Titanium Jigs for Anodizing & Plating industries.

Any item to be anodized requires reliable jigging. First to stop the components falling to the bottom of the anodizing tank and secondly so that the electrical current can safely pass from the jig to the work pieces. Anodizing jigs are usually made from Aluminum or Titanium. Aluminum jigs get anodized of course and have to be chemically stripped, the constant anodizing and stripping results in a short life and hence the use of Titanium which does not require stripping after the anodizing process.

Titanium is far less conductive than Aluminum so that jig design, always very important, is critical. Contact points and therefore jig marks need to be larger than with Aluminum jigs to avoid contact burns during processing.

Many jigs rely on small sprung fingers gripping the work piece in some way; with hard anodising the favoured way with large pieces especially is to use titanium screws to get a positive reliable contact. It should be remembered that holding work in the process will result in small un-anodised areas and it is unrealistic to expect 100% coating. Jigging can usually be arranged to avoid sensitive areas. This should be borne in mind when designing for corrosion resistance and wear resistance in particular.

Titan Engineering Pte Ltd specialises in supplying complete jigs or titanium materials for making jigs. Our jig materials are custom made order for springiness required in hold the parts

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The Big Head Ache - Corrosion

Metal is notorious for corroding in water applications.  The power packed combination of moisture, oxygen and salt, especially sodium chloride, is more deadly to metal than rust.  It corrodes or eats away at the metal by weakening it and eventually causing it to fall apart.  And if the metal is submerged in a salt water environment than count on your metal corroding five times faster than if it was in fresh water.

Considering we rely on metal in just about every "water-related" application out there, the above statistics sound a bit bleak.  Let's see, we need metal in plumbing, water filtration, sewage plants, hydro-electric power, oil & gas platform parts in the ocean, engine cooling, refrigeration, irrigation and the list goes on and on.  How could the world's economy and infrastructure have survived if metal wasn't used in water applications?  Well, since you and I haven't heard about the world's ongoing struggle to find a metal for water applications that means a solution must have been found.  

Traditionally, steel is not seen as a suitable metal for water applications.  Why?  Remember that moisture is highly corrosive to most metals including steel and zinc. In order to make steel suitable for water applications, there is a process called Hot Dip Galvanizing.  This is where a "layer or protective suit" is metallurgically bonded to the steel.  This bonded layer is a complete, uniform coating that adds strength (approx. 3600 psi) and long term durability to the part. 

However before you go and select Hot Dip Galvanizing Steel (HDGS) as your "go to water metal", beware of some of the disadvantages.  You must know what type of water the part will be submerged in, such as; pure water (distilled or de-ionized water), fresh water, or seawater. Each water environment has different mechanisms that determine the ultimate corrosion rate.  For instance, studies show that HDGS will corrode up to ten times faster in a pure water environment than in a fresh water environment. 

Also, one of the most corrosive areas for HDGS is in Agitated Waters, such as; wash zones and tide lines.  The agitation accelerates the corrosion rate of the zinc.  Often the “washing” motion removes the passive scales which are forming on the surfaces, exposing fresh zinc which tries to redevelop more scales/patina. This leads to rapid erosion of the zinc coating resulting in increased corrosion rates.

So what are the alternatives? 

TITANIUM.

It is amazing how titanium stands out against the "big guys", like Steel and Stainless Steel in certain environments and applications. Even though annual titanium consumption accounts for such a small percentage of all the metal consumed in the world - it is clear that titanium has a major part to play in the Metals Industry.  I am finding that it is a unique, diverse and adaptable underdog.  

I hope you enjoyed the blog and if you have any questions at all please feel free to contact us at sales @ titanium.com.sg or call (+65) 6853 7424 or visit us at www.titanium.com.sg

Until next time...enjoy your week!