As our team of trained technicians and sales representative talks with metal finishing shops we notice many needs for chemicals which are not “plating” chemistries. These may include uses for general purpose floor cleaners, rust inhibitors or anti-splatter for welding. Clients are often surprised to learn we offer many good and effective chemicals for these applications. But these products don’t just appear in your shop without planning. How do you find the right product for your business? Well you could just type it into the computer and hope a search engine takes you to the correct … [Read more...]
December 14, 2014 By
Hard Chrome Plating
The process of hard chrome plating has been used since the early part of the 20th century. It is a process that is used in nearly every aspect of manufacturing where wear resistance and lubricity are critical. Typically coating thickness deposited are between 8 to 250 mm (0.00032”-.0098”) and hardness between 800-1000HV. High hardness and resistance to abrasion are retained unchanged up to 200o C. Early processes were standard chromic acid and sulfate processes. The late 1940’s gave to processes that used anions such as fluoride to improve plating rates and finish quality. Later evolution in … [Read more...]
November 26, 2014 By
Asterion CEO Blair Vandivier Interviewed by Products Finishing
This interview was originally published by Products Finishing Online here. Blair Vandivier is a lawyer, a pilot and a former college golfer, as well as a board member of the NASF. Several years ago, Vandivier merged his successful Benchmark Products with Roger Sowinski’s New Surface Technologies to form Asterion, a surface technology company that provides specialty chemical finishing products for pretreatment, powder coating and plating. We were lucky to score a round of golf with Vandivier at his exclusive Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indianapolis, Indiana, where we also met his personal … [Read more...]
November 10, 2014 By
Execute the Basics All the Time, Every Time for Ultimate Success
It's the little things you do that make the big things in life easier to handle. Most of us have heard the stories of John Wooden, coach of 10 NCAA national championship basketball teams at UCLA, beginning each season teaching the team about putting socks on properly and tying your shoes right. Wooden says, "If you want to win championships, you must take care of the smallest details." The same holds true in plating. Executing the basics properly and taking care of the smallest details first without short cuts makes all the difference in the world when it comes to executing the perfect finish … [Read more...]
October 23, 2014 By
Plating Fundamentals: Checklists
Metal finishing operations and managers often overlook the importance of line maintenance. Rapid production demands and ever shifting production schedules lead to conflicts between making repairs and making money. Committing to the required dollars for equipment repair and upgrading is easy to postpone. Plating shops do everything they can to manage their bottom line by controlling short term expenses. Unfortunately, production is often disrupted as a result of avoidable equipment breakdown and failure. When we talk to industry leaders in plating, they point to the importance of discipline … [Read more...]
October 14, 2014 By
Plating Fundamentals: Clean Your Parts
In plating, there is one very simple secret for plating good parts: Be sure you have clean parts. It's not groundbreaking and won't break your process. Much like when you wash dishes at home, we soak and “scrub” parts in our plating process. You'll also use different types of cleaners depending on the soils you are trying to remove Most common cleaners are one of two types: “soak” cleaners or "electro" cleaners. Soak cleaners work simply by reacting with soil as parts are dipped in them. Electro cleaners use electricity to create a reaction that separates soil from your parts. While most … [Read more...]
September 12, 2014 By
Hexavalent to Trivalent (and Back Again)
As the demand for non-chromium protection of zinc and zinc alloy plating has increased, trivalent chromium passivation systems have appeared. Early on, an interesting phenomenon was observed: Hexavalent chrome was found on coatings that were not supposed to contain hexavalent chrome. It was thought that the processor must be cheating and using hexavalent chrome in the working solution in order to achieve increased corrosion resistance. While all of the questions have not been answered, there are some conclusions. Before explaining the various parts of this mystery, it's important to … [Read more...]
August 29, 2014 By
Asterion Acquires Southeastern Chemical, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.- Asterion LLC is proud to announce that they have acquired Southeastern Chemical, Inc. as of September 1, 2014. Asterion LLC is an industry leading surface technology company with which many of you are already familiar. Asterion, has been the preferred supplier of metal finishing chemistry for the majority of Southeastern’s valued customers. For Southeastern’s customers, the transition from working with Southeastern Chemical to working directly with Asterion, LLC will be seamless. Doug Trageser, President of Southeastern Chemical has agreed to join Asterion, LLC as … [Read more...]
July 28, 2014 By
Roundup: Keeping Your Process Clean and Safe
We're 100% devoted to making sure we bring to your manufacturing process only the safest and most tested solutions. To ensure you're working in the cleanest and safest environments, we've developed a wide variety of blogs- written by our industry experts- for use in the every day administration of your plant. Let's look at a few of the most useful resources we've created so you'll have a quick, one-stop catalog of topics to pick from: How to Keep Your Shop Clean One of our more recent posts, this blog walks you through the common mishaps and dangers a dirt plant can present. It includes … [Read more...]