On Aug 21, 1:28 pm, Torrey Hills wrote:
On Aug 18, 8:28 pm, Torrey Hills wrote:

In the anodizing industry, some people are using titanium racks and
some are using aluminum racks. Why? What is the main difference? On
the surface, Ti racks cost more, (5-9x) but last a lot longer.

Opportunities are never lost. The other fellow takes those you miss.

Ken

| Torrey Hills Technologies, LLC |
|www.threerollmill.com|
|www.torreyhillstech.com|

Over last few days, I learned a lot more about why Ti is used for
anodizing racks. Here is what someone shared in an e-mail to me:

"Ti is a lightweight metal with a high strength to weight ratio, good
electrical conductivity and excellent corrosion resistance.Fo Racks
fabricated from chemically pure titanium should be used. The titanium
racks do not require stripping and are resistant to attack by most
solutions used in the anodizing process. Titanium, being higher in
price ($25/lb, August 2007) than the alternative, aluminum alloy ($2/
lb), is primarily utilized in high volume, long run production lines.
Compared to aluminum alloy, titanium reduces rack maintenance costs
and is far more economical in the long term."

I am getting more responses and will share them in this group.

Ken

Opportunities are never lost. The other fellow takes those you miss.

| Torrey Hills Technologies, LLC |
|www.threerollmill.com|
|www.torreyhillstech.com|

For those you are following up this thread, here is what Mr. Milt
Stevenson, Jr. from Anoplate Corp, Syracuse, NY, USA commented in my
www.finishing.com posting
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.c...5a50d1aa8c6b13

" A couple of more differences: aluminum racks bend more easily and
work better for job shops that aren't doing repetitive, run-after-run
of the same part. If you're having to squeeze titanium clips all day
to rack parts, you're looking for a workmans comp wrist case for
"reptitive motion syndrome." We can buy about 10 aluminum clips for
the price of a single titanium clip. Also, there is a far greater
variety of aluminum clips available. Furthermore, when it comes to
hardcoat where current carrying capacity is critical, one square inch
of cross sectional area of aluminum carries 650 amps where as titanium
is only about half. Another factor is how well the unrackers are
willing to squeeze the tips - if they don't and just pull the parts
off the rack, the spring back will gouge the parts far more with
titanium. Each one has its own merits. Lastly, last longer is a myth
if you have any fluoride in any deox or desmut on the line; it will
chew up your titanium racks and render them worthless in short order."

Thank you,

Ken


Opportunities are never lost. The other fellow takes those you miss.


| Torrey Hills Technologies, LLC |
| www.threerollmill.com |
| www.torreyhillstech.com |