ELECTROCHEMICAL MARKING

WHAT IS IT?

Electrochemical marking or Electromarking is recognized as one of the best methods of marking metal permanently without distortion. Electromarking is permanent because it is created by etching out metal and then plating on the etched surface a stable compound of the base metal. In most cases this stable compound is an oxide, and the Electromark is, in effect, a stable rust which will withstand additional corrosive action. This corrosion resistance can be shown by the extreme length of time the Electromark will stand up in a salt spray test.

The Electromark is a deposit in an etch which is approximately one ten-thousandth of an inch deep, yet it is produced in less than a second. The Electromark can be removed by abrasion, but the etch remains until one ten-thousandth of an inch of the metal has been removed.

The Electromark impression is dark in color. The degree of darkness depends on many things; however, the base metal is most important. For example, some stainless steels yield only a brown mark, whereas monel metal gives a jet black mark.