Metal Surface Finish
Metal surface finish techniques can be mainly divided into mechanical, electrochemical, and new surface finish methods. Each category has specific sub - methods with distinct features and applications.
1. Mechanical Surface Finish
General Features: It changes the shape and roughness of metal surfaces through physical means and is suitable for initial treatment and enhancing surface roughness of various metal materials.
Sandblasting:
Process: Uses compressed air as power. Abrasive materials like copper ore sand, quartz sand, etc. are sprayed at high speed onto the workpiece surface.
Effect: The impact and cutting of the abrasive change the workpiece's surface or shape, achieving cleanliness and different roughness levels.
Polishing:
Process: Involves mechanical, chemical, or electrochemical actions. Uses polishing tools, abrasive particles, or other media.
Effect: Reduces the surface roughness to obtain a bright and flat surface.
Powder Spraying:
Process: Uniformly adheres dry powdered substances to the workpiece by electrostatic spraying and solidifies at high temperature.
Effect: Forms hard and bright or matte coatings with customizable colors. It's widely used in automotive, mechanical, electronic, furniture, and construction industries to provide protective layers with properties like corrosion, wear, heat, and scratch resistance.
2. Electrochemical Surface Finish
General Applications: Electroplating technology in this category is widely used in automotive, electronics, and aviation industries to improve the aesthetics, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of metal surfaces.
Anodizing: Forms an oxide film on aluminum products (anode) through specific electrolyte and process conditions with an external current.
Electroplating: Electroplating is a process of using the principle of electrolysis to plate a thin layer of other metals or alloys on some metal surfaces. When electroplating, the coated metal or other insoluble material acts as the anode, and the workpiece to be plated acts as the cathode. The cations of the coated metal are reduced to form a coating on the surface of the workpiece to be plated.
3. New Surface Finish
General Features: Uses advanced physical or chemical means to form high - performance functional coatings on metal surfaces.
Techniques: Include chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), ion implantation, ion plating, laser surface treatment, etc.
Applications: Suitable for high - tech fields such as microelectronics, optical instruments, and aerospace where there are high precision and performance requirements for metal surfaces.
4. Future Trends of Metal Surface Treatment Industry
Environmental Protection and Sustainability: With increasing global environmental awareness, the industry will focus more on environmental protection and sustainable development. New technologies will be more environmentally friendly and energy - saving, reducing pollution and resource consumption.
Digital and Intelligent Technologies: Their development will drive the digital and intelligent process of the industry, improving production efficiency and product quality.
Customized Services and Innovation: Customized services and innovative technology research and development will be important development directions.
