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Critical Dimensions Matter
The Problem A customer sends a part to be metal finished. They require a thickness of .0003-.0005. However, the customer does not inform the finishing company that there is a critical dimension on one section of the part that is different than the other sections. When the finishing company properly applies .0003-.0005 to the entire part, the critical dimension area does not have sufficient finish. Electroplating does not deposit on all surfaces evenly. The Solution It is essential that customers inform the finishing company of: The areas of critical dimension on the part. Areas that need to be measured with a micrometer. This will enable the finishing company to treat…
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Benefits of Electroless Nickel
Electroless nickel plating (ENP) is a chemical process that deposits an even layer of nickel-phosphorus on the surface of a metal part without the use of electricity. The water solution contains nickel salt and a reducing agent containing phosphorus. Electroless nickel is a viable solution for steel, stainless steel, Inconel, copper/brass, aluminum, zinc diecast, and tungsten parts. ENP is used in the agricultural machinery industry to protect farm machinery. This process protects food processing equipment so that the equipment can withstand extreme hot and cold temperatures. It is used in aviation to protect the thousands of parts that keep our planes flying. ENP treatment protects heavy-duty construction and oil and…
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Benefits of Anodizing
Anodizing is the process that makes a non-ferrous metal, such as aluminum, corrosion-resistant and non-conductive. The process can also be used to color a part. Some anodized parts have a hardness equal to the strongest of steels and iron. Anodized parts have longer life and typically don’t chip. The oxide surface will not decompose and cause health concerns. Anodizing protects aircraft components from corrosion and from undesired electric currents. Since anodized parts can withstand high heat, anodizing is also a preferred process of the food service industry. Cleaned parts are submerged into an electrolyte solution that is set to the right temperature. A current is applied to the parts that…
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Benefits of Passivating
Stainless steel parts have a natural layer of oxide that provides limited protection for the parts. However, “free iron” can become attached to the part and overwhelm the oxide layer. The parts begin to rust and, eventually, lose their structural integrity. Passivation both eliminates the free iron and strengthens the oxide layer, making the part more “passive”, that is less accepting of an assault by free iron. This increases the usable life of the part and reduces the likelihood of catastrophic failure and associated death and injuries. Passivation also significantly improves a part’s appearance. It also promotes the optimal flow of electricity. F.M. Callahan & Son has specialized in passivating…
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The Components of an Effective Purchase Order
Customers can contribute to the achievement of quality plating by communicating critical information in their purchase orders. Please review the sample below for the components of a “complete” purchase order that provides all the information a plating company needs to deliver outstanding services. The billing address for correspondence related to payment. The shipping address to assure your parts are sent to the correct location. Contact information, including name, telephone number, and email address, of the person the plating company can contact to address any questions or concerns. The purchase order number is critical to all documentation associated with a job. The purchase date helps a plating company schedule jobs. The…
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Separate Orders by Alloy
Let’s say that you want your aluminum parts to have red anodizing. It was a simple process. Why do your parts not have a uniform look? After an investigation, it is determined that your batch of aluminum parts consisted of two different alloys, 6061 and 7075. The plater processed the parts according to the ramp up time requirements for 6061. However, 7075 alloy parts have a significantly different ramp up time requirements. Therefore, the 7075 parts were over anodized resulting in a darker color than the 6061 parts. You can reduce rework by properly segmenting parts by alloy. Submit your 6061 alloyed parts in one order and properly identify the…
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The Importance of Package Labeling
Our receiving and shipping department often receives packages and boxes from customers without labeling or with incomplete information on the labels. This slows down the speed of processing customer orders as we need to take the steps to make sure each package and box is matched to the right purchase order and is properly processed. Please provide proper labeling on each item you ship to us so that we can complete in a timely manner the orders you entrust with us.
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Top Two Solutions to Prevent Electroplating Racking Damage
At F. M. Callahan, our top priority is to guarantee that your parts deliver peak performance after electroplating. One issue we often encounter during the plating process is racking damage, which can compromise both the function and appearance of your parts. It can also affect production costs and delay delivery times. Here’s why racking damage happens While your engineers design parts for peak performance, instructions for racking these parts during surface treatment are often missing. Without clear guidance, our technicians must make educated guesses about how to rack the parts, which can lead to damage. To help avoid damage, we recommend two proactive solutions: Solution 1: Highlight Optimal Racking Locations…
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Definitions
Acid. An acid is a compound that releases ions of hydrogen when it is dissolved in water. It is very reactive. Activation. It is the process of preparing a metal to receive a finishing. Alkali(ne). An alkali receives ions of hydrogen when it is dissolved in water. Anion. An anion is an atom that has become negatively charged because it has gained an electron. It has more electrons than protons. Atom. The smallest unit of an element. It consists of: Proton. A positively charged particle in the nucleus of an atom. Neutron. A particle in the nucleus of an atom that does not have an electrical charge. Electron. A negatively…
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Atoms and Rust
The companies of the electroplating and finishing industry are in business because manufactured parts corrode over time. However, why do they corrode? What is the actual chemistry that causes rust to form on parts? Simply put, the atoms in parts oxidize (lose electrons, becoming cations) when exposed to oxygen and water. The more atoms oxidize, the greater the corrosion of the part.
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Electroplating 101
Electroplating is the process of depositing a thin layer of metal onto the surface of a base metal using electricity. Why would you do that? The additional layer protects the base metal from corrosion, reduces friction, makes the base metal stronger and more durable, promotes conductivity and solderability, or improves a part’s appearance. Electricity is used to make the surface layer adhere firmly to the base metal. The anode (positive) is the name given to the metal that is to be deposited onto the base metal. The cathode (negative) is the name given to the base metal. For example, let’s say you had a steel part that you wanted to add…
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The Typical Electroplating Process
The typical electroplating process contains the following key steps. Setup of the Tanks. Each tank that will be used in the process is properly prepared. The bath will consist of the correct metal ions (gold, silver, nickel, etc.,) merged with water for the process to be conducted. Depending upon the metal of the part to be plated (such as steel or aluminum), the correct pH is set for the tank. The tank is heated to the correct temperature and the tank is agitated as required. Additives, such as a brightener, are added to the bath. A properly functioning rectifier is connected to the tank to contribute the correct volts/amps to…
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Plating and Finishing Dimensions
The work that a plating and finishing shop does is difficult to see. Literally. The dimensions requested for a finish are most of the time smaller than what can be seen by the human eye. In the graphic below, the large gray area represents just a small portion of a large circle with a diameter of one inch. There are three small green dots in the bottom righthand corner. The largest dot represents the width of the human hair. The middle-sized dot represents the width of the smallest object that can be seen with the naked human eye. The smallest dot represents a common dimension, 200µ, otherwise noted as 2/10,000…
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Calculating Plating Finish
Maintaining the correct electrical charge in the tank is critical for successful plating and finishing. If the charge is too low, the part will not achieve the minimum dimension required by the customer. If the electrical charge is too high, the finish on the part may exceed the maximum allowed by the engineers. In addition, parts can be “burned” by exposure to excessive electrical charge. Therefore, the calculation of the amps required for a job is essential to the successful finishing of the part. In summary, the process to calculate the amps for a job consists of the following steps: Calculate the surface area of the part. Convert the surface…
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The Critical Importance of Strikes
In an ideal plating or finishing application, a finish would completely adhere when applied to a part (a substrate). However, the ideal is rarely experienced. Some substrates simply resist the application of a finish because they have oxide films, are highly active, are porous, are littered with defects, or lack conductivity. In order to resolve these issues, an intermediary layer is applied to the substrate. Such a layer is called a “strike”. The desired finish is then uniformly applied to the strike layer. A strike layer is like a finished layer except that it is restrained. The strike is given just enough time to prepare the substrate for a finished…
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What is pH and Why is it Important?
pH is a number that determines the acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution. The numeric value represents the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) present in the solution. When the temperature is 77°F, a solution with a pH greater than 7 is considered “alkaline” (such as baking soda), a pH of 7 is “neutral” (such as water), and a pH under 7 is considered “acidic“. These values can shift depending upon the temperature of the solution. While the pH range is typically given as zero to 14, pH can be less than 0 or greater than 14. These numbers represent a ten-fold change in the number of hydrogen ions. A…
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Water Treatment After Finishing
Water is essential to the processing of plating and finishing in the electroplating industry. A typical plating shop has dozens of tanks of water, many intentionally mixed with compounds such as metals or acids. These tanks are used in the processing of customer parts. There are many tanks that are set aside for the rinsing of the parts after a stage in the treatment process. What does an environmental-conscious firm like F.M. Callahan & Son do to treat all of these “contaminated” tanks of water? Micro Filtration. We direct this water through an elaborate system of pipes, pumps, and tanks into a micro filtration system that removes suspended solids and…
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Electroplating and Dangerous Chemicals
The electroplating and finishing industry is an essential industry in our economy. The surfaces of parts in our computers, appliances, automobiles, trucks, airplanes, and trains are finished to make the products stronger, more durable, more useful, and less corrosive. However, the process to apply plating or finishings to such parts requires the use of dangerous chemicals. It is to a customer’s advantage to utilize the services of experienced platers and finishers such as the professionals that work at F.M. Callahan & Son. We have over 100 years of experience handling chemicals in such a manner to produce high quality results for our customers, protect our employees from danger, and protect…