Common surface treatment methods

Surface treatment is to clean, clean, deburr, degrease and scale the workpiece surface to meet the corrosion resistance, wear resistance, decoration or other special functional requirements of the product. The surface treatment of metal castings mainly includes mechanical polishing, chemical treatment, heat treatment, spraying, etc.

What are the common surface treatment processes?

The appearance of the processed workpiece is inseparable from the design, color, material and process, and the surface treatment process is the most direct embodiment of the product appearance. The surface treatment can improve the product appearance, texture, function and other aspects of performance.

The commonly used surface treatment methods in the manufacturing and processing industry include electroplating, baking, silk screen, surface wiredrawing, sand blasting, oxidation, polishing, radium carving, etc

Electroplating 

Spraying is the most common surface treatment, applicable to both plastics and hardware. Spraying generally includes oil spraying, powder spraying, etc. The most common is oil spraying.

 Spraying Coat 

The coating sprayed is commonly known as paint, which is composed of resin, pigment, solvent and other additives. Plastic spraying generally has two coats of paint, the one with color on the surface is called finish paint, and the transparent layer on the surface is called protective paint.

Baking varnish

Spray a layer of paint of various colors on the material surface by spraying and baking at high temperature to beautify the appearance and increase the anti-corrosion performance of the material.

There are generally two kinds of liquid baking varnish and powder baking varnish, of which powder baking varnish is the most common. The paint surface is non-conductive. Paint baking is not allowed in areas with EMC requirements (paint baking products are generally reserved for spraying allowance…).

Graphic Arts

The process of printing patterns on the surface of plastic parts by pad printing, screen printing and transfer printing.

Surface wire drawing

Put the material between the upper and lower rollers of the wire drawing machine. The roller is attached with a sand belt. The motor drives the material to pass through the upper and lower sand belts and pull out traces on the surface of the material. According to the different sand belts, the traces are different in thickness, which is mainly used to beautify the appearance. The surface treatment method of wire drawing is generally considered for aluminum materials

Sand Blasting 

Sand particles are hit on the surface of the workpiece by the wind of the sandblasting machine, forming a layer of dense pits on the surface of the workpiece, which is mainly used to remove the dirt on the surface of the workpiece, increase the adhesion on the surface of the workpiece, and prepare for the subsequent surface treatment.

 Oxidation Reaction 

The metal on the workpiece surface is oxidized to form a dense protective film on the workpiece surface, which increases the corrosion resistance of the workpiece. Generally, there are two methods: conductive oxidation and anodic oxidation, which are common surface treatment methods, such as anodic oxidation of radiator surface (different colors can be available)

 Polishing

Polishing refers to the processing method that uses mechanical, chemical or electrochemical effects to reduce the surface roughness of the workpiece to obtain a bright and flat surface. It is the finishing processing of the workpiece surface using polishing tools, abrasive particles or other polishing media.

Polishing can not improve the dimensional accuracy or geometric shape accuracy of the workpiece, but aims to obtain smooth surface or specular luster, sometimes also used to eliminate luster (matting)

 Laser Engraving

Also called laser engraving or laser marking, it is a surface treatment process using optical principles. The high intensity focused laser beam emitted by the laser is used at the focal point to oxidize the material and thus process it

Etching

Etching, also known as photochemical etching, refers to removing the protective film of the area to be etched after exposure, plate making and development, contacting the chemical solution during etching, so as to achieve the effect of dissolving corrosion, forming concave convex or hollow molding