The Industries We Serve
Tech Met has been proudly serving the aerospace community since 1988, providing selective milling through many and varied pattern masking techniques. These processes are done in compliance to Nadcap certification guidelines, as Tech Met has held certifications for both Quality System and Chemical processing. For more information regarding Tech Met’s quality system, approvals or certifications please view our quality page.
Through the years, Tech Met has become a key provider of milling solutions for high temperature nickel and cobalt based alloys, complex corrosion resistant ferrous alloys, in addition to both aluminum and Titanium and their alloys. The primary advantage to the milling process is that it permits selective removals from complex shapes or global removals across the entire part. This removal process enables Aerospace engineers to design parts that have greater thicknesses in stress areas while reducing the weight in non-critical areas, permitting overall weight reduction with minimal reduction in part performance or structural strength. Chemical Milling permits weight reductions of seventy five percent or more and thickness reductions to 0.010” or below enabling lightweight, high strength parts.
The aircraft and aerospace industries continue to strive toward lighter, stronger and faster materials. Tech Met has been instrumental in providing innovative solutions to increasingly complex processes for milling exotic and stronger alloys. Tech Met has continued to expand on existing capabilities and market expansions to enable our customers to meet these new demands with a solid experience base and capabilities that maximize product realization in the most efficient and cost effective manner.
Top: Commercial engine exhaust cowlings staged for inspection. Bottom: Selective milling on rotary aircraft engine component
Aircraft and Aerospace
Medical Applications
Throughout its history Tech Met has been active in the medical industry, providing traditional chemical milling, passivation and electro-chemical machining for both medical and dental implantable devices.
Tech Met has also developed unique surface texturing processes that provide dramatically increased surface topography for proven, exceptional osseointegration and bone fixation of orthopedic implants. The unique features of this surface provide many inherent advantages over competing surfaces. The subtractive process eliminates the risks of metal-to-metal separation common to other technologies, and displays clean, open surfaces that preclude the entrapment of contaminants within the topography.
Titanium and cobalt chrome implant devices employing these surfaces are in service by the tens of thousands with proven performance and perfect reliability, and these surfaces can be customized in size and character to adapt perfectly to nearly any size or shape of implant.
Surface texturing in medical applications promote rapid growth and secure bone fixation.
Additive Manufacturing
The use of high temperature alloys for additive parts has dramatically increased over the past few years. Unfortunately, the resultant hardware often presents difficulty for product realization. While significant improvements have been made to post processing methodologies, Chemical Milling, an existing and well-defined commodity, is underutilized in the Metal Additive supply chain.
Tech Met is a leading provider of advanced chemical post-processing and surface treatments for the world’s most advanced additive manufacturing applications. Specializing in high performance metal alloys and serving the aerospace, medical, industrial, and commercial markets with unprecedented precision and quality.
Regardless of end equipment industry, Tech Met provides
Chemical milling and surface treatment post-processing services for all high temperature 3D printed alloys.
Learn more about chemical post-processing on our capabilities page
Photo credit Blue Origin
Military and Mil Spec
Tech Met has historically, provided the U.S military significant assistance in achieving unique and challenging solutions for sensitive hardware programs. Performing chemical milling and surface prep operations to ongoing and replacement hardware, both developmental and production runs, for current and former platforms across all service branches. Recent work includes components for military aerospace (fixed wing and rotary), the US Nuclear Navy and the Department of the Army.
Tech Met has a long and proven track record of as a vendor for US military programs, though program sensitivity precludes the presentation of processing details.
Awarded Supplier Merit Status, Tech Met is ITAR, EAR compliant and Nadcap certified.
Industrial and Commercial
Etch Processes to serve Industry
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Stock Removal: Tech Met can utilize chemical milling to adjust stock thickness on raw material sheet stock in titanium or steel and nickel alloys in sizes up to 36” x 96”. Processes used are based on long proven industry standards. Precise removals of as little as .0001" up to .120" can be done in single or multiple steps.
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Passivation: Tech Met uses industry standards processes to produce passivated surfaces on stainless components and raw materials
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HIP Can Removal: Chemical Milling can provide a cost effective alternative to conventional machining for the removal of steel cans used in the HIP process. This technique can usually be done with no affect on the underlying part.
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Surface Texture Enhancement: Tech Met’s medical related surface texturing process has been adapted for use in other applications to optimize surface roughness primarily for increased bond strength in metal to composite bonds. In some cases, removal of surface layers can improve surface finish.
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Surface Purification: Etch process can be used to provide very clean metal surfaces, free of oxidation, heat effected zones, metallurgic ally compromised layers or simple oxidation. Surface purification is also effective for removing smeared metal surfaces caused by conventional machining to facilitate dye penetrant inspection. Chemical milling can remove EDM recast layers, carburization layers and oxidation layers on a variety of alloys including Alpha case removal on titanium.
Chemical texturing increases surface area to dramatically improve adhesion and strength in metal to composite bonding.
Partially decanned HIP component - removal of in excess of 1000 pounds