Nickle Plating Alternatives 1

[jimchest]

hi All

I am looking for cost effective alternatives to Nickle Plating. I have looking into powder coating, but the variation and control in the coating thickness does not really meet my performance requirements. Are there any other plating operations that are more environmentally "friendly"?

Thanks

 

[aspearin1]

If plating is what you need, then perhaps your quandry is finding an environmentally responsible party to perform the job for you. Plating can be high environmental risk. But with the proper controls in place, it can be environmentally friendly with limited emissions. Concentrate on finding service vendors who boast of their "green" initiatives and up-to-date equipment.

ChemE, M.E. EIT
"The only constant in life is change." -Bruce Lee

 

[TVP]

jimchest,

You have not provided very much information on which to offer suitable alternatives. Zinc plating would be less expensive, but does not have the wear or corrosion resistance of nickel. Is the current process electroplating or electroless? Any details on requirements, environment, etc.?

 

[jimchest]

We currently use both electroless and the electrolytic versions of Nickle plating. When I need the consistency I use the electroless so as not to have buildup around corners and holes. The main issue with the zinc (or any other type of plating/coating) I think would be the following contamination issues;

A) contamination in the form of flaking and also,
B) contamination in the form of outgassing of the coating/plating that is being used.(especially when exposed to UV light)

I hope this is a little more specific.
Thanks

 

[JTreglio]

Could you be more specific as to why you're having parts plated? Is it for wear resistance, corrosion resistance, or what? What's the substrate material? How large are the parts? What sort of tolerances do you need to maintain? The reason for asking these questions is that there are many alternatives to nickel plating -- PVD, CVD, thermal spray, low pressure plasma spray, electrospark deposition, laser cladding, diffusion bonding -- which have very different properties and methods of deposition.

Jim Treglio
Molecular Metallurgy, Inc.

 

[jimchest]

Mostly corrosion resistance is what I require.
The parts are about 30x24x12 inches

I do know about most the alternatives you mentioned (except laser cladding), but what I was also interested in is a drop in cost to convert over to the new alternative. The NiP prices have significantly increased since there are more stringent EPA regulations.

One thing I was curious about was this new cold spray technology researched by Ktech Corp. But no one I know of has a cost comparison.

The key that I am looking for is a cheaper alternative to NiP for these large frames.

thanks

 

[JTreglio]

Have you looking into IVD aluminum? Or, if you're stuck on plating, tin-zinc?

Jim Treglio
Molecular Metallurgy, Inc.

 

[jimchest]

I have found my solution.

I am going to use zinc phosphate spray as a pre-treatment for the tool (including mounting surfaces and holes). Then mask those surfaces before I powder coat. As an alternative I could brushplate the mounting surfaces with Nickel then powdercoat. Also not the Zinc Phosphate provides excellent adhesion characteristics for the powder coat. I problably will follow DOD-P-16232G for the phosphating process.

Either way my cost reduction efforts will be realized.

 

[macPT]

jimchest

Have you thought in "DACROMET"? This is an environmental friendly coating process, having a corrosion resistance near hot deep galvanizing and an electroplated coating precision. I don't know if your parts are small enough for this coating process.

Regards