How To Scale Production With a Dedicated Plating Line

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Dedicated Plating Line Services

The Ideal Partnership

The metal finishing sector plays a pivotal role in processing customer parts efficiently and accurately. However, complications can arise when a metal finisher encounters capacity limitations. Additionally, quality issues can halt a project entirely.

Understanding the Plating Line Process

Line plating refers to the method of applying metal alloys to a metallic surface via chemical baths. Most plating baths utilize electrical currents to perform the coating. However, some employ an autocatalytic chemical process that operates without electricity. Parts transition from one bath to another through automated machinery or manually by skilled platers. After undergoing the plating line procedure, a fresh layer of metal encapsulates the part, enhancing substrate protection and corrosion resistance. The electrical conductivity may also vary depending on the selected metal for deposition.

Many finishing facilities aim to serve a diverse customer pool across various industries, maintaining a stock of standardized tooling and generic technology. Unfortunately, this approach is often unfit for high-volume tasks requiring repeatable results. Consistent quality results demand equipment that is meticulously calibrated to exact specifications, achievable with a dedicated plating line.

What Constitutes a Dedicated Plating Line?

A dedicated plating line employs the plating line method but is tailored, planned, and equipped solely to handle a specific part or part family for a client. Essentially, the finishing tanks and equipment are dedicated exclusively to a single customer, including specialized labor resources.

The client determines the specifics of the parts processed: what goes through the line, the timing, and the quantity. When choosing to outsource plating, the finisher sets prices and lead times based on the purchase order and technical prints, which may vary depending on their current workload and available workforce.

A dedicated line can be configured to meet specific price objectives, lead times, quality standards, and mitigate line contamination and foreign object debris (FOD).

If contemplating a dedicated plating line, it's essential for the customer to evaluate the organizational objectives and competitive advantages they wish to achieve. Critical considerations include: What really matters to the organization?

When Does a Dedicated Plating Line Make Sense?

Dedicated plating lines are fundamentally driven by capacity needs. Most plating enterprises struggle to manage significant daily increases in capacity without compromising service quality to existing customers. A dedicated plating line provides the integrated benefits while avoiding the complexities of daily management.

Numerous manufacturers prefer to concentrate on their core competencies without the inclination to integrate metal finishing operations vertically. Others express frustration over the overhead costs incurred from managing quality and purchasing processes with multiple external metal finishing vendors while trying to fulfill client lead times. A dedicated line effectively addresses both challenges.

Drawbacks of Vertically Integrating Metal Finishing

Establishing vertical integration for metal finishing poses significant challenges. Factors such as waste treatment, disposal handling, compliance with EPA regulations, acquiring skilled labor, and obtaining necessary certifications (e.g., NADCAP, ITAR, AS, ISO) generate considerable expenses and responsibilities.

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Moreover, integrating vertically carries inherent risks. A plating facility can be prone to fire hazards. While disrupting a plating operation is unfortunate, it can have detrimental effects on the entire manufacturing process.

Key Questions to Consider Before Implementing a Dedicated Line

Several factors should be examined when discussing dedicated plating lines:

• What is the expected duration of the project?
• Is this ongoing work likely to continue for the foreseeable future?
• Is this a new part or part family with expected longevity?
• Does this approach financially make sense?

Investing in dedicated plating line services incurs costs and must produce adequate sales per square foot while meeting customer price expectations to be viable. The return on investment should be advantageous for all stakeholders involved.

INCERTEC PLATING LINE SERVICES

At INCERTEC, our objective is to consistently maintain available space and capacity for dedicated plating lines. Our significant growth has been anchored on this partnership principle. Collaborate with us, and we will assist you in identifying the optimal solution.

Historically, most chrome baths employ lead anodes. When discussing lead anodes, it’s vital to understand that these components are never crafted from pure lead alone. This is because chromic acid in the bath can erode pure lead, primarily when there’s no electrical current present. Additionally, pure lead is relatively soft, lacks structural integrity, and tends to sag under its weight. Therefore, lead is typically alloyed with other metals to achieve desired characteristics, often varying the proportions of antimony, tin, and silver based on the application at hand.

Antimony: This element imparts hardness, rigidity, and curling/sagging resistance, making it ideal when strength is paramount. However, higher concentrations of antimony might lead to increased surface scaling and less optimal trivalent control. Antimony properties include a density of 0.24 lbs. per cubic inch and a melting temperature of degrees F.

Tin: Enhancing corrosion resistance and conductivity, tin reduces surface scaling and improves trivalent control, especially in high fluoride environments. Its density is approximately 0.26 lbs. per cubic inch, with a melting point of 450 degrees F.

Silver: A minor addition of silver (0.5 - 1%) significantly boosts corrosion resilience and conductivity. Due to its high cost, it’s utilized primarily when extended anode life is crucial, such as in high fluoride baths.

C.P. Grade Lead: In producing various alloys, CP grade lead (99.9% chemically pure) serves as the essential material. With a density of 0.41 lbs. per cubic inch, its melting temperature is recorded at 620 degrees F.

Lead Alloys: These anode materials are sourced from smelters and pre-alloyed per specifications, available in various forms like ingots, cast mats, rolled sheets, bars, and extruded materials tailored for specific applications. Superior density is attributed to extruded and rolled forms compared to cast materials, enhancing resilience and longevity.

Standardizing alloys and limiting to one type per bath is advisable to avoid mixing. Acquiring lead alloys from scrap dealers can be risky due to unknown quality. Generally, lead alloys utilized for chrome plating exhibit a density around 0.40 lbs. per cubic inch and melting points between 580 and 600 degrees F.