Titanium Anodizing Equipment

The decision of whether or not to purchase titanium anodizing equipment for surgical implants  is a call every manufacturer of titanium devices will need to make at some time – and in most cases the decision will be yes! Simply put, it is the opinion of this author that Titanium Anodizing offers some of the fastest payback and greatest returns on investment that can be hoped for in the anodizing and electroplating fields. 

Return on Investment, “ROI,” like the phrase implies, involves two ingredients; RETURN and INVESTMENT. In this article we will look at how much Titanium Anodize equipment will cost.

INVESTING IN TITANIUM ANODIZING EQUIPMENT

Research

We define “research” as answering basic questions such as: How does the anodizing process work? What kind of special equipment and tooling will I need? What will the anodizing equipment cost me? Are there any hazardous chemicals? Will there be environmental, health or safety problems? How much floor space does a system require? What utilities will I need? Who will train my people? How much money can we expect to save by anodizing our own surgical implants rather than outsourcing? This list may seem long but the answers are available from qualified vendors and are well documented. Getting the answers should take no longer than a few weeks by a competent buyer or engineer… if they know where to look.

At the end of the day, the goal of any quality research project should be to deliver a detailed report to management that will help them make the right decision. Investment in research therefore cannot be overstated.. It is here that the major questions of Investment must be answered before a decision is made. In summary with what we now know about anodizing titanium in 2013, the job of research can be done quickly and with precision.

Titanium Anodizing Equipment – How Much?

What should I expect to spend for Titanium Anodizing Equipment? To begin with, we will assume that the reader of this article is a qualified manufacturer of surgical hardware and/or titanium products for the aerospace or commercial markets. We will not address the kind of jewelry and hobby shop titanium anodizing that you can so easily see on the internet.

The answer to the question of equipment cost breaks down into three principle kinds of equipment. 1) Laboratory or Prototype ($7,000 to $12,000) 2) Manual Industrial / Commercial Production ($45,000 to $120,000) 3) Fully Automated Production  (over $120,000). Fully automated systems for titanium anodizing are rarely worth the money, and automating is not usually recommended. Many anodizing equipment manufacturers have “standard” designs for the manual anodizing lines that offer a very attractive production capability at an affordable price, and because they are standard designs, leasing is usually available. The cost estimates for all of this equipment will vary greatly depending upon the final design and configuration, and what services and equipment are offered or left out. Please sign up for our free email class or email us if you have any questions.

The cost to install these systems is not covered in the above estimates, however most Modular and Console style systems are fully integrated and require limited installation.  What is startling about purchasing this kind of system, for the right buyer, is the speedy payback which can be realized..

Titanium Anodizing Equipment – System Startup – QA /QC

Qualification or “learning Curve” is an often overlooked cost for setting up a titanium anodizing system. However, if it is approached in a patient and scientific manner the learning curve can be greatly reduced. With most quality systems you will be anodizing the first day after installation and startup (see our article about “How to Anodize Titanium” for more information). But the time you will spend perfecting your anodizing techniques can take up to a month – more or less. Much of titanium anodizing is centered on repeatability of appearance, i.e. finish and color. Parts that do not appear to “color match” are often rejected and must be reworked. The qualification stage is designed to reduce rejects and increase production. After the proper equipment is specified and delivered, the lion’s share of qualification will rest with the operator. Where multiple products and color hues are desired expect the process to take more time. Designing the proper anodizing fixtures, learning about the chemistry and operating parameters will also need to be developed on an individual product basis. There is a degree of “art” to anodizing titanium along with the science, and the operator will need to build his/her comfort zone. But with the right equipment and help from your vendors this should not present a problem.

Summary – Investment

In this article we have briefly listed the major areas of investment you will have to make in putting in your own anodizing system. As you can see it does involve time and money. But that investment can quantified when the proper research is done. In Part Two we will look at the Return side of ROI that can be realized when you install titanium anodizing equipment.

Author – Ken Emilio has over 40 years of expertise in the chemical processing industry with particular focus on anodizing and electroplating systems.