Our Nadcap Approved Chemical Processing facility offers chemical etching of Titanium and Steel and Nickel alloys. We specialise in preparation and grain etching along with chemical milling of forgings and castings primarily for the aerospace and power generating industries.
This facility is capable of processing components ranging from a few centimetres long, to 1.5 metres. We currently etch a wide range of titanium, steel and nickel alloy forgings and castings (including machined discs and rings), through precisely controlled electrolytic and immersion etching
Forged and cast components, often of complex geometry, are chemically milled to meet tight tolerance requirements.
A wide range of parts in steel, titanium and nickel base alloys can be etched for detailed surface inspection.
We have the capability to electrolytically etch nickel base cast components (including single crystal alloys) for grain assessment.
We regularly process complete and sectioned castings to facilitate structural examination.
Both forged and cast titanium parts acquire a hard surface layer during manufacture and during subsequent thermal processing.This layer is chemically removed in order to facilitate machining and other mechanical operations.
We routinely process a range of small components through our nickel plating process although parts up to 800mm can be accommodated. We apply a dull, highly ductile, nickel coating up to 250 microns in thickness. This is typically applied as corrosion protection during forging operations.
In order to carry out “Preferential” or “Selective” chemical milling, areas of each component are coated using specially developed chemical resistant maskants. Precise trimming of the maskant exposes the areas which require milling.
We have carried out chemical milling on steel, titanium and nickel base components up to 1.2m diameter. We have vast experience in designing and fabricating tooling and holding fixtures in plastics and metals. This combination of expert maskant coating application along with close limit controlled chemical processing , enables us to offer a selective chemical milling ability. This ability provides our customers with an alternative means of producing specific features and also attaining weight reduction objective.
