ASTM F86 Passivation Standard for Surgical Implants

The standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) ensure the high quality of various metal finishing services.

At Able Electropolishing, we adhere to the ASTM F86 standard for the passivation of metallic surgical implants. This includes the treatment of stainless steel, titanium, Nitinol and other metals used in surgical implants to remove surface contaminants and enhance corrosion resistance.

WHAT IS ASTM F86 PASSIVATION?

The ASTM F86 standard specifies requirements for performing passivation on surgical implants. Surgical implants require exceptional corrosion resistance and must be free from surface contaminants that can result from manufacturing processes.

Our passivation process for stainless steel and other alloys ensures that a wide range of surgical implants meet the stringent standards of ASTM. By removing surface contaminants such as free iron and other particulates, we enhance the biocompatibility and safety of surgical implants.

MEETING ASTM F86

Surface contaminants can serve as an initiation point for corrosion, potentially compromising the integrity of parts designed for surgical implantation.

Our passivation process effectively cleans these impurities and helps in achieving a uniform and clean surface finish, significantly enhancing a part’s resistance to corrosion. Only specialized metal finishing services like ours meet the rigorous standards set by ASTM, which are critical for the safety and efficacy of surgical implants.

PASSIVATION VS. ELECTROPOLISHING

Electropolishing Example
Electropolishing Before & After Example

Passivation:

Passivation is a chemical cleaning process that is designed to remove free iron and other foreign particles from the surface of metal parts such as stainless steel, titanium, Nitinol, and more. Removing the contamination from machining, stamping, etc., helps to restore the material to the original mill condition and corrosion specifications.

Passivation is ideal for many grades of stainless steel that have adequate levels of chromium and nickel, and can help increase the longevity of many types of metal parts.

Electropolishing:

Electropolishing is often preferred when a higher level of corrosion resistance and the removal of surface defects such as burrs and microcracks are required. It involves the precise removal of a thin layer of surface material, achieving removal accuracy up to +/-.0001″, depending on the alloy. This process not only removes various surface imperfections in one step but also significantly increases corrosion resistance — up to 30 times more than passivation.

Electropolishing, which also leaves parts in a passivated state, can often eliminate the need for additional finishing processes such as manual deburring, tumbling, pickling, and extensive cleaning. It is particularly beneficial for critical parts used in the medical, aerospace, and pharmaceutical industries, providing a microsmooth, ultraclean, and corrosion-resistant finish.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PASSIVATION VS. ELECTROPOLISHING

Contact us to learn more about the benefits of passivation and how it compares to electropolishing for your surgical implants and other critical metal components.

Contact us to learn more about passivation

Learn About the Electropolishing Difference


Electropolishing 101 Webinar

Electropolishing 101
Lunch & Learn Webinar

Learn everything you need to know about electropolishing as part of a private, interactive webinar. Let us know your availability and your part issues and our electropolishing experts can get you on our schedule. Lunch will be provided!

Schedule Your Private Webinar
Try Electropolishing for Free: Sample Request

Try Electropolishing for Free:
Sample Request

Send us your parts/prototypes and we’ll electropolish them for free – we’ll even pay for the shipping! Samples are processed in 24-48 hours.

Request a Sample

Medical Device Manufacturing

Medical Device Manufacturing

From implantable devices to surgical instruments, electropolishing is a single-process treatment that results in biocompatible, safe and ultra clean parts.

Learn More  

Aerospace

Aerospace

We offer aerospace vendors and original equipment manufacturers our signature metal finishing services to increase fatigue-resistance for their metal parts, rendering them capable of withstanding the stress and corrosion that comes with long-term use.

Learn More  

Pharmaceutical

Pharmaceutical

Our strict adherence to industry standards ensures that pharmaceutical components are electropolished in accordance with ASTM B912 and ASME BPE specifications. These products are clean and smooth, corrosion resistant and contaminant free.

Learn More  

Automotive

Automotive

Corrosion resistance and microfinish improvement are essential for critical automotive parts, making electropolishing an increasingly beneficial option for automakers.

Learn More  

Consumer Appliance

Consumer Appliance

Our metal finishing services help increase corrosion resistance for these parts, and by removing the outermost layer of metal withelectropolishing the durability and longevity of these appliance components is increased.

Learn More  

Food & Beverage

Food & Beverage

Electropolishing materials for this industry eliminates the buildup of bacterial biofilms, as well as keeping the equipment free of contaminants like Salmonella. Electropolishing delivers the level of sanitation required by a number of regulatory agencies.

Learn More  

Hydraulics & Pneumatics

Hydraulics & Pneumatics

From robotics to mobile equipment, the uses of electropolishing in the hydraulics and pneumatics industry are many. By helping prevent premature part failure, electropolishing reduces downtime and increases the life cycle of these components.

Learn More  

Electronics

Electronics

Improving conductivity and performance is just one benefit electropolishing offers for electronics parts. The surface finish is improved by as much as 50%, removing imperfections from the material without material removal.

Learn More  

Electropolishing, Passivation and Metal Surface Analytics Blog

AS9100:2016: Quality Assurance in Aerospace

Precision and reliability are non-negotiable standards in the aerospace industry, where every component must meet strict requirements for performance, durability, and safety.

Metal Finishing Precision with JCM-7000 SEM

With the addition of a fourth-generation tabletop Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Able’s state-of-the-art suite of analytic tools continues to grow to meet the requirements of high quality finishing for increasingly sophisticated metal parts.

Passivation for Stainless Steel Parts

Stainless steel alloys are prized by manufacturers across industries for their durability and corrosion resistance. Unfortunately, when free iron isn’t removed from the surface of stainless steel parts after machining or stamping, the inherent benefits of stainless alloys diminish: contaminated…

Electropolishing for More Durable Metal Springs

Springs may seem like simple components, but their role in countless applications — from medical devices to aerospace— demands perfection. Even the slightest defect in the metal surface can drastically shorten a spring’s lifespan or lead to catastrophic failure in…