Tuesday, March 10, 2020

How to Choose the Right Quick Coupler Material


Quick couplers are in important part of any hydraulic circuit system, providing optimum hydraulic fluid control and reliable connections.  Assessing the level of corrosiveness of the application is a crucial factor in choosing quick couplings.  Incremental damage to components varies based on low to high corrosive environments.

Assess Level of Corrosiveness

Quick couplings are used in a multitude of industry sectors from manufacturing, to Earth moving and agricultural equipment, oil and gas extraction, food processing and many other applications.  Quick couplers are designed and manufactured to meet a variety of operating conditions based on various factors to meet safety and productivity requirements. 

Applications may be categorized from low to highly corrosive environments:

       Low corrosive environment:  an application with no specific environmental conditions that would contribute to corrosiveness.  As long as hydraulic fluids are maintained to avoid contamination, damage is not expected to occur to hydraulic circuits
       Medium corrosive environment:  applications which use corrosive fluids such as water based cooling systems
       Highly corrosive environment:  these environments expose quick couplings to hostile elements which can exacerbate corrosion such as in off shore oil processes

Quick Coupler Materials to Combat Corrosion

Quick couplers are manufactured in various materials to meet different specifications and environmental demands.  The most popular materials used in the manufacture of hydraulic quick couplings include:

       Carbon steel – this type of steel performs well in low corrosive environments with a good balance between commercial and technical characteristics.
       Brass – commonly used in medium level corrosive applications with good resistance to medium corrosive fluids
       Stainless steel – used in many processes, this is the material of choice for highly corrosive environments including offshore platform applications

Stucchi Offers Quick Couplers for Any Corrosive Environment

Stucchi offers quick coupling specialists and more than 60 years of experience in developing hydraulic quick connect solutions.  We provide process analysis and custom designed hydraulic solutions to meet varying levels of corrosion.  Our quick coupler materials and treatments include:

       Quench Polish Quench (QPQ) – QPQ plating is a heat treatment that provides good resistance to corrosion combined with surface hardness.
       Chrome 3 – this surface galvanizing treatment is commonly applied to carbon steel using chromium and zinc to increase resistance to corrosion
       Zinc Nickel – this is another surface galvanizing treatment which uses a special zinc alloy to increase corrosion resistance as an alternative to Chrome 3

Stucchi is a leading hydraulic quick coupler supplier with a wide selection of couplers including flat face, threaded flat face, poppet interchange, high pressure couplers, multi-coupling plates, specialty couplers and adapters as well as custom solutions. 

Stucchi offers hydraulic solutions with durable and reliable quick coupling connections.  We provide custom support and development of quick connect processes to meet your specifications.  Contact us with any questions on the right quick coupling material to meet your environmental and corrosion resistance needs.


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