As we head into the fall and winter months, no doubt the service phone will start ringing about chromate rub off on zinc plated parts due to ambient going from temperatures in the 80s and 90s to temperatures in the 60s (and in some plants saving on heating bills, chromates may be trying to work as low as temperatures in the 50s). But as we see a rise in the trivalent chemistries and less of the "ambient" running hexavalent chromates, the simple fix of raising the temperature may not be the solution to the rub-off headache during these cold days of winter. Here are a few other quick tips to … [Read more...]
August 1, 2020 By
Inside Zinc and Zinc-Nickel Post-Plating Protective Finishes
As published in Products Finishing Magazine, August 2020 Issue. When I began my career in metal finishing in the mid-1980s, the industry took an introspective view of where it came from and in what direction it was going. It is interesting to look back at that time and remember all of the changes that began occurring as we entered the 1990s. Environmental concerns dominated the industry. I can specifically remember the market being flooded with new technology and equipment to deal with environmental concerns about the plating process. This was followed by developments in plating … [Read more...]
April 14, 2020 By
Why You Should Include Tin in Your Finishes Portfolio
Are you looking to expand the surface finishing options you offer clients? Are you prospecting for new clients? When choosing to expand your plating processes what factors come to mind? Cost? Market for process? Robust system? Application? Waste? Please allow me to introduce to you TECHNIBRITE™ SN 200 bright acid tin plating system! The TECHNIBRITE SN 200 system is a terrific addition to broaden your plating capabilities. The system produces exceptional brightness and leveling while maintaining exceptional solderability. Why Tin? Tin plating is used for several key … [Read more...]
March 16, 2020 By
Alkaline Zinc Plating Revisited
Alkaline non-cyanide zinc (ANCZ) plating has been prevalent in the plating industry for about 50 years. It has become a preferred process for finishers who require a fairly bright zinc-plated finish on parts that have challenging geometrical shapes. ANCZ is typically the chosen zinc process for complicated geometrical shapes due to its ability to plate zinc at a preferred low ratio of zinc thickness from the high current density areas to the low current density areas. Thickness ratios can range anywhere from 1:1 to 2:1 from the high current density area to the low current density area. Bath … [Read more...]
July 19, 2019 By
Is there a better way to provide a high corrosion resistant finish that is not an expensive alloy process?
If a high corrosion resistant finish provided 400+ hours to first white corrosion product and 700+ hours to red corrosion, until now, the answer was NO. Alloy finishes with passivate and seals that were complex and difficult to control were the only choice to achieve 400+ hours to first white corrosion product and 700+ hours to red corrosion. Traditional zinc plating just could not meet these requirements. As a result, finishers and their customers could only look to zinc alloy systems to provide high corrosion resistant attributes. The challenges associated with these processes were just a … [Read more...]
April 1, 2019 By
Increasing Bath Life and Quality of Trivalent Passivates on Zinc Plate
As published in Products Finishing Magazine, April 2019 issue. Q: What is the best way to increase the bath life and quality of trivalent passivates on zinc plate? A: One of the more significant developments of the last 20 years in the metal finishing industry is the commercial development and application of trivalent passivates on zinc electroplate. These developments have allowed applicators to eliminate the use of toxic hexavalent-chromate conversion coatings, thereby safeguarding the health of all involved in the handling and processing of zinc-plated parts. Further, these trivalent … [Read more...]
March 4, 2019 By
Cleaning Cycle Optimization
Should we be content with letting cleaning baths get contaminated with oils and soils? We can just dump and make up a fresh bath, right? You could go that route, but beware; without proper cleaning blisters, poor adhesion, pitting, peeling, and flaking may start to rear their ugly heads before a fresh bath can be made. There is a better answer. What would happen if agitation and filtration systems were added to a cleaner? The filters remove bulk soils and particulates as they are being introduced to the bath. An agitation system mechanically sweeps particulate matter away from the … [Read more...]
February 2, 2019 By
Nickel Stripper Issues and Answers
A customer alerted us to an issue with their acid-based anodic nickel stripper. The issue had been ongoing for at least a couple of months and they had tried many different things to solve the issue. One of the issues was the automatic backwash filtration system had been down for an extended period. It was thought that was the main culprit, based on the appearance of the strip solution showing a great deal of floating solids that would settle to the bottom when there was no circulation. Filtration Fixed, but… The filtration system was fixed, and the customer decided to dump and make … [Read more...]
April 22, 2018 By
How to Keep a Plating Bath from Slowing Down
As published in Products Finishing Magazine, April 2018 issue. Alkaline plating baths form carbonates over time, and these carbonates cause the baths to become less efficient, resulting in slower plating speed. Asterion’s Roger Sowinski outlines three options for removing carbonates. Q. Why is the plating time in my alkaline plating baths increasing? How do I fix this problem? A. When it comes to plating, time is money, and nothing is more frustrating than your plating bath slowing to a crawl. The good news is that you can return the plating speed to its original levels; the … [Read more...]
November 1, 2017 By
Oil Skimmers Achieve Desired Level of Water Purity
The content of this blog post has been provided courtesy of Abanaki Oil Skimmers. Have you ever heard the old saying, “Oil and Water Don’t Mix?” This is also holds true in metal finishing. The relationship between oil and water in a mixture is well-known and governed by two physical properties: Specific Gravity: Most hydrocarbons have a lower specific gravity than water. Without agitation, oil separates from the water and floats to the surface. These oils are known as LNAPL’s – Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid. Oils (and other compounds) that sink in water have a higher specific … [Read more...]