There are two primary surface-finishing processes Hyde Industrial Blade Solutions uses on its industrial blades. To be more specific, Hyde IBS uses the following processes on the metals it uses to make industrial blades.

Hyde uses these processes to impart certain characteristics. These components include corrosion resistance, wear resistance, edge durability, and increased hardness.

The main surface processes are plating and coating.

Plating

Our first surface-finishing process has been around for hundreds of years. It’s still vital to today’s technology.

The process is called plating, and it’s when a metal is deposited on a conductive surface. The two main types of plating employed by Hyde are zinc plating and electoless nickel plating.

Zinc Plating

Zinc plating prevents oxidization of the protected metal. It does so by creating a barrier and acting as a sacrificial anode if the barrier is breached. Zinc plating is very economical if your industrial blades will be exposed to the atmosphere.

Electoless Nickel Plating

In electoless nickel plating, a coating of nickel is placed on the metal. As the name implies, this type of plating does not need an electric current. Electoless nickel plating is easy to apply evenly and is used to prevent corrosion, increase hardness, and improve wear resistance.

Coating

Coatings are coverings applied to the surfaces of various materials. The surfaces on which coatings are applied are usually called substrates.

The four coatings frequently employed by Hyde IBS are electrocoating, black oxide coating, Teflon coating, and TiN coating.

Electrocoating

In electrocoating, an electrical current is used to deposit organic paint onto a metal substrate. This process allows for every bit of the substrate to be covered and to be covered evenly. Electrocoating increases corrosion resistance and stain resistance.

Black Oxide Coating

Also known as blackening, a black oxide coating is used on a variety of materials including copper, zinc, and silver solder. Black oxide coating offers minimal buildup and improves lubricity.

Teflon Coating

Teflon coating is used to give a substrate a non-stick surface. Obviously, Teflon is used to coat cookware, but it’s also used on a variety of tools and machinery parts.

The fact that it creates a non-stick surface allows it to reduce friction and decreases wear. The technical term for Teflon is polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE.

Hyde IBS used both standard and food-grade Teflon.

TiN Coating

That’s not a misspelling. “TiN” stands for titanium nitride. The “Ti” is the symbol for titanium and “N” is the symbol for nitrogen.

TiN coating is an extremely hard ceramic that improves edge retention and corrosion resistance. It’s commonly used in medical implants and frequently used to coat steel carbide substrates.

To learn more about surface-finishing processes for your industrial blades, contact Hyde Industrial Blade Solutions.