So it’s happened; someone accidentally added zinc anodes to the nickel bath. What can you do? Well, the easiest and most expensive option is to just dump the bath and make it up fresh. While this is a great way to ensure your sales representative remembers you come Christmas time, it won’t put you on your boss’ good side. Instead, you can opt to either dummy plate or complex the zinc metal out of solution. Dummy Plating Let’s take a look at dummy plating, and I’m not referring to when you have the new guy try to plate some parts. Dummy plating is a process by which we can remove unwanted … [Read more...]
August 27, 2015 By
Special NAFS Event with Mark Stoddard
Indiana NASF Chapter The Indiana chapter of the NASF (National Association for Surface Finishing) has reorganized in an effort to provide the local surface finishing companies with industry-critical information. Our keynote presenter will be Mark Stoddard of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), where he had been employed since 1986. Mark holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He will be speaking about environmental issues that face our industry today and will impact tomorrow. About the Event When: Tuesday September … [Read more...]
August 5, 2015 By
What is a Procedure-Based Maintenance Organization?
When I was 19 years old I joined the Navy. I was assigned to work on submarines and spent much of my time in the service under water. Floating under the water in a hopefully airtight vessel will focus your mind on the importance of maintaining equipment. I was assigned to the Attack Submarine USS Snook (SSN-592). During my time onboard I was forced to become familiar with the “Submarine Safety” (SUBSAFE) program. In fact , the Navy taught me a few things. First, I learned the importance of check lists. Second, I was introduced to the need for standard operating procedures. Finally, I was … [Read more...]
July 13, 2015 By
What are you putting in your tank?
Have you ever heard the expression “the devil is in the details”? How many times do we think we have covered everything only to find out that some of the basic things get overlooked? One of the details that I find frequently overlooked is accounting for ALL components that make up a process tank. Standard Components in a Watt's Nickel Plating Bath For example, let’s take a look at a standard Watt’s nickel plating bath. The components that are commonly tested for are nickel metal, nickel sulfate, nickel chloride, boric acid, surface tension, carrier concentration, pH, and secondary … [Read more...]
April 24, 2015 By
What is the Timeline for GHS?
In an effort to promote standard criteria worldwide for classifying chemicals according to their health, physical and environmental hazards the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals initiative was launched. Supporting this initiative, Osha has issued a Hazard Communication Standard Final Rule. This rule outlines changes for both chemical users and chemical producers to become compliant with the new GHS standards. Chemical users: Continue to update safety data sheets when new ones become available, provide training on the new label elements and … [Read more...]
April 15, 2015 By
Water and Your Plating Process
When it comes to cleaning and plating, there is one element which affects every single bath. This substance often makes up well over half of each tank, and we largely ignore it. That’s right, I’m talking about water. We put it in every bath, but pay no attention to what kind of water we have and what impact it will make. So let’s start at the beginning to understand how water effects the plating process. Types of Water That’s right; there are multiple types of water. These can be summarized into Hard, Soft, and Purified. Hard water is characterized by a high mineral content. Oftentimes, … [Read more...]
April 10, 2015 By
Conitinuous Learning in the Plating Industry
With more than 20 years in the plating industry I was surprised by how many insights and new pieces of information I picked up at the recent CEF course sponsored by Asterion in Indianapolis, IN. Here are just two of the applications regarding fixtures which were new to me. As I have talked with other industry "old timers" this was new information for them as well. I thought I'd share them and encourage you to attend the next CEF course sponsored by Asterion next year, you just might learn something to save your shop thousands of dollars. Barrel design: Traditionally it has been … [Read more...]