Surface Finish Options for Custom Wire Baskets
Custom wire basket designs have several surface finish options available to improve the performance of the wire basket. There are finishes to improve the corrosion resistance of the base material, and there are a range of coatings available to protect the parts from scratches. Below is an overview of design characteristics for some of the finishes and coatings we typically use in our custom wire baskets.
These are common processes used for wire baskets. Many other options are available.
Baskets have the natural condition of the base material with no additional processing. The baskets are generally clean to the touch but may have a very small amount of residue from the manufacturing process and there may be some discoloration around welds. Natural finish baskets are entirely appropriate for most industrial manufacturing applications. Natural finish Carbon steel baskets are suitable for solvent cleaning, oil dipping and indoor material handling applications. Stainless Steel baskets with a natural finish are still corrosion resistant.
(Stainless Steel Baskets only) Stainless Steel baskets are dipped into a tank of acid and an electrical charge passes thru the baskets to drive off all the free iron and other impurities from the top layer of material, leaving the surface very rich in nickel and chrome. The resulting surface is very smooth and hard, and very shiny. Electropolishing further improves the corrosion resistance of stainless steel baskets. Electropolishing is recommended for any ultrasonic cleaning applications.
(Stainless Steel Baskets only) Passivation is very similar to electropolishing, stainless baskets are dipped into a tank of acid but no electrical charge is used. Passivation is less aggressive at removing impurities than electropolishing and is rarely used as a surface finish for stainless steel baskets.
Other Surface Finishes
Electroplating with zinc, nickel or chrome adds some corrosion protection to carbon steel baskets. We make high volume zinc plated tote baskets but for most custom baskets.
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