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Prevention of Rust on 410 SS Surgical Instruments

How to prevent rust on S.S. Surgical Instruments while using in Operating Rooms. We are using Medical Graded S.S. Rods of 410 Grade. The entire processing were thoroughly followed as per the guidelines from the start till the surface finish of the instrument. At that time there is no problem in the instrument. Once it enters any Hospital, after a short period itself, the complaint arises.

Any tips to resolve this problem.

VENKAT. G.A.
- Chennai, India
November 23, 2009

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One way is to get them Titanium Nitride (TiN) coated. It is an yellow coloured hard coating, prevents corrosion and enhances the life of cutting edges.

H.R. Prabhakara - Consultant
Bangalore Plasmatek - Bangalore Karnataka India
November 24, 2009

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Are they sterilizing the tools with an autoclave? That's a very corrosive environment for stainless. With a good passivation instruments will usually stand up okay to the autoclave, with the occasional exception of laser marked areas. Instruments should be passivated after laser marking, but usually there's only so much you can do without fading the mark, so they may remain susceptible to corrosion. Sometimes it helps to alter the laser settings so better post-marking passivation can be done.

Ray Kremer
Stellar Solutions, Inc.

McHenry, Illinois

December 7, 2009