Products & Services
Protocase manufactures fully finished custom electronic enclosures and associated parts from a wide variety of materials and components, in 2-3 days with no minimum order. Protocase also provides expert and affordable enclosure design services.
Passivation
Protocase offers in-house passivation on all enclosures, parts and panels made from stainless steel.
What is Passivation?
Passivation is the process of treating stainless steel with Citric Acid in order to remove free iron from the metal's surface. When the surface iron is removed, a passive surface film comprised of chromium/nickel oxides is applied.
Once the stainless steel is exposed to air, the chromium/nickel oxides react with oxygen to form an oxide layer, protecting the rest of the steel from corrosion.
Why Choose Passivation?
When not painted, Stainless Steel will rust, due to its inherent properties. Passivation maximizes the corrosion resistance of stainless steel.
If choosing a bare metal finish, passivation will be required after the parts have been brushed according to your requirements.
If you opt for powdercoating your stainless steel enclosure, part or panel, passivation will not be required, because once the powdercoat is applied, the stainless steel will not corrode.
However, if you are masking certain areas of your stainless steel part for electrical conductivity (or other reasons), you can request passivation of masked areas prior to powdercoating so that the masked areas do not oxidize.
What Can Be Passivated?
Passivation Tanks
Protocase offers passivation as a default for all of its stocked stainless steel products:
- • 304 Stainless Steel Sheet Metal
- • 304 Stainless Steel Round Bar Stock
We would automatically apply passivation to any non-stock stainless steel projects as well. If you require a type of stainless steel that we do not currently stock, we would be happy to order it for you for an additional lead time and cost.
Limitations
We are able to process stainless steel parts for passivation, so long as they do not exceed our maximum dimensions:
- • 43.5" L x 30.5" W x 45" H (1104.9mm x 774.7mm x 762mm)
Note: Over time, stainless steel parts that have been passivated can have the appearance of rust. However, these spots are simply deposits - you can wipe them off by using vinegar on a lint-free non-abrasive cloth.