A method for producing hardened steel components is provided. A sheet bar is cut from a galvanized strip made of a hardenable steel alloy. The sheet bar is cold-formed into a component blank and heated to a temperature that produces a structural change to austenite. The austenitized component blank is conveyed to a form hardening tool and is held in a form-fitting manner by an upper tool and lower tool, which have a shape essentially corresponding to that of the component blank. Due to the contact of the material of the component blank with the tools, the heat is removed from the steel material quickly enough that a martensitic hardening occurs. After the galvanization of the metal strip and before the temperature increase for achieving the austenitization, tin is applied to the surface of the strip, sheet blank, or component blank.

The chemical conversion treatment liquid according to the present invention, which is cobalt-free and is capable of forming a chemical conversion film having excellent corrosion resistance, contains a water-soluble trivalent chromium-containing substance, a water-soluble titanium-containing substance, and a water-soluble lactic acid-containing substance as essential components and may optionally contain a component at least a part of which is any of a water-soluble glycolic acid-containing substance and a water-soluble ineffective organic acid-containing substance. The water-soluble ineffective organic acid-containing substance is a water-soluble organic acid-containing substance based on an ineffective organic acid that is an organic acid other than lactic acid and other than glycolic acid. When the chemical conversion treatment liquid does not contain the water-soluble glycolic acid-containing substance and does not contain the water-soluble ineffective organic acid-containing substance, a titanium-equivalent molar concentration CTi of the water-soluble titanium-containing substance, a chromium-equivalent molar concentration CCr of the water-soluble trivalent chromium-containing substance, and a lactic acid-equivalent molar concentration CLc of the water-soluble lactic acid-containing substance satisfy the following Expressions (1) to (3): CTi/CCr≥0.5 ...(1); CLc/(CTi+CCr)≥0.40 ...(2); and CLc/CTi≤2.6 ...(3).

A reactive chemical conversion treatment liquid capable of forming a Si-containing chemical conversion film is provided. The chemical conversion treatment liquid contains colloidal silica, a trivalent chromium-containing water-soluble substance, and a high pKa organic acid-containing water-soluble substance such as a hydroxymonocarboxylic acid and may further contain a film-formable metal-containing water-soluble substance in a preferred embodiment, and the pH of the chemical conversion treatment liquid is 3.0 or more.

A novel method of blackening surgical needles is disclosed. Surgical needles having outer surfaces are first placed into a first pretreatment bath having a novel composition. The needles are then placed into a second blackening bath having a novel composition for a sufficient period of time to effectively blacken the surfaces of the needles. The novel methods for blackening the surfaces of a stainless steel alloy surgical needle provide a chromium (VI)-free alternative to current needle manufacturing processes. Another unique feature of this novel method is its short processing time. The blackening processes of the present invention can be utilized for in-line treatment processes which can be easily incorporated into high speed needle manufacturing processes, such as strip mounted processes. In addition, the processes of the present invention are readily adaptable to batch processes. Also disclosed are novel systems for blackening surgical needles and novel blackening baths for surgical needles.

A novel method of blackening surgical needles is disclosed. Surgical needles having outer surfaces are first placed into a first pretreatment bath having a novel composition. The needles are then placed into a second blackening bath having a novel composition for a sufficient period of time to effectively blacken the surfaces of the needles. The novel methods for blackening the surfaces of a stainless steel alloy surgical needle provide a chromium (VI)-free alternative to current needle manufacturing processes. Another unique feature of this novel method is its short processing time. The blackening processes of the present invention can be utilized for in-line treatment processes which can be easily incorporated into high speed needle manufacturing processes, such as strip mounted processes. In addition, the processes of the present invention are readily adaptable to batch processes. Also disclosed are novel systems for blackening surgical needles and novel blackening baths for surgical needles.

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a stainless steel component, the method including texturizing a stainless steel substrate by bead blasting to provide a texturized stainless steel. The stainless steel substrate includes grade 316 austenitic stainless steel. The method also includes treating the texturized stainless steel with a passivation solution to provide a passivated stainless steel. The method further includes treating the passivated stainless steel with an oxidizing solution including sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide at a temperature of about 130 to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 50 minutes to provide an antimicrobial stainless steel surface that is free of a separate coating. The method includes obtaining at least 99.9% E. coli reduction as measured by JIS Z 2801:2010 test on the antimicrobial stainless steel without a separate coating.

A method for producing hardened steel components is provided. Sheet bars are cut out from an alloy-galvanized strip made of a hardenable steel alloy and the sheet bars are heated to a temperature that produces a structural change to austenite, preferably to a temperature above the respective Ac3 point. The austenitized sheet bars are then conveyed to a press hardening tool in which the sheet bars are hot formed in a single stroke or multiple strokes by means of an upper and lower tool, wherein the formed sheet bar is cooled against the tools at a speed above the critical cooling rate so that a martensitic hardening occurs.After the galvanization, which can be hot-dip galvanization of the steel strip and before the temperature increase for achieving the austenitization, tin is applied to the surface of the strip or sheet bar.

There is provided a method for producing a metal-plated stainless material, the method including performing an acid treatment of treating a stainless steel material with an acidic solution; performing an etching of treating the stainless steel material after the acid treatment with an etching treatment agent; and a modifying the surface of the stainless steel material after the etching into a state suitable for a metal plating process.

There is provided a method for producing a metal-plated stainless material, the method including performing an acid treatment of treating a stainless steel material with an acidic solution; performing an etching of treating the stainless steel material after the acid treatment with an etching treatment agent; and a modifying the surface of the stainless steel material after the etching into a state suitable for a metal plating process.

Provided are stainless steel for a separator of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, which exhibits enhanced hydrophilicity and enhanced corrosion resistance, and a method of manufacturing the same. In the stainless steel for a separator of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, which exhibits enhanced hydrophilicity and enhanced corrosion resistance, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a ratio of Cr hydroxide/Cr oxide included in a passivation film of the stainless steel ranges from 0.7 to 1.6, and the passivation film has a contact angle (θ) of 70° or less. Thus, not only corrosion resistance may be enhanced by removing a non-conductive film formed on a surface of the stainless steel and forming a new conductive film thereon, but hydrophilicity may also be secured without additional surface treatment such as a separate coating or the like, and thus manufacturing costs may be reduced and productivity may be increased.