Why NADCAP Passivation Matters for Your Supply Chain

NADCAP certification reflects the highest level of compliance in aerospace and defence manufacturing. At William Hughes, our passivation process is audited for quality, repeatability, and traceability. Procurement managers can rely on our process to meet or exceed demanding regulatory, environmental, and technical requirements, while benefiting from the agility and service standards of a UK-based supplier.

Our in-house engineering teams are available to consult on treatment compatibility, material behaviours, and integration into complex assembly workflows.

Watch the Process in Action

The latest William Hughes passivation video explains how passivation can be used to remove exogenous iron or iron compounds left behind on the surface of stainless steel as a result of machining and fabrication processes.

To view the video, simply enter 'Passivation William Hughes' into YouTube or follow the LINK

The William Hughes passivation plant is fully automated and PLC controlled, offering novel functionality in that once the component basket is placed in position, there is no manual ‘dunking’ of components from station-to-station, as with traditional systems. Instead the plant performs 'fluid transfer', moving chemical solutions from holding tanks into the main processing unit as required. This prevents damage to the parts involved as they are not required to move.

Typical treatments feature nitric acid/sodium dichromate and rinse cycles followed by a further rinse in deionised water before the parts are placed in a drying cell.

Other innovative plant functionality includes an ultrasonic passivation facility and a rotary option where parts can be rotated through the solution, thus filling air gaps in more complex and tubular-type components, for example.

The in-house passivation plant demonstrated on a new William Hughes video.