Extending the chemical and physical components of metals used in the food and beverage production equipment is meant to reduce the frequency of replacement intervals while at the same time reducing the likelihood of component failure. In overall, this is a cost-saving strategy due to a reduction in downtime that is every maintenance department key objective. When dealing with metals, you need to understand what kind of combined metals would work in optimal conditions to produce the best quality metal. A common question that seems to pop up is what are combined metals of chicago and how you can leverage these metals to improve the production process of different products where metals are used. In the food industry for example, the metals that are used would be what would be referred to thin aluminum strips and stainless steel. The thin aluminum strips as well as stainless steel are characterized by soft surfaces that cause premature wear and insufficient edge retention. Typically, 302 stainless, 304 stainless and thin aluminum strips are widely used in the food and beverage production. This is an industry whereby corrosion resistance of metals is a major concern. The mechanical properties that ensure durability are also put into questions when dealing with these metals. So how exactly do you overcome this challenge and improve the thin aluminum strips and stainless steel for food and beverage production.
Why Metals Wear Resistance
A typical characteristic of thin aluminum strips and stainless steel is that they produce stellar performance when it comes to corrosion resistance but fall short when you evaluate the rest of their mechanical properties. One of their main characteristic is that they are soft which makes them wear very fast. Depending on their application, there are certain industries where the rate of wear is faster. For thin aluminum strips and austenitic stainless steel, there is also susceptibility to galling when dealing with these metals. Galling is when the adhesive friction between metals cause the metal to smear from surface to surface causing a cold weld between two components. Ideally, there are no approval standards that are required by regulatory bodies for the hardening of stainless steel used in the food and beverages production equipment. The manufacturer is supposed to carry out due diligence and ensure that there is minimal contamination of the products w strengthening such metals.
How to Carry out Metal Coating or Thermal Treatment
There are different ways that you can coat your metal to harden it and ensure durability. The different methods are ever evolving and continue to be improved in various industrial applications. However, you need to first understand the physical and chemical properties of the metal you are dealing with for effective hardening and coating. Since coating involves the addition of a material that changes both the surface and the dimension of the primary metal, there is always the risk of introducing problems to that specific part or surface that has been coated. In addition, coated metals have a higher probability of peeling or delamination. When dealing with austenitic stainless steel, traditional hardening methods that involve heat treatment are not effective. To achieve high wear and corrosion resistance levels, you need to turn to other mechanical methods that use precipitation hardening for your metal. It is worth noting that both hardening and corrosion resistance are relatively proportional. This is the reason why some stainless steel parts that have high surface hardness often exhibit superior wear-resistance qualities-an indication of this proportionality.
