Shot Peening Process

Steels Belts are used in many Industries such as Food, Chemical and Wood Processing.

They are generally made from carbon Steel or Stainless Steel. In both cases the material is a special grade for Carbon/Stainless Steel specifically designed for use as a Steel Belt, with the material specially alloyed or treated to have improved properties such Ductility, Strength, Thermal Conductivity etc. depending on the application.

Steel Belts are available in a range of sizes ranging from typically 400 mm wide x 0.6 mm thick to around 3,000 mm wide x 3.0 mm thick. There are special applications that may use belts of narrower and thinner or wider and thicker size, but these are not common. The length of the belts are typically in the range 10 m long to 100 m long, however it is theoretically possible to produce a belt of unlimited length by joining of shorter belts.

Steel Belts can often develop a cross curvature due to several factors such as; Stress Relief, Frictional Wear, Compression Stress, Production Damage etc.

The Cross curvature can be either Concave or Convex (with reference to the production surface) depending on how the curvature has been induced. The curvature can range from a few mm to

Historically (per 1980s) it was common practice to solve Cross Curvature by removing the Steel Belt from the Machine and flipping it over and re-installing the Steel Belt, then the mechanism that is inducing the curvature would now work to reduce an opposite curvature. While it was effective in many or even most cases, this Steel Belt "Flipping" process was costly, time consuming and disruptive to production. The Steel Belt Shot Peening Process was developed as a superior solution to the Belt cross curvature problem.

Shot Peening is an innovative remedial solution for deformed Steel Belts. It offers a quick, onsite, cost effective method of flattening out deformed Steel Belts without interrupting production.

A deformed Steel Belt has the following disadvantages:

Give unequal pressure on the product,

Can cause Steel Belt tracking problems in the press,

The Steel Belt is exposed to unnecessary high stress,

Increase the risk of accidental damage to the edge of the belt,

And overall reduce the life span of the Steel Belt.