Is surface treatment the main source of post-treatment costs?

一, Cost breakdown of surface treatment: a multidimensional look
The cost of surface treatment is made up of two main types: direct expenses and indirect charges. Direct costs include things like the cost of raw materials, energy use, and labour. Indirect costs are things like the cost of equipment depreciation, environmental treatment, and management.
1. The cost of raw materials
Chemicals, coatings, coating materials, sandpaper, grinding wheels, and abrasives are just some of the basic materials needed for surface treatment. For example, in electroplating, the cost of the raw materials depends on the type of metal (tin, chromium, nickel, silver, gold, etc.), as well as how pure the metal is and how well it electroplates. The cost of the raw materials for gold plating is much higher than for zinc or nickel plating, for example, because gold is so expensive. Also, the research and use of new eco-friendly coatings, like water-based coatings and electroplating technology that doesn't use cyanide, can help cut down on pollution. However, the costs of doing the initial research and development and buying the materials are often high, which makes the costs of raw materials go up even more.
2. Cost of energy use
Heating, cooling, pumping, and stirring are the key operations that use energy during surface treatment. The anodizing process uses a lot of water and electricity, especially during the oxidation stage. The machine needs to be cooled down all the time by flowing water, and it uses more than 1000 degrees of power per ton. Also, electroplating, spraying, and other operations use a lot of electricity, and energy prices make up a big part of the entire cost.
3. Costs of labour
Surface treatment operations need skilled professionals, and the largest part of labour costs is their pay, benefits, and training expenditures. Labour costs vary greatly between different processes. For example, vacuum electroplating costs more because it takes multiple spraying, loading, and unloading. On the other hand, electrolytic polishing costs less because it is highly automated. Also, trained workers are needed to operate complex workpieces or high-precision surface treatments, like jewellery electroplating. This drives up labour costs even more.
4. Costs of maintaining and depreciating equipment
You need to spend a lot of money on and maintain up with surface treatment equipment including electroplating tanks, spraying lines, anodizers, and so on. You can't ignore how much of the entire cost is made up of depreciation and maintenance fees for equipment, especially high-end equipment, which can cost more than 10% of the original investment cost to maintain.
5. Costs of treating the environment
Surface treatment companies have to spend a lot of money on treating wastewater, exhaust gas, and solid waste since environmental laws are getting stricter. For example, the cost of treating electroplating wastewater is affected by a number of things, such as the choice of method (such precipitation, filtration, biological treatment, or membrane separation technology), the use of chemicals, and the amount of energy used. Businesses also have to pay for building and running environmental protection facilities, as well as preparing reports, which makes the cost of environmental protection treatment even higher.
二, Technology, materials, and policy drivers are some of the things that affect the cost of surface treatment.
There are several things that affect the cost of surface treatment, such as the choice of technology, the qualities of the materials, the process parameters, and the policy environment.
1. Choosing the right technology and process characteristics
There is a big difference in price between different ways to treat surfaces. For instance, vacuum electroplating costs a lot more overall than spraying or electroplating because it needs a lot of expensive equipment and workers. New technologies like laser processing and plasma processing have a lot of room to grow, but they need a lot of money up front and take longer to pay off. Also, adjusting process factors like temperature, pressure, duration, and drug concentration can cut down on energy use and material waste, which helps keep prices down.
2. The properties of the material and how well it can adapt
The choice of surface treatment procedures and their costs are directly affected by the qualities of the material. For instance, aluminium alloys are prone to oxidation and need anodizing to create an aluminium oxide film that makes them more resistant to corrosion. However, this process uses a lot of energy and costs a lot of money. On the other hand, steel can form an electrochemical protective layer through galvanizing, which is a cheaper process. Also, emerging materials like composites, ceramics, and glass need particular methods to treat their surfaces, which adds to the expense.
3. The rules and policies that protect the environment
The cost of surface treatment is greatly affected by environmental rules that are getting stricter all the time. Policies like China's "Ten Measures for Water" and "Ten Measures for Soil" have raised the bar for industrial wastewater discharge norms. This means that businesses need to spend more money on improving their environmental protection facilities and monitoring their activities. Also, some old pesticides, such electroplating solutions that include cyanide, are no longer allowed because of environmental rules. This means that corporations need to come up with new low-toxicity pesticides, which makes research and use even more expensive.
三, Trends in the industry: going green, getting smarter, and being more efficient
The surface treatment business is moving toward green, smart, and efficient paths because of economic pressures and environmental problems.
1. Greening: Using a lot of products and technologies that protect the environment
Water-based coatings, cyanide-free electroplating, and low-temperature plasma treatment are some of the green and environmentally friendly surface treatment methods that have grown more common in the industry. These technologies can help the environment in two ways: they can minimize the costs of treating wastewater and avoid fines for harming the environment. Using circular economy concepts, such using zinc solution over and over again in galvanizing operations, also makes resource use more efficient.
2. Intelligence: Automation and digitization make things work better.
The use of smart production technology has greatly enhanced the quality of products and the effectiveness of surface treatment. For instance, robots run automated production lines, which cuts down on the need for human workers and lowers labour costs. The intelligent control system can keep an eye on process parameters in real time, optimize energy use and material use, and keep prices down even more.
3. Efficiency: Improving processes and coming up with new technologies
Companies can cut down on energy use and material waste while still getting the job done by optimizing processes (like controlling the sandblasting process very precisely) and coming up with new technologies (like laser cladding technology). The promotion of the industry-university research partnership model has also sped up the research and use of new technologies, such nano coating technology. This has opened up a new way to save costs.