Name plates made from stainless steel offer excellent resistance to corrosion, chemicals, and staining, have high temperature resistance, and being a hard material, is resistant to abrasion. Stainless steel nameplates are easy to clean, whilst being aesthetically pleasing.
With so many outstanding properties, it is not surprising that Permark make a diverse range of custom manufactured name plates out of this material, some that are purely functional, such as machine ID
rating plates which are fixed to equipment, sequentially numbered
barcode nameplates and
asset tags, through to premium quality items like
stainless steel business cards and highly detailed
etched plaques that are also printed, polished, shaped and cut before being mounted onto wood or stone.
|
BA Stainless Steel Etched and paint filled two colours.
|
Applications for Stainless Steel Nameplates
As with aluminium or brass nameplates, stainless steel is often used to brand and identify machinery and equipment, and is more commonly specified for very harsh conditions where this strong, chemical resistant material comes into it's own for resistance & durability.
Some examples of use:
- Certification Plates
- Barcoded Nameplates
- Compliance Tags
- Rating plates
- Brand Identification
- Valve Tags
- VIN Plates
- Chain Tags
- Award Plaques
- Asset Tags
- Control Panels
- Dials & Scales
- Instruction Panels
- Serial Plate
 |
Bright Stainless Steel - etched, paint filled two colours and guillotined to shape.
|
Methods of decorating Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel can be either surface printed with a two pot enamel, or for more permanent durable graphics, screen printed with a chemically resistance mask, and then chemically etched, to leave legible graphics and text etched in the surface of the plate to a depth of about 0.25mm.
Etching can be achieved by either etching the background of a nameplate design, leaving text and graphics raised, or etching the graphics and text into the plates. The later method means the graphics and text will be less susceptible to scratching and abrasion when compared to surface printed plates.
Etched graphics and text can then be colour filled with an enamel spray which is baked into the etched surface of the nameplates for decorative effect. Multiple colours can be applied to the plates on one or two sides of the plate and specific PMS colours for branding can be specified .
Variable Information
Variable information such as
serialised numbers and sequential
barcodes can be imprinted onto the plates by the following methods:
- Surface screen printing sequential barcodes and numbers
- Etching unique information (more suited to small nameplates)
- Laser Engraving of variable information.
- Stamp Embossing Unique sequential numbers.
- Diamond Scratch Engraving
Stainless Steel Gauges / Grades
Gauges from 0.55mm to more than 3mm are available in various grades and are usually recommended by Permark to suit the application. Most commonly Permark work with 304 and 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel with BA (bright annealed) and #2 (satin) or #4 (brushed) finishes. Consideration for the following will help determine what is most suitable.
- Shaping the plate - will tools handle the material hardness / thickness?
- What other processes will be used? A deeper etch can be achieved on certain grades.
- Will the plate carry load?
- How will the plate be mounted?
- Will the plate be exposed to seawater/chemicals?
Shapes & Sizes
Generally stainless steel nameplates are either pressed out to a shape, or guillotined, or for small runs, or complex shapes, can be laser cut.
Permark maintain a large range of standard press tool shapes such as rectangles and circles with or without mounting holes, and with or without radius corners. Alternatively, new press tools can be manufactured to customer specification. Further finishing can be achieved with corner cropping radius corners and pressing various holes and shapes out of plates.
Mounting
The most common method of mounting stainless steel nameplates is via screw or rivet holes pressed into the plates. Nameplates can also be mounted by welding to units at the point of manufacture. Backing adhesive can be applied as the sole mounting method, or simply to assist with mounting plates with screws. Adhesives are specified according to the substrate being adhered to, a large range of substrates such as metals, plastics, powder coated surfaces and wet, outdoor environments can be catered for.
Contact a friendly representative
here for advice, or to request samples or a quote
