The microns of passion
The coatings applied by the company met in the Cremona area range from 3 to 50 microns, for a process of which it was one of the first practitioners in Italy and later a leader, thanks to a mix of innovative technologies and passion. Those thousandths of a millimetre, which it knew it would necessarily have to deal with, inspired the choice of its name.
The microns of passion
Four electroless-nickel offerings come from more than thirty years of experience of Micron S.r.l. of Soncino (CR) in surface treatments. The first, Niplate® 500, high phosphorus (10–13% P), is indicated for contact with food and when resistance to aggressive chemicals is required. The second, Niplate® 600, medium phosphorus (5–9% P), is the most requested thanks to high resistance to wear and fretting (wear generated by vibration), good corrosion resistance and its cost. The third, Niplate® 500 PTFE, a high-phosphorus electroless-nickel composite containing 25–35% PTFE particles (polytetrafluoroethylene, better known as Teflon), has a high non-stick capacity and a very low coefficient of friction (0.08–0.12) without lubrication. The last, Niplate® 600 SIC, a composite of medium-phosphorus electroless nickel and silicon-carbide (SiC) grains at a concentration of 20–30%, stands out for extreme hardness that reaches 1100 HV. An unusual company, then, because it offers itself to customers not only as a treatment shop but also as the formulator of the solutions it suggests. Introducing it are the founders, Aldo and Sergio Bordiga, and the former’s sons, Giacomo and Matteo.
A leading name in electroless nickel, and not only
It is 1985 when the chemical technician Aldo Bordiga, for several years employed by a company specialised in formulations for plating baths, together with his brother Sergio sets up Micron in Orzinuovi (BS), directing it into electroless nickel, then almost unknown in Italy, a treatment to which, shortly afterwards, he also adds innovative PEO (Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation) anodizing of magnesium alloys. The business soon takes off and the number of customers approaching electroless nickel in particular grows steadily. In 1992 the firm moves into the large workshop built in Soncino (CR); only six years later another is added, bringing the total covered area to 8,000 m². In 2000 comes another important turn: the acquisition of Durox of Remanzacco (UD), specialised since 1973 in anodizing of aluminum and titanium. What the company, now in its second generation with the arrival of Aldo Bordiga’s sons Giacomo and Matteo, represents today in surface treatments is expressed unequivocally by its figures: about 1,000 customers, at least half of them regular, working in automotive (the primary outlet, 40–50%), motorbike and motorsport, industrial machinery, aerospace, hydraulics and pneumatics and so on; 100 tonnes of nickel-sulfate salts consumed in a year (of the treatments listed, electroless nickel dominates, absorbing at least 70% of production); 110 employees (70 at Micron S.r.l. and 40 at Durox S.r.l.); and a combined turnover of 13 million euro. The finishing touch is ISO 9001 quality certification.
Leading customers in strategic sectors
“Offering ourselves also as formulators of the chemical solutions we use, as well as treatment specialists, with particular reference to electroless nickel, to which we devote more than half of our effort, is an added value of the firm,” begins Aldo Bordiga, born in 1954, who as a chemist started his career in a company that prepared formulations for plating baths. “Unlike our competitors, who normally buy chemicals ready to use, we do not run the risk of baths that do not fully meet expectations, because we modify and test them continuously until they give the results we want, both in surface quality and in resistance to wear and corrosion. This is essential, because we deal with a very demanding clientele working almost exclusively in precision mechanics, making parts with very tight tolerances for applications that are often extreme: in cars (including Formula One), motorcycles (including MotoGP), industrial machinery of various kinds, and space and military vehicles.”
For that clientele (served both directly and indirectly), among which stand out names such as FIAT, General Motors, Volkswagen, Porsche, Brembo (for the last of these, 5 million aluminum brake pistons a year are electroless nickel plated), Ferrari, Toro Rosso, Ducati Corse, Piaggio, Festo, Sacmi and Mecaer Aviation, to name a few, Micron, at its Cremona site, in addition to the four electroless nickels mentioned — of which Niplate® 500 and Niplate® 600 share most of the market, with the second prevailing — carries out PEO anodizing of magnesium alloys, while with Durox of Remanzacco (UD), acquired in 2000, it carries out anodizing of aluminum (hard, White and natural) and decorative anodizing of titanium.
The strength of experience and passion
“Our coatings are the result of more than 30 years of continuous improvement,” stresses the other co-owner, Sergio Bordiga, born in 1964, who in the family business looks after the commercial side and direct relations with customers, while also being a reference for the production departments. “From the early years, research aimed at improvement has been an imperative. There has always been a restless drive, looking for that change in electrolyte formulation or that new way of working that would let us fully satisfy customers and also go beyond their expectations. That is why, already in 2000, we equipped ourselves with a scanning electron microscope, a chemical laboratory and a pilot plant for testing formulation variants. This attitude, never satisfied with the goals reached, is much appreciated by customers; their loyalty is very high.”
There is an anecdote that says a lot about the reputation Micron has earned, using three fundamental “ingredients”: passion, patience and advanced technology. Aldo Bordiga, who lived it, tells it: “One day the machine shop that delivered, and still delivers, parts for electroless nickel destined for a large German automotive company told me that a delegation from that company wanted to meet us. We made ourselves fully available, and soon three engineers arrived and began to bombard us with questions about every stage of our process, from pickling to degreasing and on to the concentrations used in the baths. At a certain point, because their questions were entering company know-how a little too far, I cut it short and asked whether our treatment had caused them some problem. ‘The problem,’ they answered, ‘is that in Germany and Austria we have four nickel platers, but none of them, so far, unlike what you have been able to do, has managed to make the treated parts resistant to fretting, so we would like to understand how you do it.’ Obviously I was careful not to go into detail. I only pointed out that every electroless nickel has a base formula, and that what then makes the difference is the nanocrystallinity and the greater or lesser adhesion that skilful formulations can obtain. My explanation certainly did not satisfy them, but they understood and left saying: ‘Fine, from now on you alone will do those parts.’”
PEO anodizing of magnesium alloys: from Soviet military rockets to industrial applications
The visit to Micron S.r.l. is a chance to learn about a singular treatment: PEO (Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation) anodizing of magnesium alloys. Aldo Bordiga, co-owner of Micron, the company that first brought it to the Old Continent, says: “This innovative technology, used by the Soviet Union in the military field, in particular in building rockets, we managed to acquire thanks to Perestroika, which allowed us to speak directly with the researchers at Moscow University who had devised it. It was through their valuable collaboration that we were able to build the first CE-compliant machines for this coating, later sold throughout Europe under the Keronite brand.”
The main properties of PEO anodizing are:
- Very good wear resistance. Unlike traditional anodizing, the process uses high currents that create a plasma on the surface of the part. A micro-fusion of the oxide layer is obtained; it mineralises and compacts, increasing hardness and wear resistance.
- Very good corrosion resistance. The compact layer of ceramic oxides protects magnesium from corrosion in many aggressive environments, offering greater protection than traditional anodizing or chromating of magnesium.
- Environmentally compatible, free of Cr6+. The process uses neither toxic chemicals nor hexavalent chromium and therefore has a very low impact on the environment and on health.
- Paintable. Thanks to the surface morphology it ensures very good adhesion of a subsequent paint coat, which further raises the already high corrosion resistance.
Future goal: the European market
Joking that, just as bricklayers always have a tape measure in their pocket, they never part from the micron gauge, our hosts take us into their “kingdom”, the production departments. “Here in Soncino we work on large numbers of high-value precision mechanical parts of small to medium size,” explains Giacomo Bordiga, a materials-engineering graduate, “and it is with this kind of order that we manage to be competitive. For electroless nickel, the treatment we identify with more than any other, we use four lines, each made up of about thirty tanks 1,400 mm long, two of them automatic 4.0 lines and two manual; for PEO anodizing of magnesium alloys we use a single-tank plant.”
“At the Friuli site of Durox, reserved for anodizing of aluminum and titanium,” adds his younger brother Matteo, a graduate in economics, “two plants, recently renewed and brought up to 4.0 standards, each made up of 25 tanks up to 3 metres long, and one, also with the same number of tanks but with lengths up to 7.5 metres, give their best. All of these plants were designed by us and then built by specialist plant manufacturers.”
When we ask how the company is preparing for the future, Aldo Bordiga speaks again: “As far as I am concerned, being already retired, I hope to find the strength to let go, leaving this trade that still fascinates me in order to devote more time to another love of mine, riding horses. The goals we have set ourselves, with the valuable support of the second generation, for now represented by my sons, but soon also by the contribution of my brother Sergio’s children, are clear: to grow further, bringing some small national plating shop into the group; to obtain IATF 16949 certification, specific to automotive and fundamental for us; and then to take on the European market, in particular the German one, for which we currently work indirectly but which we know we can also serve directly.”
Captions
- Removal of masking from a black hard-anodized part.
- Double electroless-nickel line.
- The leadership of Micron S.r.l. From the right: Aldo, Sergio, Giacomo and Matteo Bordiga.
- Scanning electron microscope with EDX probe.
- Hard-anodizing plant.
- Spool of a pneumatic solenoid valve, in aluminum, coated with 20 µm of electroless nickel.
- Bicycle-sector part in nickel-plated 7075 aluminum alloy.
- Automatic-machine part in hard-anodized Ergal.
- Titanium screws anodized in various colours.
- Thickness check of anodized parts.