Bone plate color anodized with ElpoLux-Anox process
Titanium is a light metal with extremely favorable mechanical material properties and high corrosion resistance. Despite its high price, it is used in the aerospace industry, tank and apparatus construction and in medical technology. For chemical surface treatment the classical methods, such as pickling, chemical deburring and electro polishing, are available. In addition the surface can also be anodized, similar to aluminum. There are two variants to choose from for this:
With color anodizing (Type III anodizing), the naturally existing oxide layer of 4 to 6 nm is strengthened up to 300 nm, generating through this the so-called interference colors depending on the layer thickness. The thickness of the oxide layer and thus also the interference color can be adjusted exactly using the applied electrical voltage. These layers are used for decorative purposes (jewelry industry) and for identification purposes (medicinal technology). Exclusively acid electrolyte is used for the color anodizing. The applied voltages are in the range of 10 V to 120 V.
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| Screw color anodized with ElpoLux-Anox process | Hip stem color anodized with ElpoLux-Anox process |
Screws gray anodized with ElpoLux-Anof process
With gray anodizing (Type II anodizing) even higher layer thicknesses are generated in the range up to 1–2 µm. These layers are mainly generated in alkaline electrolytes and used for improving the corrosion and wear resistance. The applied voltages are in the range of 60 V to 150 V.
Elpochem offers process chemicals for the entire chemical and electrochemical surface handling of titanium.
