What is selective plating?
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Before we get into the definition, let&#;s take a moment to consider zinc-nickel alloys. Did you know that a combination of 15% nickel and 85% zinc provides corrosion resistance than zinc alone?
When you combine two metals to create an alloy, it can sometimes offer advantages the disparate metals alone do not have. It can also reduce your costs without sacrificing quality.
In the case above, nickel slows the corrosion process. You can use 6% to 20% nickel to produce the best outcome. Together, the metals prevent the formation of white rust for 500 hours or red rust for 1,000 hours.
The process of applying an additional layer of metal is called metal plating. This article describes the type of metal plating called selective plating. By the time you finish, you&#;ll know what it is and why people use it.
Before we dive in and talk about things like selective gold plating, we need to review the basic science behind plating.
Electroplating necessitates the use of electric currents. The electricity reduces the dissolved metal cations. They&#;re ions with a positive charge.
The current helps cations form a thin metal coating on a submerged object in a process called electrodeposition. It changes the surface properties of an object. This increases corrosion resistance, reduces friction, and improves durability.
Similar to a circuit, the electroplating process uses electrodes to create a thin metal coating. We call the item to be plated a cathode. The metal to be applied is called the anode.
You immerse both components in an electrolyte bath which contains metal salts to help increase the flow of electricity.
When you apply the electric current to the anode, it oxidizes the metal atoms and dissolves them into the electrolyte solution. The cathode attracts these metal ions. The ions stick to the object and begin to plate together.
After you finish the process, the cathode&#;s chemical, physical, and mechanical properties change. We&#;ve already stated some of the commonly sought properties of metal plating. Others include improved strength and resistance to pressure.
Electroless methods don&#;t require any additional electricity. They produce what they need through auto-catalytic chemical reactions. The process requires several reactions to take place in the liquid bath in which the object to be plated is immersed.
Sometimes, rather than plating an entire object, you may want to plate only part of it. This process is commonly called selective plating or brush plating.
The brush is typically a stainless steel piece wrapped in cloth. It holds a plating solution and stops the body from making direct contact. An operator dips the bush in a plating solution and applies a plate to a localized area.
This spot-plating technique can repair and refurbish any part or component. It doesn&#;t require immersion in an electrolyte bath, but it still uses the same principles of electroplating.
In some ways, brush plating looks like welding. An operator holds the flexible brush and attaches it to the power supply.
The cathode is still the object to be plated. The anode, on the other hand, now comes in the form of a handle wrapped in absorbent material, usually cloth. The cloth sucks up the electrolyte solution during the brush plating process.
When the operator moves the anode over the cathode, it completes a circuit. This initiates the plating process. You may apply the electrolyte solution to the brush by dipping your brush or pumping in the solution.
Note: Don&#;t confuse selective plating for metals and selective plating for biological materials. The first adds a layer of metal to an object. The second is used by scientists to grow bacteria and viruses for study.
When you compare these two types of plating, consider the following benefits of brush plating:
One of the most considerable advantages of brush plating is that you can do it anywhere. This mobile service can travel just as quickly to your factory or your offsite location. You need not transport your materials to the electroplating facility.
Selective plating&#;s ideal for small jobs and low-volume needs.
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Electroplating with an immersion bath is more suitable for large-volume projects. It can produce metal plating thicker than that provided by selective plating. It also gives a greater uniformity on the surface of the cathode.
It&#;s ideal for objects with surfaces which need to be painted. The metal creates the perfect surface.
Whether you work in the aerospace, energy, or manufacturing industry, selective plating is the perfect tool. It offers excellent flexibility and eliminates downtime. It also reduces the problems created when you take components off-site to be treated.
This type of plating helps to eliminate build-up on essential bearings and bushings. You can plate a localized area near those with close tolerances or thick walls. Also, some metals give unique advantages for soldering and welding.
Furthermore, metals that offer a greater strength increase the strength of your components&#; joints. You can even choose metals which give you enhanced conductivity. In a full immersion bath, these metals may otherwise be cost inhibitive, as they are usually precious metals.
Some components are also too large or unwieldy. They&#;re unsuitable for immersion baths. When you use a brush, you can quickly plate said components.
Operators can use both metals and complex alloys when plating your goods. Each offers its own chemical, mechanical, and physical properties. In some cases, it comes in the form of a clean, bright shine. In others, it&#;s the reduction of wear and tear.
These are the metals most commonly used in plating:
Note: this is not an exhaustive list. The metals here represent the most common ones used.
Well, did you learn all you need to learn about selective plating? If not, we&#;ve at least laid the groundwork for what you need to know.
If you need to learn more, don&#;t hesitate. Jump over to our contact an expert page and fill out the form to get in touch with us. Do it now, while it&#;s still fresh in your mind.
So long and good luck!
Selective Plating is almost as old as electroplating itself. Although it has been used for such a long time and quite broadly, it is interesting that many professionals, particularly in mechanical engineering, are unaware of this method. Selective Plating is a cutting-edge mobile method for the electrolytic coating of localized surfaces without the use of electroplating tanks. The same processes take place during selective plating as in traditional electroplating, such as chrome plating in large tanks, but in selective plating, metal is deposited using a cotton brush placed on a graphite anode, which resembles the anode used in traditional electroplating. The cathode, similarly to traditional electroplating, is the item to be coated. The selective plating process applies a metal coating to precisely specified locations and with a precisely specified thickness. The metal coating process is much faster than in traditional electroplating (galvanic deposition), and therefore enables an absolutely precise thickness of the metal coating.
Diagram of Selective Plating principle Translation of DiagramSelective Plating is used for repairs, as well as for the electroplating of new parts. It is used for repairs where the parts are mechanically damaged &#; scratches, dents, holes or damage due to corrosion or wear and tear. The scope of use of such repairs is very broad. These repairs can save parts that would otherwise have to be manufactured anew at great cost and with a certain period of time required for their production. If, for instance, scratches appear on a piston rod with a depth of 2 mm, it is not possible to repair it conventionally, because it would be extremely expensive and technically infeasible. Imagine that it would have to be ground by 2 mm in radius, and then it is basically impossible to achieve the original size using traditional electroplating. In such case, either a combination of micro welding and brush electroplating is used, or only brush electroplating &#; both approaches are possible. In the former case, the defect would be partially built-up by micro welding and the hole would be filled, and then the rest of the metal coating would be performed using the selective plating process, or the hole would first be filled with one material, and the rest would then be filled up to the original size using the same selective plating method. The selective plating equipment is mobile, which makes it possible to carry out repairs on site, as well as in parts built into various machines and equipment.
Selective plating Technique in Comparison to Other Metal Repair MethodsAreas of Application
Selective Plating is used in various industries, just like chrome plating is used for manufacturing in various mechanical engineering sectors. Selective Plating is used exclusively, for example, for the maintenance of certain parts of all aircraft throughout the world. All aircraft repair shops in the world exclusively use selective plating for the maintenance of landing gear, as well as of other parts; the same applies to the production of these parts in the aviation industry.
Selective Plating is commonly used for on-site repairs in the cellulose and paper industry. Typical applications include the diameters of bearings of suction rolls, diameters of bearings of the drier heads, repairs of surface defects caused by maintenance, bearing bushes in pumps, openings of impellers, shaft bearing journals and sealing surfaces, bearing bushes in electric motors, rotor journals, collectors and bus bars. In power generation plants, this method can be used for repairs of steam turbine bearing journals, flange joints, cylinder liners of diesel engines, connecting rod openings and crankshaft journals.
Selective Plating is almost exclusively used for repairs of rolls in printing and paper machines, where the repairs are carried out without disassembly directly on the rolls of these machines.
Selective Plating is also used in the chemical and petrochemical industries, where it enables quick and cost-effective maintenance cycles. Thanks to the use of this process, maintenance technicians can repair pumps, engines, flanges, valves and other parts on site by applying the metal to the components without the heating or deformations caused by welding or thermal metal spraying. This type of plating is 60 times faster than dip coating, and is real electroplating, so the metallic bond is basically atomic, which results in excellent adhesion in comparison to other processes.
Selective Plating is also used in the energy sector. Typical applications include silver-plating of the sets of palm buttons, reactance winding, copper wedges and strips and the coating of shafts and motor parts. It is mainly used for achieving a reduction in transfer resistance and for better resistance to wear and tear.
Selective Plating is also used in the railway industry, particularly for the modification of the sizes of worn journals of axle rolling-contact bearings, and for the restoration of the sealing surfaces of friction rings, for the restoration of excessive bearing cones, repairs of cavities, dents and defects of hydraulic and sealing surfaces, and the restoration of worn bearing seals, bearing saddles and caps. These are just a few examples of possible application. The use of this technology is very universal and broad.
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