Group standard TL 240
Issue 2017-06
Class. No.: 50204
Descriptors: zinc, phosphating, zinc phosphating, thin-layer phosphating, thin-layer zinc phosphating, nut, surface
protection, Ofl-b140, Ofl-b149, bolt, screw, fasteners
Thin-Layer Zinc Phosphating
Surface Protection Requirements
Previous issues
TL 240: 1986-01, 1991-11, 2004-01, 2008-01, 2012-12
Changes
The following changes have been made to TL 240: 2012-12:
– Section 1 "Scope" revised
– Section 3.2 "Basic requirements": Requirements for coefficients of friction added
– Section 3.3 "Appearance and structure" updated
– Section 3.4 "Transport protection" revised
– Appendix A deleted
– Additional technical and editorial changes
1 Scope
This Technical Supply Specification (TL) defines the surface protection requirements for film-form‐
ing, thin-layer zinc phosphating on fasteners. This standard also applies to calcium-modified var‐
iants.
2 Designation
As per Volkswagen standard VW 13750, section "Designation"
Always use the latest version of this standard.
This electronically generated standard is authentic and valid without signature. Page 1 of 5
The English translation is believed to be accurate. In case of discrepancies, the German version is alone authoritative and controlling.
Technical responsibility The Standards department
GQL-M/1 Matthias Ackermann Tel.: +49 5361 9 38255
GQL-M/1 Tobias Schilling Tel.: +49 5361 9 37641 K-ILI/5 Ute Hager-Süß K-ILI
GQL-M Dr. Frank Röper Tel.: +49 5361 9 49035 Uwe Wiesner
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be provided to third parties or reproduced without the prior consent of one of the Volkswagen Group’s Standards departments.
© Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft VWNORM-2016-08a
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TL 240: 2017-06
3 Requirements
3.1 Surface protection (Ofl) types
The following surface protection types apply:
– Ofl-b140, thin-layer zinc phosphating, oiled
– Ofl-b149, thin-layer zinc phosphating, not oiled
Ofl-b149 must be used for fasteners with a locking coating as per DIN 267-28, sealing coating as
per TL 195, microencapsulation as per DIN 267-27, and/or an alternative lubricant as per
TL 52132.
Example entry in the drawing or the master data list if an alternative lubricant is used:
Ofl-b149 + lubricant as per TL 52132
3.2 Basic requirements
Approval of first supply and changes as per VW 01155
Avoidance of hazardous substances as per VW 91101.
Neither the chemicals used in the coating process nor the coatings themselves are permitted to
contain Cr(VI) compounds.
Design and installation specifications for threaded connections as per VW 01110-1
For fasteners with a metric thread, the coefficients of friction as per VW 01129 must be adhered to.
These requirements apply only to the variants with lubricant "Ofl-b140" and "Ofl-b149 + lubricant
as per TL 52132."
Steel parts with tensile strength values greater than 1 200 MPa may need to undergo adequate
heat treatment as per DIN EN ISO 9717 up to a maximum of 200 °C, after phosphating, in order to
prevent hydrogen-induced brittle fractures.
Approx. 20 parts (depending on size) are required for a complete examination. For small parts
such as fasteners, a sample production run of ≥ 50 kg must be carried out for the initial-sample
release.
3.3 Appearance and structure
Gray to black
The parts must not have a rusty appearance upon delivery; in other words, the parts must be free
of base metal corrosion (rust). In addition, oiled variants must not have a "rust-colored" appear‐
ance (see figure 1), because this is the only way to tell visually whether the part is free of base
metal corrosion without using additional aids.
Figure 1 – Example of an impermissible, rust-colored oil coating
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TL 240: 2017-06
The structure of phosphate layers depends on the application method (immersion or spraying), the
activation, the accelerating agent, and the type of phosphating. Because phosphating serves as a
conversion coating, the condition of the material also influences the structure of the phosphating,
which is why the structure of the phosphate layer on the head looks different from that on the
thread, e.g., for screws.
The thin-layer zinc phosphating may have a crystalline to amorphous structure. It must adhere
firmly and completely cover the surface (film-forming). Salt residues are not permissible. Example
structures of thin-layer zinc phosphating treatments are shown in figure 2 to figure 4. The photos
are of screw heads. The preferred evaluation method for the structure of phosphating treatments is
by use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with at least 500x magnification.
Figure 2 – Example appearance of crystalline Figure 3 – Example appearance of stem-like
to amorphous thin-layer zinc phosphating thin-layer zinc phosphating with amorphous
(SEM, 500x magnification) parts (SEM, 500x magnification)
Figure 4 – Example appearance of consistently fine crystalline thin-layer zinc phosphating
(SEM, 500x magnification)
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TL 240: 2017-06
For phosphating treatments with lubricants, the structure of the surface has a negligible effect on
friction properties. However, the structure of the surface (crystal size) has a significant effect on the
friction properties if phosphated screws are washed, degreased, and not then re-oiled, to facilitate
compliance with increased cleanliness requirements. In these cases, the objective must be a struc‐
ture as per figure 4. This requirement may result in an addendum being generated in the drawing
or the master data list for this special case; example:
Ofl-b140, fine crystalline, grain diameter ≤ 15 µm
3.4 Transport protection
In terms of corrosion protection, the parts must have so-called temporary corrosion protection,
which is meant to ensure that the parts remain free of base metal corrosion (rust) up the point of
installation.
Parts with Ofl-b149 have only very low corrosion protection. For the parts to still be free of rust
upon installation, the manufacturer must implement suitable measures to prevent this, e.g., pack‐
aging the parts in polyethylene (PE) bags or volatile corrosion inhibitor (VCI) bags.
If parts are shipped by sea transport as per this standard, the parts must always be packaged in
VCI bags.
3.5 Mass per unit area
Testing as per DIN EN ISO 3892
Requirement: 2 g/m2 to 7 g/m2
3.6 Corrosion resistance
For test durations and evaluation requirements, see table 1.
Table 1
Surface pro‐ Test duration and type of test
tection type Requirement
Ofl-b140 6 h salt spray test as per DIN EN ISO 9227-NSS (e.g.,
for head and shank on screws),
thread area: 4 h salt spray test as per
DIN EN ISO 9227-NSS (NSS – neutral salt spray test) No base metal corrosion
Ofl-b149 0.5 h in condensation atmosphere with constant hu‐
midity as per DIN EN ISO 6270-2; this requirement
applies to the whole component
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TL 240: 2017-06
4 Applicable documents
The following documents cited in this standard are necessary to its application.
Some of the cited documents are translations from the German original. The translations of Ger‐
man terms in such documents may differ from those used in this standard, resulting in terminologi‐
cal inconsistency.
Standards whose titles are given in German may be available only in German. Editions in other
languages may be available from the institution issuing the standard.
TL 195 Mechanical Fasteners; Steel Metric Bolts with Sealing All-Around Coat‐
ing; Materials Requirements
TL 52132 Lubricant for Threaded Fasteners with Electrolytically Applied Coatings
or Made of Stainless Steel; Requirements
VW 01110-1 Threaded Joints; Design and Assembly Specifications
VW 01129 Limit Values for Coefficients of Friction; Mechanical Fasteners with Met‐
ric ISO Threads
VW 01155 Vehicle Parts; Approval of First Supply and Changes
VW 13750 Surface Protection for Metal Parts; Surface Protection Types, Codes
VW 91101 Environmental Standard for Vehicles; Vehicle Parts, Materials, Operat‐
ing Fluids; Avoidance of Hazardous Substances
DIN 267-27 Fasteners - Part 27: Steel screws, bolts and studs with adhesive coating,
Technical specifications
DIN 267-28 Fasteners - Part 28: Steel screws, bolts and studs with locking coating,
Technical specifications
DIN EN ISO 3892 Conversion coatings on metallic materials - Determination of coating
mass per unit area - Gravimetric methods
DIN EN ISO 6270-2 Paints and varnishes - Determination of resistance to humidity - Part 2:
Procedure for exposing test specimens in condensation-water atmos‐
pheres
DIN EN ISO 9227 Corrosion tests in artificial atmospheres - Salt spray tests
DIN EN ISO 9717 Metallic and other inorganic coatings - Phosphate conversion coating of
metals
