Open the Gateway to Shred!

The forum could definitely use some people discussing things, though there are Groups in Community too... so it's people using one or the other.

I actually thought of closing Groups or the Forum, but I just left them both for people to choose from.
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There are many different applications in different industries for metallic plating. The plating protects materials by preventing corrosion, stiffening resistance to shock and damage, and inhibiting oxidation. The process is useful in many different industries that require components to perform repetitive actions, especially automotive, power distribution, and oil refining. This increases not only the life span of the parts in question but also the life span of the larger machine comprised of the separate parts.

 

Electroless plating is a basic, nickel-plating solution for protecting items. Its great advantage is that it does not require electricity; therefore, it is very inexpensive and you can plate large numbers of items at once. The plating is very even because the chemical processes take place inside a chemical bath. It will also plate the surfaces inside holes and crevices. Electroless plating will achieve a Rockwell hardness of around 40 and will also adhere to nonconductive surfaces with the proper catalyst. The disadvantages of electroless plating include a finite life cycle for the chemical baths and not achieving the hardness of other plating techniques.

 

 

            

 

Sulfamate nickel plating achieves a Rockwell hardness of around 60, which is harder than that achieved by straight electroless plating. In fact, within certain tolerances, sulfamate nickel plating achieves a better Rockwell hardness than hard chrome plating. The main advantages of sulfamate nickel plating over electroless plating are that it achieves a higher melting point and suffers less deposit stress. The disadvantage is that it does not achieve the uniformity of electroless plating.

 

Items plated with hard chrome usually have the highest Rockwell hardness. In most cases, this is at least 70. If you plate an object with chrome over the top of sulfamate nickel plating, you can achieve extraordinary hardness. It is not unusual for such materials to exceed well over 80 Rockwell hardness. Chrome combines this fantastic hardness with unmatched decorative and anti-oxidation properties. Consequently, it is the most common form of plated component. Because it is so hard, automotive engineers use it in engine blocks, and refinery designers prefer it because of the immense force to which drilling components are subjected. Its main disadvantage is that it does not coat the desired surface evenly if the surface is not completely smooth. Generally, engineers will program machines to grind down the unevenness of a pockmarked surface, but this wastes extra plating metal.

 

Ensure you check the specifications on parts needed for your job before you decide which plated components you need. Then, select the proper plating process or combination of processes. Proper planning and foresight are the backbone of any industrial job.

 

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Parkway Drive and Times of Grace are probably my favorite recent discoveries.

(Check out the video for Dark Days by Parkway Drive, if you haven't already.)

Oh and Alestorm, if you like pirates.
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