lost divided by the Number of cycles tested gives the DGR in grams per cycle (g/c). Cut Wire Shot generates much less dust than other media, and therefore cost of dust disposal can be reduced.

Surface Contamination -
Studies have shown that the residue left on the surface of a blasted or peened part are much less (as much as 10 to 15 times less) with cut wire shot compared to cast shot. On steel parts, the residue (Iron Oxide) is not normally objectionable. But on non-ferrous parts, it should be removed. Decontamination processes (chemical decontamination is normally preferred) can be costly, dangerous to personnel, and require disposal of spent chemical solutions. With surface residue significantly reduced, decontamination time is also reduced. Exposure of personnel to potential safety hazards is lessened and replacement of spent chemical solutions is less frequent.

:: Detailed Comparison ::


Improved Consistency -
Cut Wire Media exhibits the highest consistency from particle to particle in size, shape, density, and hardness of any commonly used metallic media.

Image Analysis was performed on various cast steel media and equivalent conditioned cut wire (CCW) sizes. The variation (Standard Deviation) in size of the cast shot shot was 1.5 times that of the Cut Wire media. Image Analysis results of shape (roundness) evaluation showed CCW media 2 times more consistent in shape than equivalent cast shot sizes. Comparing hardness specifications - cast shot normally meets an 11 point Rockwell C Hardness range (e.g.: HRC 55-65, HRC 40-50, HRC 42-52) whereas CCW media ranges are normally 6 points or less (e.g.: HRC 55-60, HRC 50-55, HRC 56-59). The density of Cut Wire Shot is the same as that of normal high carbon steel - 7.8 grams/milliliter. Due to the large number of Internal Defects may be present, specifications allow the density of cast shot to be as low as 7.0 grams/milliliter - over 10% lower than Cut Wire Media.

Highest Durability -
Because of its wrought internal structure with almost no internal defects (cracks, porosity, shrinkage, etc.), the Durability (Life) of CCW media can be many times that of cast shot of equivalent size and hardness. Life testing in Laboratory and Production equipment have measured the Life of CCW shot to be as much as 10 times that of equivalent size and Hardness cast media.

In addition to the Durability of media, the mode of breakdown is very important, especially in shot peening applications. Most media deteriorates by forming broken (fractured) particles. CCW media's mode of deterioration is wear. CCW particles tend to wear down into smaller diameter pieces rather than fracture into sharp edge broken particles.

Surface Damage	Fatigue Life vs. % Broken Shot