Industries
Aerospace Industry
AMS 2430 and MIL-S-13165 compliant shot peening media engineered for fatigue life extension in turbine blades, landing gear, and structural airframe components — backed by full material certifications and lot traceability.
Industry Overview
Why aerospace demands more from its abrasives
Aircraft components operate at the extremes of engineering — high cycle fatigue loading, elevated temperatures, aggressive chemical environments, and zero tolerance for in-service failure. Shot peening is a critical process for extending component fatigue life, and the quality of the peening media is directly linked to the consistency and depth of the compressive residual stress layer induced.
Unlike industrial shot blasting, aerospace shot peening requires documented saturation curves for every component type, validated Almen intensity measurements on every production run, and complete material traceability from raw wire to finished media. Macloid Metalix provides aerospace-quality cut wire shot and steel shot with full material certifications — everything needed to satisfy your NADCAP and OEM process approval requirements.
Almen Intensity
4A – 20A Range
Size Distribution
≤5% Outside Band
Media Hardness
54–65 HRC
Traceability
10 Years Per Lot
Recommended Products
Abrasives selected for aerospace
Stainless Steel Shot
Cut Wire Shot
Steel Shot
Applications
Key uses in this industry
Turbine Blades
Compressor and fan blades are peened to AMS 2430 requirements using media with a tightly controlled size and hardness window. The thin, complex geometry of blades demands precise intensity control — typically 4A to 8A — to achieve the required compressive stress depth without over-peening or distortion.
- ✓AMS 2430 process validation and saturation curves required
- ✓Tight Almen intensity window — typically ±1A
- ✓High coverage ≥200% on leading and trailing edges
- ✓Media cleanliness critical — no ferrous contamination on titanium alloys
Recommended media
Conditioned Cut Wire Shot CW14–CW20
Landing Gear
Landing gear assemblies experience some of the highest stress levels in an aircraft, subject to repeated impact loading at each landing. Shot peening to MIL-S-13165 with high Almen intensities creates deep compressive stress layers that significantly reduce fatigue crack initiation in high-strength steels and aluminium alloys.
- ✓MIL-S-13165C compliance for heavy shot peening
- ✓Almen intensity 12A–20A depending on material and geometry
- ✓Full saturation curve documentation per workpiece geometry
- ✓Hardness control critical — 54–65 HRC for high-intensity peening
Recommended media
Steel Shot S330–S460 or Cut Wire Shot CW35–CW47
Structural Components
Wing spars, frames, longerons, and attachment brackets are peened before final surface treatment to extend fatigue life in primary structure. These large, often complex parts require thorough coverage verification and careful masking to control the peened zone.
- ✓Coverage verification using fluorescent tracer methods
- ✓Precise masking for selective peening of fatigue-critical areas
- ✓Pre-treatment before anodising, chromate conversion, or primer
- ✓NADCAP process approval documentation support
Recommended media
Steel Shot S170–S280 or Cut Wire Shot CW20–CW28
Compliance
Standards & certifications
Shot Peening — Automatic
SAE Aerospace Material Specification governing the automatic shot peening process, including media type, intensity, saturation curves, coverage, and production control requirements.
Shot Peening — Computer Controlled
Governs robotically controlled shot peening for components where geometric complexity prevents consistent manual peening. Requires validated CNC programs and in-process monitoring.
Shot Peening of Metal Parts
US Military specification for shot peening, widely referenced in landing gear and structural component requirements. Defines media, intensity, coverage, and equipment calibration procedures.
Special Process Accreditation
Our media documentation supports customer audit requirements under NADCAP AC7117 (Shot Peening) — providing traceability, lot certification, and sieve analysis data that auditors require.
Aerospace Quality Management
The international quality management standard for the aviation, space, and defence industry. Our quality processes are aligned to AS9100 requirements for risk management and product traceability.
Almen Strip Procedure
Defines the standard procedure for using Almen strips (A, N, and C types) to measure shot peening intensity and establish saturation curves — the foundation of any repeatable peening process.
Need aerospace qualification data?
We provide full qualification packages including mill certificates, sieve analysis reports, hardness data, and chemical composition — ready for your NADCAP, AS9100, or OEM approval submission.
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