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WHAT IS HEAT & SURFACE TREATMENT?

Heat and Surface Treatment is the collective name for a method performed on metals and non-metals to meet certain criteria. These criteria can either be for aesthetic reasons, but are most done to increase durability by:

 

  • PREVENT WEAR AND TEAR ON THE MATERIAL

  • PROTECTS THE COMPONENT FROM ELEMENTS OF NATURE

  • ELECTRICAL INSOLATION

WHY HEAT & SURFACE TREATMENT?

Products are heat and surface treated to produce beautiful, durable, and strong components.

CORROSION

When a metal is in its natural form before it is mined, it has different mineral forms. When the metal is machined and the minerals are refined into a component, it’s not as stable as in its mineral form.

 

Rust, also called corrosion is nature's way of getting the metal to return to its natural mineral form.

 

Surface treatment means that you somehow create a protective layer between the raw surface of the component and the elements of nature, to prevent the minerals from breaking down.

ELECTRICITY & HEAT

It is not only the forces of nature that can break down metals, electricity and high temperatures also affects metal in a negative way.

 

Most metals conduct electricity, which is good for purposes such as electrical cables, but in some cases, you don’t want the metal to conduct current.

To prevent the metal from conducting current, the metal can be covered with a surface that does not penetrate the electrons and insulates the component.

 

Electrolytic surface treatment provides a protected film of chromium, nickel, or zinc. 

 

If you want the component to conduct electricity well, you can treat the material with a surface such as silver or gold, which is very lively.

FINISH

When a component is treated to be stronger and more durable, it can look ugly.

Toughness is not always the only criteria. Since many of our finished products reach consumers, aesthetics is also important.

The most important thing is to protect the component from the elements of nature, but in some cases it’s just as important that the product is exposed in a way that satisfies the viewer’s eye.

HARDNESS & TOUGHNESS

Some base materials do not meet the criteria found on the component when it comes to how strong it should be.

 

Therefore, the component can be given new properties, where they can become harder or tougher via heat treatment.

SOFT & SMOOTH SURFACES

When a component is machined, sharp edges can appear. Then you must polish these sharp edges, so they become smoother. While doing this, the mechanical component becomes softer and nicer to hold.

CLEAN SURFACES

A CNC machine uses oil to cool the tools as they cut the raw material. This means that the mechanical component is oily, but also has residues such as swarf and chips, or other particles of matter that the naked eye cannot see. It is then important to clean the product, so it can undergo the next process or be delivered to the customer. Through cleaning, the component also receives thin rust protection that protects it during transportation or storage.

HEAT & SURFACE TREATMENT METHODS

Which surface treatment you choose for your product is defined by the purpose of the use. It is important already in the engineering stage of a product, to decide how it should be treated or not.

WHAT IS SURFACE TREATMENT?

Surface treatment is a method where you apply a thin layer of chemical liquid on the material's surface. This chemical liquid then creates a protective film.

 

Depending on what you want to protect and what material you have for your component, this film can provide different protection:

ELECTRO-GALVANIZING
PHOSPHATATION
ANODISING

SURFACE TREATMENT

WHAT IS DRUM POLISHING?

Drum polishing is a method where you put the components in a drum and spin them together with a liquid called compound and stones called chips. With the help of the compound and the chips, you can:

SMOOTH SHARP EDGES
POLISHING OF SURFACES FOR BETTER SURFACE EVENNESS AND FINISH
CLEANING
CORROSION PROTECTION
DEGREASING

DRUM POLISHING

WHAT IS GRINDING?

If a mechanical component has tight tolerances the CNC lathe has difficulty keeping up with. Then you have to use a machine that is able to keep such tight tolerances, and that is a grinder.

CIRKULAR GRINDING
HOLE GRINDING
CENTERLESS GRINDING

GRINDING

WASHING

WHY IS WASHING IMPORTANT?

By alkaline washing your mechanical components, you can remove unwanted particles such as:

  • OIL

  • SWARFS AND CHIPS

  • DIRT

REMOVE OIL
REMOVE PARTICLES
NON-PERMANENT CORROSION PROTECTION

HARDENING &

HEAT TREATMENT

Hardening is a method where the material is heated to a high degree in a furnace to gain new properties that it did not have before. For example, becoming harder, tougher, and more durable. The most common methods of heat treatment are:

TEMPERING
VACUUM CURING
SET CURING
HARDENING
CARBONITRATION
NITRO CARBURETION + AFTER OXIDATION

HARDENING &

HEAT TREATMENT

THE SPIDER IN THE WEB

Through our network of suppliers in our area, we can provide heat and surface treatment for the components we machine. This means that you don't have to find new suppliers yourself. This leads to reduced freights and higher quality; we call that sustainable!

HEAT & SURFACE TREATMENT

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