Over the last few years, the use of micro fasteners has gained momentum due to the increase of electronic wearables and other devices such as laptops and tablets. However, the current use of micro fastener is not a recent innovation in the world. Studies show that the use of screws can be traced back to around 200 B.C, which is a clear indication that the use of fasteners has only been modernized.
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The expanding electronics industry will only increase the demand for custom fasteners in the next few years. However, the trend has changed from quantity custom fastener options to custom screws that don’t stumble when exposed to corrosion. Including other factors such as thread size and length, industries are now concerned about corrosion resistance of the fastener screws they will be buying.
The material and the finish used in a particular micro fastener play a critical role in determining whether your micro screw will be a corrosion resistant fastener. When you want to buy micro screws, these are some of the corrosion-resistant materials that you should consider.
Stainless steel screws host corrosion-resistant characteristics more than any other metal. Stainless steel has high levels of chromium in the alloy, which is a standout corrosion-resistant fastener. For steel to be considered stainless, it must have more than 10% of chromium as part of the alloy.
When stainless steel is exposed to oxygen, it forms a layer of chromium oxide, which is corrosion-resistant. This explains why most of the metal structures that come into contact with saltwater are made of stainless steel. A fastener made using stainless steel alloy will never corrode.
Over the last few years, trends show that duplex and super duplex stainless steels have become a common material in the micro fastener industry. One of the main reasons this material is commonly used is that fact that duplex is resistant to stress corrosion cracking. Super duplex stainless steel is also a greater corrosion resistance material.
The oil and gas industry has a high affinity for duplex and super duplex materials because they are resistance to corrosion resulting from challenging elements in deep seas and mining environments. Ordering undersized screws made from duplex or super duplex material eliminates corrosion worries.
Titanium is grouped as one of the metals with enormous corrosion resistance capabilities. It is classified higher than stainless steel and molybdenum when it comes to rust and corrosion resistance. These are some of the properties of titanium that make it suitable as a micro fastener material.
Titanium Grade 1 is highly preferred in chemical processing and chlorate manufacturing due to its host of excellent corrosion resistance properties. Grade 4 titanium is the strongest grade and has excellent weldability and good formability traits.
Incoloy is another important metal alloy that can also be classified under super alloys that are resistant to corrosion and any form of cracking. Any formidable and reliable screw manufacturer out there is currently incorporating incoloy because it’s one of the strongest materials. Just like Inconel, Incoloy has excellent resistance to corrosion and oxidation.
Inconel has anti-caustic corrosion properties that are not very common in other super alloys. Most of the micro fasteners are alloys of nickel-chromium, which makes these items possess some of their corrosion resistance and oxidation properties. Key properties of Inconel include stress corrosion cracking, high purity water corrosion, and chemical corrosion. Inconel is commonly used in chemical processing plants due to its resistance to a wide range of corrosive liquids.
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