Aluminum Electroplating for Stainless Steels (SST)

High Purity Aluminum Improves the Surface Properties of Stainless Steels.

AlumiPlate® Aluminum can be plated onto wrought, cast and specialty stainless steels, tool steels and other high temperature iron, nickel, cobalt and chrome alloys.

Stainless steels, tool steels and iron, nickel, cobalt and chrome alloys are excellent materials for applications in severe and marine environments, and exposure to high temperatures. These materials have a low propensity to corrode in reducing environments. However, they can lead to galvanic corrosion of mating aluminum components and aluminum assemblies. Using electroplated aluminum for SST steel plating eliminates galvanic corrosion of the stainless steels (including age hardenable grades) with aluminum components.

High purity AlumiPlate® aluminum has a higher temperature envelope than other coatings (up to 450 °C for intermittent exposure) making it an ideal match for SST’s (including 300 series, 400 series, 13-8, 15-5, 17-7, 18-8 SST’s) and other high temperature materials.

• Electroplated aluminum, with a nickel strike layer, transforms the surface of SST and Fe/Ni/Co/Cr alloys into typically greater than 99.99% pure aluminum.
• Electrodeposited aluminum stops galvanic corrosion of wrought, cast and specialty SST’s with aerospace and marine aluminum mating components.
• The pure aluminum coating protects 303, 304, 316 and 316L stainless steel fasteners, flanges and valves in semiconductor equipment, exposed to hot HF (hydrogen fluoride) and plasmas.
• Electroplated aluminum can heat treated over SST and high temperature materials to form a surface aluminide. Pure aluminum diffuses into SST and Fe/Ni/Co/Cr alloys resulting in the AlumiPlate HTI-Aâ„¢ high temperature intermetallic, with high wear, oxidation and corrosion resistance, and high temperature capability.
• High purity aluminum has been successfully used to replace Haynes and Hastelloy with aluminum plated SST’s for significant cost and lead time reductions.
• High purity aluminum has been successfully used to replace stainless steels with aluminum plated carbon steels for improved mechanical properties and significant costs savings.
• Four-nines-pure aluminum plating (AlN49) acts as a barrier to diffusion of copper (Cu), Magnesium (Mg) and Iron (Fe) in high temperature semiconductor equipment environments.
• The aluminum plating, with a nickel strike, has excellent adhesion on 300 series SST’s, Inconel, Haynes, Hastelloy, Stellite, Hyperco and other Fe/Ni/Co/Cr materials.

Contact us to discuss how electroplated aluminum can protect and improve the surface finish of your stainless steel or high temperature material.