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What
is hardcoat? Developed more than forty years ago, hard
coat is an electrochemical process that involves placing
an aluminum part into an electrolytic bath and applying
electrical current through the bath. This process forms
an oxide coating (sapphire-hard) on the aluminum part.
The oxide coating is built up by a process of anodic
oxidation in a cooled acid electrolyte, thus preventing
any thermal or physical distortion of precision-engineered
components. This oxide coating can be harder than case
hardened steel and provide excellent abrasion resistance;
it is protective to the aluminum part and can be very
durable. The
thickness of the hard coated piece is very closely controlled
and is applied to a wide variety of parts to suit applications
from many industries. Secondary treatments such as impregnation
with solid film lubricants and colored dyes are available. When
you need to give an aluminum surface the hardness of
casehardened steel while maintaining the lightweight
and strength of the aluminum, you need Duralectra. We
make extensive use of the Sanford Process®,
a hardcoat process that is so versatile it enables us
to hard coat virtually all alloys (including 2000 series).
The
Sanford Process® is the
leading technology in the global hardcoat market. Advantages
of the Sanford Process®
include the capability of hard coating all aluminum
alloys, higher abrasion resistance, superior coating
hardness and uniformity, higher thermal conductivity
and corrosion resistance, and the ability to dye with
bright vibrant colors.
Duralectra uses the following
standards when Hard Coating Aluminum (Sulfuric Acid):
Mil-A-8625, Type III, Class 1 and 2, BAC-5821 Class
1 and 2, AMS-2468, and AMS-2469. Testing for Inorganic
Chemical Treatments, Duralectra applies Taber Testing,
Coating Thickness, Coating Weight and Salt Spray Testing
using an outside testing laboratory. We are a NADCAP
approved vendor for the major aerospace and commercial
contractors. We certify to government and commercial
specifications.
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