In this section you can find some technical articles about surface coatings and precision mechanics.
One of the most common questions we receive from those approaching a technical surface treatment for the first time is:
“How much does it cost per kilo?”
Whether we’re talking about electroless nickel plating or anodizing, the correct answer is: it depends.
One of the main properties of electroless nickel plating is its corrosion resistance. Electroless nickel plating is in fact used on mechanical metal parts (steel, aluminium alloys or copper) when protection from oxidation and corrosion by external agents is required.
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The main metal alloys used in the mechanical field are iron, aluminium and copper alloys, thanks to their mechanical characteristics and their availability, cheapness and ease to be machined.
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Clean energy has become a top priority for governments and industries around the world, as reducing greenhouse gas emissions has become critical to limiting the impact of climate change. In this context, hydrogen is emerging as a promising clean energy source for vehicles and beyond.
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Difference between electroless Nickel Plating and Electroplated Coatings
Electroplated coatings (such as chrome plating, electroless nickel plating, zinc plating, zinc-nickel plating) are deposited by applying direct current to the part, which allows the metal to be deposited on the surface of the part to be coated.
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The hard anodizing of aluminum is a process that allows creating a layer of aluminum oxide on the material’s surface with hardness and wear resistance properties superior to those of natural or architectural anodizing.
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ASTM B733 - Standard Specification for Autocatalytic (Electroless) Nickel-Phosphorus Coatings on Metal
ATSM B733 is the international standard for electroless nickel plating, mainly used in the United States of America.
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Busbar is the technical term for the connecting bars between points in an electrical transfer or distribution circuit, normally of high power.
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This tool converts the harness values to different scales: Brinell (HB), Vickers (HV) and Rockwell C (HRC). It is based on the conversion data for non-austenitic steels extracted from ASTM E140 standard (Table 1).
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Electroless nickel plating is a surface treatment that uniformly coats the part with an alloy of nickel and phosphorus. Changing the composition of the treatment bath produces types of electroless nickel with different percentages of phosphorus and consequently different characteristics.
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Anodizing (also known as anodic oxidation) is an electrochemical process that produces a compact oxide layer on the metal surface of the treated part. This process uses electric current and its name comes from the fact that the part to be treated is connected to the anode of an electrolytic cell.
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After the fall of the Berlin Wall, several Russian technologies were investigated by the western world in the early 90s to assess their industrial applicability. These technologies came from Russian space and military research. Among the surface treatments for metals, electrolytic treatments called Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation PEO, also known as Micro-Arc Oxidation MAO, gained a certain amount of interest, they made it possible to create an extremely hard and compact oxide layer on aluminium , magnesium and titanium using high-voltage current.
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aluminium anodizing, also known as anodic oxidation, is an electrolytic process by which a layer of aluminium oxide is formed on the surface of the workpiece to be treated, giving it excellent surface characteristics.
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The first electrolytes for industrial-level Chrome plating were introduced in the second half of the 19th century and improved in the early 20th century. The main component of the chromium plating bath is the Chromium trioxide CrO3 known as chromic acid when in solution. Chromium in this electrolyte is in hexavalent form and its salts are called Chromates.
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Aluminum is a metal widely used for the production of items that come into contact with food. Pots, pans, utensils, trays and foil are made of aluminum. Aluminum objects that come into contact with food are often protected through painting or anodizing.
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Electroless nickel plating is commonly applied successfully to all aluminum alloys. Its uniform thickness, corrosion resistance and high hardness are an efficient barrier against corrosive agents and situations where wear plays an important role.
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ISO 4527 “Autocatalytic (electroless) nickel-phosphorus alloy coatings” is the international standard for electroless nickel plating coatings. The norm defines a standardized designation of the treatment. It defines the specifications and main characteristics of the treatment to be applied on the parts.
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Nickel is a naturally occurring metallic element with a silvery white, lustrous appearance. It is the 24th most common element on earth and occurs widely distributed in the rocks of the earth’s crust and core.
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With the online calculator presented below, you can determine the dimensional
tolerances of shafts and holes.
This tool takes into consideration the coatings applied to mechanical parts,
allowing you to calculate the dimensional tolerances needed in mechanical
pre-treatment machining, in order to ensure the correct tolerance of the
finished piece after surface treatment.
Electroless nickel plating is often applied to mechanical parts for its corrosion resistance properties.
The electroless nickel layer has high chemical resistance and uniform thickness. These characteristics make it possible to create a barrier between the base alloy and the external environment, greatly increasing the corrosion resistance of the part.
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The electroless nickel plating process allows the creation of composite coatings made of functional particles included in a nickel matrix. Through the process, it is possible to incorporate into the chemical nickel layer the particles suspended in the treatment bath.
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Customers often have questions about how coatings affect part size. Some of the most common questions are: what is the change in size caused by the coating, should tolerated holes be masked, and what happens to threads?
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