TECHNOLOGY: Surface Treatment Methods

Sheet Metal Surface Treatment
Metal surface treatment allows giving your product the desired look. But even more importantly, it lengthens the lifetime of metal. Smoothing the surface area and coating it afterwards protects metal from the surrounding environment.

As Machined

Our standard finish is “as machined” finish. It has a surface roughness of 3.2 μm (126 μin). All sharp edges are removed and parts are deburred. Tool marks are visible.

Bead blasting

Bead blasting is the process of powerfully propelling, generally with high pressure, a stream of blast media against a surface to remove unwanted coating layers and surface impurities.

Anodizing

Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process that grows the natural oxide layer on aluminum parts for protection from wear and corrosion, as well as for cosmetic effects.

Electroplating

Electroplating is a process that uses an electric current to reduce metal cations in the electrolyte solution, producing a metallic coating on a metal surface. This process can be used for purposes of corrosion and wear resistance, as well as for decorative purposes.

Polishing

Parts are manually polished in multiple directions. Surface is smooth and slightly reflective.

Powder coating

Powder coating is a dry coating process used to apply free-flowing, dry color powder to a metal substrate. Unlike normal wet painting that contains solvent, powder coating is applied as a dry powder by electrostatic attraction, then melted and fused into an even coating with heat.

Brushing

Brushing is a surface treatment process in which abrasive belts are used to draw traces on the surface of a material, usually for aesthetic purposes.

Painting

Painting involves spraying a layer of paint onto the surface of the part. Colors can be matched to a Pantone color number of the customer’s choosing, while finishes range from matte to gloss to metallic.

Black oxide

Black oxide is a conversion coating similar to Alodine that is used for steel and stainless steel. It is used mainly for appearance and for mild corrosion resistance.

Alodine

Chromate conversion coating, more commonly known by its brand name Alodine, is a chemical coating that passivate and protects aluminum from corrosion. It is also used as a base layer before priming and painting parts.

Part marking

Part marking is a cost-effective way to add logos or custom lettering to your designs and is often used for custom part tagging during full-scale production.

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