Tips and Tactics - Part Finishing Streamline Work Flow, Sharpen Your Competitive Edge with a New In-House Finishing Approach


Eden Prairie, Minnesota: It's time to change your thinking about part finishing: Plan finishing as an integral part of your in-house fabrication - not as a dangerous, or off-site, interruption. Compelling new benefits offered by a new low temperature black oxide process, called TRU TEMP®;, have created new options for manufacturers that improve part quality, cut inventory costs and reduce delivery time. In short, they enhance the ability to service the customer and cut costs at the same time. These unique attributes place the new process at the top of the opportunities list.

Manufacturers who previously regarded traditional black oxide finishing as a dangerous nuisance and a necessary expense now see the TRU TEMP process as a viable new in-house strategy to streamline production flow and improve profitability.

The new finishing process genuinely translates into a lean manufacturing initiative quantifiable into time savings, labor savings and quality improvement. Equally important, worker safety and pollution considerations, long a problem when finishing parts, are non-issues with the TRU TEMP black oxide system.

New Finish Adds Value And Sales Appeal So You Can Charge More

It has long been held that black oxide finishing raises the quality and value of many tools and components because it gives precision parts an attractive black appearance and long-term corrosion resistance, without a dimensional change. Consequently, black finishes are the material of choice for many products and are used to differentiate between different grades or different part numbers of finished products. With a black oxide finish, a part can often be positioned as a premium grade product that commands a higher selling price than one that is unblackened or of a standard grade.

The problem with the traditional hot black oxide processes is that they utilize dangerously high temperatures and highly concentrated, viscous chemicals that are inherently difficult to rinse off parts. Besides the obvious safety hazards, the chemicals cause numerous quality problems on certain porous materials (cast iron, powdered metal, blind holes, complex shapes) that show up as off-color red/brown finishes or white salt leaching. These quality problems destroy a part's value and require costly warranty replacement. Worse yet, they upset customers and jeopardize business.

By comparison, the new TRU TEMP black oxide system utilizes solutions that are about 100 degrees cooler and 80 per cent less concentrated than ordinary black oxide chemicals. These milder operating parameters make the solutions safe to work with and easily rinsable, thereby avoiding the red/brown colors and white salt leaching seen with ordinary black oxides.

Quality levels with this new TRU TEMP black oxide process are very high and very consistent, complying with MIL-DTL-13924 and AMS 2485, for excellent durability and corrosion resistance. The process line is easy and safe to operate and maintain with minimal training required of the system operator.

Shorten Turnaround Time For Finishing

With today's automated machines, fabricating the finished part often takes only seconds while contributing the largest portion to the part's value. Finishing time hasn't kept pace with fabricating time. In fact, hot oxide finishing can take several hours when performed internally or even days if an outside vendor is used. So, why does it take days to get parts blackened, especially when this step adds only a small portion to the part's value? There's a serious mismatch in time versus value added between fabricating and finishing.

Add to this the fact that today's customers tend to carry lower inventories of incoming products and often demand quick delivery, even for special part numbers. This trend can create both a costly product availability problem, and at the same time, a market opportunity for those who can respond quickly.

An in-house blackening system such as the TRU TEMP®(TM); black oxide line can be a very profitable investment. By reducing turnaround time for black finishing, literally to 18 minutes for a part finishing run, manufacturers can react quickly to sales orders, ship orders quickly and keep key customers supplied. Many orders can be entered into the system, fabricated, black oxide finished and shipped the same day, or next day, with no need for finished goods inventory. There's nothing better - the customer is served promptly and costs are reduced, too. The disparity between fabricating and value-added finishing is improved.

Enhance "Lean" Manufacturing

Today's mantra for modern industry is Lean Manufacturing. Paraphrasing one major manufacturer: "Lean Manufacturing means zero defects, zero waste, zero incidents." In other words, optimize quality, efficiency and safety by streamlining part movement, eliminating unnecessary operations, and paying attention to new manufacturing opportunities.

The TRU TEMP in-house black oxide fits this Lean Manufacturing model better than any other metal finishing process on the market. Its patented combination of high quality finishes, short processing times and safe, pollution-free operation make this process a smart addition to many manufacturing operations, particularly those committed to the Lean philosophy.

Unfortunately, for many of today's part manufacturers, sending parts outside for black oxide finishing requires sorting and packing the parts for shipment and paying to ship them to the plater. Then waiting for the parts to be blackened and shipped back. Once returned, the parts must be unpacked and sorted again. Often, a few parts come back damaged or below spec or don't come back at all. If so, an inventory adjustment is made and more parts are sent back to the plater for re-work. Finally, correctly finished parts are returned and held in storage awaiting assembly or shipment.

Everyone knows the drill - a lot of steps and a lot of lost time.
By contrast, an in-house TRU TEMP system streamlines part movement by keeping the parts in-house, through fabrication and finishing, with a simple, fast and effective process. It's a big departure from the old routine with far fewer steps and much saved time.

Additionally, the streamlining of part movement with this new process gives added control over the quality, scheduling and cost of the black finishing operation. Quality is maximized because your own people do the blackening and also do the final inspection. Scheduling is enhanced because blackening can be done on short notice, if necessary, while maintaining flexibility. And overall finishing costs are substantially lower because the many extraneous costs associated with sorting, packing, shipping, paying the plater's profit margin, etc. are eliminated.

Comply With RoHS, End-of-Life Directives

Many industries in many countries are now redesigning products, from automobiles to computers, to comply with RoHS and End-of-Life Directives. The objective is to eliminate hazardous materials from their facilities and remove pollutants from their finished products to facilitate future salvage. Informed manufacturers are preparing for these mandates now, and are looking for finishing options that will help them comply.

The TRU TEMP process is designed specifically to satisfy these directives. The black finish is composed of black magnetite, a non-toxic inorganic iron oxide compound. And the chemical solutions used in the process contain no EPA regulated metals of any kind. Process rinse waters are normally sewerable as non-hazardous discharge. Most installations require no waste treatment of any kind. The TRU TEMP process is a better, safer alternative to other finishes such as zinc phosphate, black zinc phosphate, manganese phosphate, black manganese phosphate or electroplated zinc plus chromate. These processes typically require waste treatment facilities and some utilize EPA regulated chemicals or do not comply with the End-of-Life Directive.

Lower Finished Goods Inventory

Every well-managed company tries to minimize finished goods inventory. It's an intelligent use of resources. The objective, of course, is to have enough stock on hand to ship complete orders promptly, without carrying excess inventory that doesn't turn over quickly.

Sending in-process parts outside to a black oxide plater complicates inventory control by requiring several days' extra inventory to allow for the turnaround time. This translates directly to extra dollars spent - unnecessarily in most cases.
An in-house TRU TEMP Black Oxide line reduces inventory levels and costs because blackening turnaround time is just 18 minutes for a typical finishing part run. This time compression gives manufacturers a same-day-response capability, allowing them to take an order in the morning, fabricate, finish and ship the order that same afternoon. Some part numbers can even be changed to "make-to-order" status, with no finished inventory at all and still be shipped on the same day or the next day.

Worker Safety And Corporate Pollution Concerns

Some chemical processes are environmentally friendly. Many are not. Worker safety is always of paramount concern. Here are a few thoughts:

Ordinary hot black oxide baths require six pounds per gallon of caustic soda, and operate at 290°F. Splattering, boilover and corrosive fumes are constant hazards for the operator, and can cause serious injuries. In addition, the bath generates large volumes of caustic fumes, along with sludge and scale deposits in the tank, requiring vigorous ventilation and onerous bath maintenance procedures that are dangerous, costly and time-consuming.

In contrast, while cold blackeners do not pose a serious safety problem for operators, they do contain copper and selenium - both regulated by the EPA. Though operators can utilize ion exchange to keep these metals out of the drain, careful management of the pollutants is required.

Similarly, other coating processes such as zinc or manganese phosphate may contain toxic metals that are EPA regulated (zinc, nickel, antimony). They also generate large volumes of sludge in the tank and scale deposits on heating elements. De-sludging and de-scaling are regular maintenance requirements that can cause significant downtime on the line and quality problems if not performed on schedule.

In contrast to the above, the TRU TEMP black oxide system is the only industrial process that forms a true, black magnetite finish at a moderate temperature (200F) and without EPA regulated chemical content. Most of these installations require no waste treatment at all, although some very large tanks may benefit from pH adjustment of the rinse water effluent. Sludging does occur but at a very low level, so maintenance downtime is minimal. Venting of the TRU TEMP bath is recommended. But since the bath operates below the boiling point, the bath produces only water vapor, not caustic fumes. And the dangerous splattering and boil over problems of a hot oxide bath do not occur with a 200°F TRU TEMP bath.

Proper management of both worker safety and pollution liabilities should be viewed as good corporate stewardship that helps avoid unnecessary future expense.

Lower Finishing Costs

Competitive forces in the marketplace demand effective control of costs. Sending parts outside the plant for black oxide finishing often makes cost control difficult as previously discussed. In addition to the added shipping and handling costs going outside for finishing,
you may also have to finance extra inventory needed to keep assembly and shipments on schedule while parts are outside the plant for finishing. If the outside plater misses a key shipping commitment, you may incur late penalties or lose future orders. Both can make other finishing costs look very insignificant.

An in-house finishing line using the TRU TEMP process does require a capital outlay. However, the capital expense will lower finishing costs dramatically resulting in a favorable cost-payback. The investment also provides the opportunity to enhance your relationships with key customers - by giving them what they want, when they want it, at an acceptable price.

Improve ISO Control And Accountability

ISO programs help manufacturers manage their operations for better accountability and profitability. These programs certify the quality of every facet of the manufacturing process. ISO monitoring is easier for manufacturing operations performed on-site with your own employees but much more difficult when in-process parts leave your plant because they are out of your immediate control. This is especially true for outside black oxide finishing because you're depending on someone outside of your accountability chain. Consequently, it makes sense to finish blacken parts in-house, with a dependable process that meets all of the requirements above plus makes ISO quality and maintenance accountability easier.

In summary, a forward look at part finishing holds new opportunities not only for improving profitability but also raising quality while simplifying compliance requirements.

For complete technical information on the TRU TEMP process, go to www.birchwoodcasey.com/trutemp

Email for more information to: info@birchwoodcasey.com

Or call 952-937-7931 for Free Brochure.

Birchwood Casey
7900 Fuller Road
Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344
952-937-7931 Fax: 952-937-7979
Website: www.birchwoodcasey.com
Email: info@birchwoodcasey.com

Anderson-Madison Advertising, Inc.
7710 Computer Avenue South
Edina, Minnesota 55435
952-835-5133 Fax: 952-835-4977
Email: jm@andersonmadison.com
CONTACT: Gerald F. Madison

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