Our experience with engineering processes specific to customer performance requirements has had positive effects on our standard operating procedures. Many of the controls and methods that were necessary for the extreme demands were incorporated into our standard processes. These technologies that may be unknown to our market competitors are standard with us and allow for successful processing of difficult materials without the risk of common processing failures.
Proprietary anodize coating that meets MIL-A-8625 Type II but has additional alkaline resistance and exceptional adhesion of organic materials. It is common for anodized components that are painted or printed to experience delamination of the organic coating due to poor adhesion between the topcoat and anodize layer. Often times the painter/printer is blamed for the defect but in reality, it is faulty anodizing. Hillock’s Steriscreen process utilizes a special pulsed voltage sequence to increase the porosity which in turn increases the number of bonding points for the secondary organic layer. Steriscreen is validated and successfully used on thousands of medical cases with epoxy printed graphics with no reported delamination.
The most robust and corrosion resistant coating available to the Medical Industry and offered by Hillock Anodizing, Stericlave® coating offers a smut/water-stain free surface after autoclave in addition to maximum corrosion resistance to high pH washes. The coating has proven its ability in the field to withstand 100+ sterilizing cycles consisting of a 10 minute immersion in 12.5+ pH detergent followed by a steam autoclave.
All Hillock Standard Colors are available. Embedded Graphics or laser marking are recommended if printing or marking are required.
The original Performance Anodic Coating developed by Hillock Anodizing for the medical industry. Steridize has since been found to be effective for any application where anodized aluminum components are exposed to extremely corrosive environments and the conventional sulfuric acid anodizing breaks down.
Steridize was the first process developed by Hillock Anodizing that used complex pulsing rectifier program coupled with special electrolytes to create a self ordered pore structure that was easier to impregnate and hydrothermally seal than conventional type II anodizing (called the Advanced Pore Closure Anodize System). The Steridize process runs at higher than normal current densities without the risk of burning so the resultant coating is more dense than coatings produced by standard sulfuric acid anodize processes. In addition to excellent corrosion resistance, Steridize maximizes light fastness properties of organic dyes.
The Steridize process cost is comparable to conventional sulfuric acid anodizing and is Hillock Anodizing’s preferred anodizing process for applications where higher levels of corrosion resistance and coating durability are needed compared to mil spec type II anodizing.
ULTRA PURE ANODIC COATING PROCESS that uses industry leading anodizing techniques, controls and raw materials to yield a self-ordered aluminum oxide coating capable of withstanding extreme corrosive environments. PERMANCE ANODIC COATING SYSTEM ALLOWS FOR ADVANCED PORE CLOSURE Anodizing is an exothermic process and heat generated at the base of the coating ensuing in soft layers and irregular pores. Steri-X® uses a proprietary chemical solution and complex electric waveform to dissipate heat and impurities from the pores, leading to a denser oxide with a self-ordered arrangement. The resulting coating contains less impurities.
Revolutionary hard anodizing process with organic molecules electrolytically deposited into the aluminum oxide matrix. This synergistic coating is as smooth as type II sulfuric acid anodizing but as abrasion resistance as conventional type III hardcoat.
The organic molecules deposited into anodic coating matrix offer re-lubricating properties during the life of the component, a performance characteristic not available by conventional hardcoat processes sealed with ptfe.
HC 43A is the best option for anti-galling, minimizing stick-slip and limiting anodic coating crazing. It is commonly sealed with PTFE and is Hillock Anodizing’s preferred process to meet the requirements of AMS 2482.
The HC 43A anodic coating is self ordered and not as dark as conventional hard anodizing. As a result, it can successfully be dyed vibrant colors not normally possible with conventional hard anodizing.
Low voltage hard anodize process that creates an anodic coating with minimal surface roughness increase while still meeting abrasion resistance requirements of MIL-PRF-8625 Type III taber abrasion testing.
Self ordered pore structure allows for greater sealability and therefore better corrosion resistance than conventional Type III hard anodize processes.
HC 55 is Hillock Anodizing’s preferred anodizing process for applications where vibrant colors are requested without sacrificing the coating abrasion resistance.
Spalling (separation) of the anodize coating from the aluminum substrate is catastrophic failure of the coating due to a combination of alloying metals collecting at grain boundaries (typically zinc in 7075 aloy), dying and incorrect anodizing procedures. Hillock Anodizing is a Lockheed Approved vendor and approved for MAP-311085. MAP-311085 occasionally requires spalling testing be performed with the lot of parts. Our standard process dyed black successfully passed the spalling test on 7075 aluminum.
Hillock Anodizing has extensive knowledge of dying anodic coatings and the properties of the dyes. We have over 25 dye tanks between both buildings, five of which are black dyes with differing undertones. The reason for having multiple black dyes is that not all black dyes are suitable for the final application.
We were approached by a medical OEM with the requirement for a hardcoat black anodize coating with the most optical contrast against a laser marked white barcode. The contrast value was critical to the machine operating correctly because two little contrast would cause the machine to improperly position itself. Considering the machine was used in surgery incorrect position was not an option. Hillock Anodizing developed a black dye and anodize process that created the greatest contrast in addition to consistency in laser marking.
The need for a matte finish without the use of mechanical blasting drove us to develop a chemical cleaning process that will chemically dull the surface while minimizing the exposure of material grain structure. This process is a great low cost alternative to blasting and for parts that are close tolerance.
The numerous requests to match Apple’s famous satin anodize finish caused us to get to work in the lab and develop a bead blast and chemical polish system that is a very close match. This process is also used extensively for customers that want to hide the surface defects of the material from machining but still want a brighter anodize finish.
Color Matching dyed hard anodizing is typically thought to be impossible due to the natural color of the coating changing with thickness, varying anodizing process parameters and variables outside the control of the anodizer (i.e. alloying metal distribution, grain structure, material defects, tempering variation, mechanical finishing consistency, extrusion defects).
Hillock Anodizing has been able to offer consistent color matching for fire arm manufacturers by addressing these issues through pre-treatment, anodizing and dye control. Between our two anodizing facilities we have 14 different cleaners and etches that are used to maximize the amount of aluminum at the surface and remove unwanted impurities. The flexibility with pre-treatment recipes ensure customers parts are optimally cleaned for the anodizing process and also to match mating components.
The anodizing controller ensures the set values are maintained and the % deviation and ripple are minimized. The actual anodizing recipes were developed from years of SPC. These recipes allow for consistent porosity and thickness which in turn allows for consistency of dying. The dyes are controlled using a spectrophometer and adjusted daily to ensure the concentration does not change.
Pre-treatment flexibility, anodize coating control and dye consistency is what allows us to match color batch to batch and ensure materials with inherent metal differences are still within the acceptable color range
Color Matching dyed hard anodizing of differing alloys is often times considered impossible because the alloying metals change the natural color of the oxide layer. A common request for the firearm industry is to match 7075 uppers/lowers with 6061 handguards. Hillock Anodizing has developed an anodizing process to permanently adjust the colors of the 7075 coating so that the color after dye is the exact same as the 6061. This process is best performed with coating thicknesses less than .0012”.
The ability to do minimize burning on 2000 series aluminum and offer a guarantee on final dimensions is what separates a commercial hard anodizer from an expert hard anodizer.
Hillock Anodizing has the ability to perform non-destructive coating thickness inspection using an isoscope and micrometer. A customer who manufacturers motors for Medical OEM requested we hard anodize their 2024 housings with .0020” coating thickness AND ensure their parts met the final size requirements. The final tolerance was .0007” and the machine shop used .0003”, leaving us with .0004”. This presented three risks because if the coating varied more than +/-.0002” some parts would be out of tolerance and if burning occurred not only would there be loss of product but also the coating thickness would vary amongst the rest of the load. Hillock Anodizing was able to mitigate these risks by a custom rack and utilizing the proprietary 2024 hard anodizing recipe. This recipe which utilizes periodic rest periods along with the proprietary acid bath allowed for coating thickness consistency and the parts to be in tolerance after anodize.
Hillock Anodizing’s extensive knowledge of sealing technologies allows for adherence to most customer or military specification seal requirements. A common term used to describe multiple seals on the same part is Duplex Sealing. MIL-A-8625 lists the Duplex Seal as nickel acetate with sodium dichromate or nickel acetate seal first followed by sodium dichromate seal second. Hillock Anodizing offers both sealing methods and frequently performs the Duplex Seal for Military contracts. The black dye used for this process is not effected by the sealing process so the parts aesthetics are maintained while increasing the corrosion resistance.
Hillock has developed a hardcoat with impregnated Teflon process with the corrosion resistance to pass 336 hours salt spray, abrasion resistance to pass Taber Abrasion Testing per AMS 2482 and MIL-A-8625 and lubricity to pass friction testing per AMS 2482. Most anodizer’s utilize a loop hole in the spec AMS 2482 and seal their test panels prior to corrosion testing but do not seal their abrasion test panels. Rest assured the coating you get from Hillock Anodizing actually meets the requirements of the specification.
5080, 5083, 5086, jig plate, mic 6, cast plate or equivalent aluminum alloy tends to have white dots after the dying step. Hillock Anodizing’s standard process successfully anodizes and dyes this alloy each week for both Aerospace Prime Contractor and the largest Semi-conductor manufacturer in the world.
Hillock Anodizing has Standard Procedures for cleaning and anodizing high silicon castings. Cast aluminum contains high amounts of silicon which tends to cause grey anodize coatings. Our Cast White process effectively removes the silicon from the surface so that after anodize the coating is more transparent, uniform and aesthetically pleasing. The coating is able to be dyed colors that are usually not possible by other anodizing companies.
Years of research and development resulted in two proprietary hard anodizing processes (HC55 and HC43A) that truly provide blister free hard anodizing on 7000 series aluminum. Our innovative current waveform technology allows for precise control over current distribution during anodizing, ensuring uniform and consistent coating thickness across every component. This customized waveform, combined with our specialized chemistry, creates an ideal anodizing environment that effectively mitigates the factors leading to blister formation. By targeting the specific challenges posed by 7075 aluminum alloy, our process achieves exceptional results, ensuring that our customers’ components do not suffer from blisters or any surface defects. With our unparalleled expertise and cutting-edge technology, we proudly stand by our commitment to providing blister-free hard anodizing solutions that empower our clients’ products with enhanced corrosion resistance, increased durability, and superior aesthetics.
Electoless nickel adhesion to nickel-iron alloy, Invar, is problematic for most platers not experienced with the material. Hillock Anodizing is an expert with plating this super alloy and has developed the ENvar process to ensure superior adhesion of the nickel/phosphorus deposit to the material. The ENvar process is used so frequently at the Comly location that a separate cell was created solely for plating this material.
Electoless nickel adhesion to highly alloyed aluminum can be problematic because the deposit requires a clean and oxide free surface to ensure a strong bond. RSA is a super alloy of aluminum that has extreme high silicon content. Hillock Anodizing developed a cleaning cycle to eliminate the silicon on the surface so the nickel/phosphrous coating could bond to the aluminum without concern for flaking.
Titan 3D Passivate – 3d printed medical devices
A new trend for the medical industry is the move towards 3d printed titanium implantable components. Hillock developed a validated passivation process called Titan 3D for titanium 3d printed implants that meets the requirements of ASTM A967 and simultaneously eliminates discoloration from heat treatment.
A new trend for the medical industry is the move towards 3d printed titanium implantable components. Hillock developed a validated passivation process called Titan 3D for titanium 3d printed implants that meets the requirements of ASTM A967 and simultaneously eliminates discoloration from heat treatment.
