Environmentally friendly anodising

At its dedicated £1m in-house electro-plating facility, Weymouth based metal finishing specialist, Tecan has developed an environmentally friendly process for the anodising of titanium parts - a process believed to be unique in the UK.

Titanium offers excellent corrosion resistance, it is resistant to dilute sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, most organic acids, most chlorine gas, and chloride solutions - which means penetrating its surface oxide layer in preparation for anodising is a particularly tough job. The ability to successfully anodise titanium is in itself uncommon, but to do this without using aggressive surface preparation acids is particularly unusual.

Tecan has achieved this without resorting to standard preparation solutions which contain non-dilute hydrofluoric and sulphuric acids. Instead, the company has developed a proprietary method based on alkaline solutions which successfully pre-etches titanium parts prior to anodising, while effectively protecting both its staff and the environment.

Crucially, the new method meets the established ISO 8080 standard without the use of acids. The company has also developed equally 'green' techniques for plating titanium, with finishes such as PTFE and nickel, to facilitate novel assembly requirements or for aesthetic finishes.