In today’s time protection is a must. The surroundings are getting challenging with each passing day. Although, the realization of the protective shield on things that are always exposed to the outer world is from our ancient past. Hence, way back in 17th-century scientist and researchers started their work towards protecting even metals from weathers. One such protection shield found was the process of Galvanizing. One of the best processes on galvanizing is hot-dip method. The hot-dip galvanization is a very popular and successful method.
The purpose of galvanizing was to create a protective shield through zinc coating on steel. The exposure of steel can be up to 200-degree temperature and will still be strong due to galvanizing. Metals have a tendency to get rusted with extensive exposure to weather and hence creating a protective shield is one such critical requirements. As mentioned before hot-dip galvanizing is the preferred method. In this method, coating happens at a temperature of around 449 degrees. At this level of temperature when steel goes through that heat, it also absorbs few properties of zinc, making it stronger.
The process is quite assuring as it sounds and further reassuring on effective inspection. Before the coating, the steel has to be well prepared which decides the future strength of the coating. It is like when you have to polish your shoes you need to first clean them and then polish. In the same way, cleaning of steel is primary for a longer future and ensuring the efforts are worth it. Although, the coating life always depends on the amount of exposure of the metal. One can ascertain these details based on the standards that are available.
While doing inspection there are few things to consider is the uniformity of the coating. When the coating is not done in required temperature many times it has cracks. Also when steel is not cleaned properly it will result in bumps through the metal, which leads to a breakthrough for breaking the shield. Let us list down checkpoints while doing inspection of hot-dip galvanizing.
- The smoothness of the surface
- Edges and cuts are well ventilated
- Overlapping surfaces are well taken care of
- The thickness of the coating be as defined or required
- Continuity of the coating
- Color and uniformity of the coating
The above are the basics of inspecting hot-dip galvanized products. The inspection list can be more extensive with the nature, design and type of the structure that is galvanized. Many time even the purpose of the product plays a significant role in deciding the type of galvanizing especially in products like jewelry and food graded stuff. You can always reach us to know more about the inspection details and the galvanizing process information.