Both ceramic beads and glass beads are available in two types; as blasting beads, and as peening beads. Although in practice it is quite simple to substitute one for the other, care must be taken when the beads are used for shot peening that the beads are approved for use according to the peening specification being worked to. Ceramic beads have several advantages over glass beads.
There is a common phrase that size does not matter. In the case of sizing abrasives for a particular application size certainly does matter and plays an important role in the cost and economics of a blast cleaning operation.
In abrasive blasting the rule of thumb is to use the smallest possible abrasive to achieve the job of cleaning the part and leaving the required profile or surface finish.
