The first published article about peening was written in Germany in 1929 and was specifically about shot peening. The first patent for shot peening was also taken out in Germany in 1934, however it was never commercially implemented. In 1930, a few engineers at Buick, independent of the Germans, noticed that "shot blasted" (as it was originally termed) springs had a much better fatigue life than the springs that were not. The process was then commercially used in the automotive industry to overcome fatigue issues. Zimmerli was the first to do research on it, publishing a report in 1940, but John Almen was the one who did the most extensive research on the topic. Almen helped expand shot peening to the aircraft industry during World War 2.
By 1950, peening became an accepted process and was being included in engineering literature. Shot peening machines became more prevalent in industry and in the same year peen forming was invented to form the wing skin of the Super Constellation aircraft.
Shot peening machines have developed further over the years and there is now the capability to provide shot peening at established cost and with enough background experience to anticipate the benefits to be gained.
To find out more about the Deburring and Finishing Group’s shot peening machines, contact us now.