Stainless Steel Shot Pins For Magnetic Tumblers

Stainless Steel Shot Pins FAQ Guide

1.   What are Stainless Steel Shot Pins?

Stainless Steel Shot Pins are used in the finishing process. It’s suitable for cleaning, deburring, and burnishing metal parts. This is ideal if you’re looking to add brighten or add shine to your products.

Unlike other tumbling media, Stainless Steel Shot Pins are magnetic, which makes separation easy.

This media is made up of strong stainless steel material that adds to its long lifespan and durability.

2. What can I use Stainless Steel Shot Pins for?

Stainless Steel Shot Pins are ideally used for improving the surfaces of products, giving it extra shine and brightness.

Because these types of media is made up of tough stainless steel materials, it can be used for a variety of purposes. Below is a list of uses for Stainless Steel Shot Pins:

• Blending: This process that involves the parts to have even surface finishes. Because of tumbling marks left on the parts after tumbling, this process ensures that all parts come out with even and smooth surfaces.
• Deburring: This process involves the removal of sharp edges caused by other finishing processes. Deburring parts help smoothen put any unwanted sharp edges, giving parts smooth round edges.
• Polishing: This process is the final stage in the finishing process. It involves the smoothening and polishing of parts, leaving flawless results.
• Cleaning or Degreasing: This process involves the removal of dirt or grease found on the surfaces of metal parts.

3. What type of materials is used to make Stainless Steel Shot Pins?

Stainless Steel Shot Pins are made up of strong steel material commonly known as 302/304.

This type of steel consists of magnetic elements, made for easy separation during the tumbling process.

4. What types of parts are Stainless Steel Shot Pins most suitable for?

Stainless Steel Shot Pins are most suitable for brass, aluminum and steel. The high quality steel used to make Stainless Steel Shot Pins are durable and can be used for tougher materials compared to other types of media.

5. How does Stainless Steel Shot Pins work on parts?

The Stainless Steel Shot Pins and the type of tumbling machine used go hand-in-hand. Below is a guide of how the media and machine work together to produce great results:

• Step 1: The Stainless Steel Shot Pins and parts are placed in the tumbling machine.
• Step 2: The tumbling machine is switched on and runs until the finishing cycle lapses or until the desired results are achieved. This process varies between 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the amount of cleaning required.
• Step 3: The tumbling machine is switched off and the parts are assessed for satisfaction. If however, parts are not to satisfactory level, then it will require additional tumbling time.
• Step 4: Upon satisfaction of results, parts are then thoroughly rinsed off and thereafter dried. The parts are then sealed in a container for storage containing desiccant that acts as protection against corrosion and oxidation.

6. What type of finishing machines use Stainless Steel Shot Pins?

Stainless Steel Shot Pins are used in magnetic tumbling machines and rotary tumbling machines.

7. What are the benefits of using stainless steel media compared to other media?

If you’re looking for media for the finishing process, then the Stainless Steel Shot Pins are the best choice we recommend.

Below are some of the benefits of using Stainless Steel Shot Pins:

• Effectiveness: Stainless Steel Shot Pins add a great level of shine to parts.
• Thorough Cleanse: These media pins give parts a thorough clean as they are designed to get into small areas that are hard to reach.
• Efficiency: When it comes to mass finishing, the biggest factor is time. The Stainless Steel Shot Pins are designed to produce a fast turnaround time for tumbling compared to other tumbling media.
• Clean finishing process: Unlike other media that leaves residue on parts during tumbling that require cleaning of parts after tumbling, the Stainless Steel Shot Pins tumble parts in a clean and neat manner, leaving almost no cleaning up of parts behind.
• Easy to use: Stainless Steel Shot Pins are designed for easy usage. Unlike other media, these stainless steel pins are very easy to group together and to sort out using magnets.
• Lifespan: Stainless Steel Shot Pins are made up of steel elements. This means that they are less prone to corrosion and oxidation, making them last practically forever. The only reason you would have to replace the Stainless Steel Shot Pins is if you misplace them or lose them.

They are stronger and more durable than other tumbling media, therefore making it the ideal option for mass finishing.

8. What amount of Stainless Steel Shot Pins is required for the finishing process?

If you’re using a tumbling machine that has a capacity of 3 pounds, you can use 1 pound of Stainless Steel Shot Pins for the finishing process.

If you’re using a machine that has a 15-pound capacity, then 5 pounds of stainless steel media is recommended for a successful finishing process.

However, depending what type of parts you’re tumbling or how many parts you’re tumbling, you might require more or less Stainless Steel Shot Pins.

If you’re unsure about how much media you should use, contact us and we’ll be happy to assist you in making the right decision before purchasing.

9. Which industries use Stainless Steel Shot Pins?

There’s a variety of manufacturing industries that are popular for using Stainless Steel Shot Pins to achieve top quality results.

A few examples of industries are:

• Machine shops: Stainless Steel Shot Pins are suitable for this type of industry because the media pins offer effective and high quality results for their parts.
• Jewelry: Like everything else that loses its surface shine over time, so does jewelry. Maintaining the polished surfaces on jewelry is important in keeping its appearance in top-quality condition. Stainless Steel Shot Pins are commonly used to keep dust and surface damages away.
• Automotive: In the motor industry, Stainless Steel Shot Pins are used for metal and plastic parts.
• Aerospace and defense: This industry requires their parts to be strong and smooth. Therefore, using Stainless Steel Shot Pins are the best suitable media used to maintain strong and smooth parts.
• Medical: Stainless Steel Shot Pins are used in this industry, as medical instruments require high-quality tools for achieving designated results.
• Textile: Stainless Steel Shot Pins are suitable for this type of industry. Products can be enhanced and finished using this type of media.

10. What’s the difference between the 0.041″/0.042″ diameter pins and the 0.047″ pins?

There’s a noticeable difference between the diameter sizes of Stainless Steel Shot Pins.

The 0.041”/0.042” diameter media pins are small and therefore are more prone to be stuck in flash hole and primer pockets. designed in a way that they don’t get stuck in flash holes or primer pockets. This results in additional time being used to remove these pins and can make the process longer than expected.

The 0.047” diameter media pins are larger media, making them less prone to be stuck in flash holes and primer pockets.

11. Does the Stainless Steel Shot Pins damage parts during tumbling?

No. Stainless Steel Shot Pins have a low possibility of damaging parts during the tumbling process.

12. Are there important factors I need to know about Stainless Steel Shot Pins?

Yes. Firstly, when purchasing Stainless Steel Shot Pins, there are calculations that are considered.

Calculations are as follows:

• 5 pounds of media per 1-gallon workload
• 1 to 1.5 pounds of media per quart-size workload

Secondly, Stainless Steel Shot Pins cannot be used in vibratory rumbling machines except if used in a watertight tumbling barrel.

Thirdly, when using Stainless Steel Shot Pins, the amount of media should be equivalent to the amount of parts used for tumbling. If these amounts are incorrect, it can affect the final finishing process of products and result in non-satisfactory results.

Finally, Stainless Steel Shot Pins should at all times meet the tight tolerances in the tumbling machines.

If you’re unsure of any other important factors you need to know, give us a call. We will gladly help you as best as we can.

13. How do I maintain a tumbling machine?

When it comes to maintenance on tumbling machines, this is definitely something you don’t want to neglect. Neglecting maintenance will ultimately affect the functioning of your machine and further affect the results of your parts.

Here are some general maintenance steps you can follow:

• Ensure that the tumbling machine is in good working condition before every use by conducting interior and exterior checks.
• Wipe off all excess water from machine after doing a clean. This will prevent oxidation and rust.
• Adhere to weight instructions from machines manual to ensure that the tumbling machine isn’t overloaded. This can cause major damage to the tumbling machine.

14. Are there any disadvantages of using Stainless Steel Shot Pins?

Yes. The following are a list of advantages of using Stainless Steel Shot Pins:

• Price: Due to the high quality of this type of media, they are more expensive than other types of tumbling media. However, their lifespan is long and they can endure more wear-and-tear than other tumbling media.
• Technical usage: Stainless Steel Shot Pins are technical when it comes to its usage. Unlike other tumbling media, these types of media require extra stages to be taken. However, if you consider the results of tumbled parts, then the extra time is worth the effort.