Passivation of Stainless Steel

Passivation is a post fabrication/machining process to maximize the corrosion resistance of the Stainless Steel material.

In simple terms, the stainless steel passivation process removes "free iron" contamination left behind on the surface of the stainless steel as a result of machining and fabricating processes. These contaminants are potential points of corrosion which, if not removed, may result in premature corrosion and ultimately result in deterioration of the components on your valuable asset.

The passivation process instantaneously induces the formation of a very thin, transparent oxide film, which protects the stainless steel from selective corrosion.

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Stainless Steel Electropolishing

Electropolishing of stainless steel is an electrochemical process similar to, but the reverse of, electroplating.  The process provides maximum corrosion resistance to the surfaces of stainless steel components.  The most noticable benefits of the process are the resulting bright and decorative appearance to the processed component.  However, the metallurgical benefits are far more beneficial, leaving the material hygenically pure and highly corrosive resistant.  The process is very cost effective and very versatile. For this process, we would highly recommend our Electrolyte Willowchem 90.  Which can be supplied in 1000 kg IBC's or 30Kg containers.

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Medical Device Processing

MPE Ltd has recently developed a specific and innovative electrolytic process to metallurgically enhance the stainless steel material used to manufacture surgical instruments.

The process has been developed specifically to reduce the chance of continual bacterial formation on the surface of multi-used surgical instruments. In addition, the RE-SURGE process renders the instrument’s appearance “as-new” and acts as an excellent non destructive test method to detect such defects as hair-line fractures and non-metallic inclusion porosity.

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Pickling of Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steel

Pickling is a surface treatment process to remove scaling, thermal oxides, impurities and surface contaminant. The process is carried out by immersion in a pickling solution (Willowchem 81) for a calculated time, based on surface area and material specification.

The stainless steel pickling process is often used after processes such as welding and annealing. The process incorporates a pickling solution made up from a carefully calculated mix of Nitric acid and Hydroflouric acid. The solution, if correctly formulated, will remove thermal oxides and surface contaminants, as well as leaving the remaining clean surface as passive.

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Stainless Steel cleaning

The general perception of Stainless Steel is that it is totally resistant to staining and is indeed “stain-less” in all application. However, this is not the case!

Upon installation, a stainless steel structure is immediately subjected to the environment and its conditions. Therefore corrosion and staining can rapidly occur if the protective oxide layer is not fully formed.

Many manufacturers, workshops and fabricators that work with stainless steel will not appreciate the necessary metallurgical specifications to produce components, which are suitable for purpose and as a result, readily turn their backs on the resulting problems that occur from that lack of knowledge.

The aftermath can be frustrating, extremely costly and can sometimes be very hard to restore after installation.

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