Hot-dip galvanizing of fasteners
Bolts, nuts and other fasteners must by definition be of special quality. In order to achieve high quality, the galvanizing process is indispensable: it protects the fasteners from corrosion without any additional maintenance, which ensures trouble-free operation without repairs and replacement of damaged elements.
If the steel is not treated specifically, it is in a natural environment very quickly corroded and destroyed, which is unacceptable for fasteners. Hot-dip galvanizing is the process of covering the surface of steel with zinc, reliably protects fasteners from destructive corrosion.
When galvanizing, the coating is chemically connected to the steel of the part and forms a reliable steel barrier against environmental influences, leading to corrosion.
Fasteners are subjected to hot-dip galvanizing, in general, as well as any other objects by means of galvanization, but there are also its own characteristics. So, after removal from the bath, the parts are rotated in a centrifuge or otherwise to remove excess zinc.
Long and unformatted parts that do not fit in the centrifuge are cleaned in other ways. Welded studs are cleaned of excess zinc after cooling, including mechanical methods.
The method of hot-dip galvanizing fasteners is indispensable because:
- Provides high-quality protection of the entire surface of the part, as the part is completely immersed in hot zinc, forming a coating of the same thickness;
- Hot-dip zinc coating forms a surface from 43 to 86 microns thick;
- Such cathodic protection is the so-called sacrificial metal, which corrodes instead of the main material;
- The fasteners treated with hot zinc have a huge adhesion strength of the coating, which is almost impossible to damage;
- An alloy of zinc and iron, covering almost the entire surface of the fastener, is characterized by high hardness.