Firms that rebuild (remanufacture) automotive disc brake calipers have a problem with damage to the tapped (threaded) holes after shot blasting. In most cases, these holes are plugged with plastic plugs prior to blasting and, hopefully, these plugs will remain in the holes until manually removed after the blasting cycle. However, most of the plugs come out in the blast cycle and either plug up the separator or the catch screen in the blast machine. This results in having to re-tap the holes or use threaded inserts to salvage the caliper. Some shops routinely re-tap each hole after blasting. Switching to NU-SOFT Steel Shot will prevent any damage to the calipers and eliminate the need for plugging, re-tapping or the use of threaded inserts (helicoils).
- Industry/Application: Automotive
- Challenge: Threaded holes were damaged during shot blasting
- NU-SOFT Solution: Used soft shot—no need for plugs or re-tapping
- Benefits: Simplified workflow, no thread damage
- Media Used: NU-SOFT Shot