Stress relieving & de-embrittlement

High tensile, hardened and spring steels are particularly susceptible to damage by embrittlement when protective electroplated coatings are applied. Various engineering techniques including grinding and machining can create stresses in the surface of a component. Hydrogen can be introduced into components during cleaning, pickling and electroplating processes which can result in a loss of ductility, load carrying ability or cracking of a metal or alloy. Treatments such as Hard Chrome and Copper introduce elements of Hydrogen which render the material brittle. To prevent the failure of these components stress relieving and hydrogen de-embrittlement are an absolute necessity. These low temperature heat treatment processes reduce surface stresses and reduce or eliminate the danger of hydrogen embrittlement. In essence, the components are placed in an oven for several hours depending on the material requirements until the diffused hydrogen has been removed from the material. We have all the facilities to carry out these processes to ensure full compliance to specifications.

Cadmium Plating & Passivation

We are one of the few treatment houses who can offer this very effective surface treatment. It gives exceptional bonding surface for adhesives, such as those used in aircraft manufacture, and is the preferred coating for salt-water environments. The coating is electropositive to iron and has a very low contact potential to aluminium which greatly reduces the risk of corrosion when applied to fasteners in contact with the aluminium skin or frame of an aircraft. The protection of iron and steel is sacrificial in that when applied, the Cadmium Plating corrodes in preference leaving the substrate undamaged even if the coating is scratched.

Hard Chrome

Hard Chrome plating applies thick deposits of Chromium on a base material giving extremely high levels of adhesion. The plating is extremely hard enhancing durability, wear and hardness, but providing low-co-efficient of friction making it ideal when there is metal to metal contact on sliding applications.

Copper Plating (Pyrophosphate Type)

This form of Copper Plating provides high throwing power and ductile copper deposition. As the copper substrate is easy to plate then it is widely used as an undercoat for other deposits. The high throwing power and fast deposition rates of pyrophosphate copper make it a useful stopping off medium for use on steel components which are to be selectively surface hardened by nitriding or carburising.

Silver Plating (Dull)

We only offer Industrial silver plating. It has a number of properties including corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, great wear resistance, improving solderability of the substrate, exceptional lubricity even at high temperatures, high electrical conductivity and anti-galling due to its low friction properties. Silver plating can also be used to improve paint adhesion and infrared reflectivity, as well as for use in radiation shielding.

Hard Nickel (Sulphamate)

This treatment is deposited for dimensional corrections, abrasion and wear resistance, high efficiency coating and corrosion protection. It is also used as an undercoat for chromium

Stainless Steel Passivation

Passivation is a non-electrolytic finishing process that makes stainless steel more corrosion resistant. The passivation process typically uses nitric or citric acid to remove free iron from the surface. This results in an inert, protective oxide layer that is less likely to chemically react with air and cause corrosion.