Industrial environments expose machinery, equipment, and parts to a wide range of conditions. This may also include chemical and gas exposure.
All of these environmental factors play a role in the wear and deterioration of equipment over time.
One of the biggest concerns for these operations is the reality of corrosion. Metal corrosion can wreak havoc on metal parts, causing malfunctions and breakdowns.
When it comes to metal identification tags and nameplates, corrosion is also a concern. Since the tags are made from metal substrates, they are potentially susceptible.
Selecting the right material and process for your environment can help reduce or eliminate the risk of corrosion.
What Is Corrosion?
Corrosion refers to the deterioration of metal due to the influence of external factors. The rate of this corrosion generally depends on the type of metal it is and the type of environment it is exposed to.
While all metals can corrode, some tend to corrode faster than others.
For example, you might notice rust quickly develop on an iron object, whereas steel corrosion is a rare and prolonged process.
This is because when you combine iron with other metals it becomes more corrosion resistant. Objects made from stainless steel, brass, and aluminum also tend to have a very slow rate of corrosion.
How Does Corrosion Happen?
Corrosion occurs when atoms of the entire metallic surface become oxidized as a reaction to their environment. Metals that are easily effected by oxidization tend to corrode much faster than others. This is called general corrosion.
Localized corrosion, on the other hand, occurs only on a small area of the metallic surface. Sometimes this corrosion can even lead to small holes, or “pitting” in the metal.
Additionally, other kinds include galvanic corrosion, where only one of the two metals is affected. This happens especially when two different types of metal are placed in the vicinity of some kind of liquidized electrolyte.
In these circumstances, one metal’s molecules may be drawn towards the other metal, thus causing corrosion in the other.
This shows that corrosion is largely determined by environmental factors, the gases they are surrounded by and other elements and metals that might be around.
With that in mind, there are a few ways we can slow down or even prevent this process from happening.
Corrosion Resistant Tags
In order to prevent corrosion, there are essentially two factors at play: material and external exposure. With many industrial environments, eliminating the exposure to machinery with water, gasses, or chemicals is simply not an option.
In these cases, selecting a material which is specifically resistant to corrosion is the key difference maker.
Stainless steel, brass, and aluminum are all viable candidates depending on the given application and industry usage.
Metal tags are often produced with any of these materials, as they are all long lasting durable substrates which can be manipulated to create identification marking.
Wrap Up
As with many industry needs, selecting the right tag material and process is the key piece in having a successful solution.
For applications with heavy potential for corrosion, choosing a material that is highly corrosion resistant will provide much better long term identification