Fotofab products are made in the USA and distributed worldwide.
For over fifty years Fotofab has been an industry leader in high precision metal fabrication services. We offer an extensive list of blackening services as part of our value-added capabilities. These capabilities can be divided into three distinct types: chemical, coating, and electroplating. Specifically, the services we offer include:
Chemical:
Coating:
Electroplating:
Blackening Services Overview
The blackening of metal parts is commonly used to reduce the reflectivity of a metal or for decorative purposes. Reducing the reflectivity of a metal surface limits the amount of light that bounces back from a source emitting light to a part.
Our blackening services include:
Black Oxide
Black oxide is a chemical conversion coating designed to resist corrosion and minimize light reflection. This type of blackening service can be performed on ferrous materials, stainless steel, copper, copper-based alloys, zinc, powdered metals, and silver solder. This can be useful in a number of fields, but our most common customers come from the aerospace, automotive, and military industries. One main benefit of black oxide is that no thickness is added to the treated metal, which is great for dimension critical parts.
Applications include:
- Face plates
- Electrical switches
- Firearm components
- Precision bearing and tooling
Black Anodize
Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation method designed to thicken the natural oxide layer on the surface of aluminum metal parts. This process serves several purposes. It strengthens the metal and increases its resistance to corrosion. It can also be used for aesthetic objectives.
Industries that use this process include aerospace, medical, and military. Applications we often see include:
- Medical devices exposed to harsh cleaners
- External components exposed to intense light
- Heat sinks
- Aesthetic purposes
Black Zinc
Black zinc is an electroplating conversion service which provides a black chromate finish. This method is used to passivate steel, aluminum, zinc, cadmium, copper, silver, magnesium and tin alloys to increase corrosion resistance.
At Fotofab we offer both hexavalent and trivalent finishes, to comply with RoHS requirements. We provide this service most commonly for aerospace and military industries. Applications we frequently see are:
Black Nickel
Black nickel is a second electroplating conversion service which provides a black chromate finish. This blackening service increases corrosion resistance, while maintaining electrical conductivity and reducing reflectivity. It is also used for decorative purposes.
Black Nickel is available in a bright or dull finish for a variety of materials, including steel, aluminum, zinc, brass, copper, silver, magnesium and tin alloys. It is common within the aerospace and military industries. Applications include:
- Optics
- Solar panel components
- Weapons systems
This process is RoHS, REACH, ELV and WEEE Compliant.
Black Chrome
Black Chrome is a third electroplating conversion service which provides a black chromate finish. At Fotofab we can provide both bright and matte finishes, depending on each customer’s individual needs and preferences.
This method is used mostly for decorative and corrosion resistant purposes. We frequently provide this service for companies within the aerospace and military industries. Applications include:
Black Painting
We offer black painting services per customer requirement. We perform this process on both sheets and individual pieces. Parts can be manufactured from most metals, including steel, stainless steel, aluminum, zinc, copper and copper-based alloys. The paint is secured through curing or baking. This method is primarily used for decorative purposes to minimize light reflection.