Manufacturers in the automotive industry are always seeking ways to protect their products from the relentless forces of corrosion. Most of us who have owned a vehicle over a period of several years have probably experienced the onset of rust at some point. Rust can spread quickly, and the ensuing damage can ruin a paint job in no time. We’ve all seen those unsightly holes caused by rust eating through a car’s body!
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There are many factors that contribute to the onset of rust on a vehicle. Bird droppings, acid rain, dirt, tree sap and even dead insects can destroy a vehicle’s finish. As the paint and clear coat are “eaten away” by these contaminants over time, the underlying metal body parts become more susceptible to corrosion. Exposure to road or sea salt will significantly hasten the corrosion process. Even a small scratch provides an open invitation to rust. Washing a car once a week can go a long way toward preserving a vehicle’s finish, as it will remove most of these contaminants before they have a chance to inflict their damage.
Corrosion can do much more than cause the premature demise of a vehicle’s finish. It can also infiltrate vital operating systems such as the fuel, brake, electrical and electronic systems. Unlike highly visible external body rust, the corroding of these internal systems often is not evident until extensive damage has occurred.
Prior to the s, automotive corrosion was pretty much limited to coastal areas where it was primarily caused by sea salt in the air. However, by the s, the widespread use of de-icing materials on roadways led to a serious corrosion problem in the snowbelt regions of the U.S. While automotive manufacturers have since begun to implement various anti-corrosion techniques into their production processes, CorrosionCost.com reports rust-related damage still costs consumers approximately $23.4 billion per year. Here is a breakdown of these costs:
As mentioned, automotive manufacturers began to place a stronger focus on corrosion protection during the s. This led to the increased use of an automotive metal finishing technique called electroplating. In simple terms, metal plating entails the deposition of metal ions onto the surface of a metal part, which is known as the substrate. These metal ions are one component used to produce an electrolyte solution, commonly referred to as a plating bath. A DC electrical current is used to initiate a reaction that causes the deposition of the metal ions found in the plating bath onto the surface of the substrate, forming a thin, protective metal coating.
At Sharretts Plating Company, we specialize in metal finishing for motorcycles and cars to provide a protective coating against corrosion. For many years, we have provided effective plating solutions that are widely used throughout the automotive industry. In addition to rust protection, we can perform automotive plating that can brighten the finish on metal or non-metal parts and even metallize plastic parts to improve sturdiness. There are a number of metals that are used when implementing electroplating as an automotive metal finishing technique.
Alloying is the process of combining two or more metals to produce a new material. This is typically done to maximize the properties and characteristics of each metal. Plating with a zinc-nickel alloy provides a potent one-two punch that can stop corrosion in its tracks.In essence, the zinc-nickel serves as a sacrificial barrier coating to prevent rust from reaching the surface of the metal part. The typical zinc-nickel ratio consists of approximately 80-94% zinc to 6-20% nickel.
A reliable way to determine the level of corrosion resistance of a material is through the implementation of salt spray testing. This method involves the placement of the material in an enclosed cabinet where a spray nozzle is used to apply a saltwater solution at high pressure. During salt spray testing, an automotive metal finishing process using a zinc-nickel alloy has been shown to prevent the formation of white rust for up to 500 hours and red rust for as long as 1,000 hours.
The application of a zinc-nickel coating is often followed by a passivation layer that may either be clear or black. Passivation is a technique that involves the deposition of a light coating and is typically used to enhance the corrosion resistance of the finished product. A corrosion-resistance sealer is then applied to complete the process.
Zinc and zinc-nickel plating can also improve the appearance of an automotive part. The zinc component adds a shininess that can brighten the part’s finish, closely resembling a gleaming chrome finish. You can find this type of automotive metal finishing on many types of car and motorcycle parts including under-the-hood components, power steering systems, chassis hardware, brake systems and many others.
Palladium is a lustrous, silver-white metal that plays a key role in the modern auto manufacturing process. A member of the platinum group of metals, which also includes platinum, osmium, iridium, rhodium and ruthenium, palladium is the least dense and features the lowest melting point of all the platinum metals. A key characteristic of palladium is that it will not react with oxygen under normal temperatures, so it will not tarnish when exposed to air. Palladium is also harder than gold and offers excellent resistance against corrosion and wear.
Palladium plating is used in the production of the catalytic converters that transform toxic exhaust gases into less harmful substances. In particular, palladium possesses the remarkable ability to absorb excess hydrogen that can lead to the formation of pungent hydrogen sulfide gas. More than half of the palladium used for manufacturing goes toward the production of catalytic converters.
Automotive parts may be plated with gold in some instances. One might think of gold primarily in terms of its aesthetic appeal. Automotive gold plating will enhance the appearance of exterior parts,such as emblems, hood ornaments, door handles and wheel rims and is offered by some car dealers as an aftermarket service for car owners who wish to enhance the style of their vehicles.Gold plating will also make these exterior parts much more resistant to corrosion and wear.
Gold plating is also used to improve the electrical conductivity of electronic parts and components. The modern automobile is controlled by various electronic systems. The use of automotive gold plating will enable these systems to operate more efficiently and even increase their lifespan. For instance, the application of a gold coating onto electrical connectors will enable a lower contact resistance. This will improve the long-term reliability and stability of the connector. It will also shield the contact interface from atmospheric deterioration.
Perhaps the biggest drawback in choosing automotive gold plating is the relatively high cost. Gold is classified as a precious metal, meaning it is relatively rare and more expensive than other types of metals. However, because of its many long-lasting protective properties, gold offers the best value in the long run. Most metal finishing experts will recommend the use of automotive gold plating processes wherever appropriate, as long as it fits a company’s budget.
SPC has extensive expertise in the area of automotive gold plating. We can provide sound advice regarding the use of automotive gold plating for your manufacturing processes. We can also recommend a more affordable substitute for certain automotive plating techniques if applicable. For instance, some palladium alloys can provide comparable results to automotive gold plating in electronics applications.
These days, many new and aftermarket exterior auto parts such as grilles, bumpers and wheel rims are made of some type of plastic. This is a way to make vehicles lighter and more fuel-efficient. However, this extensive use of plastics does present certain issues. For instance, parts made of plastic are often not as durable as their metal counterparts. What’s more, plastic is not an electrically conductive material, making its use impractical in the manufacturing of certain electronic automotive components. There’s also the problem of aesthetics. Plastic simply cannot replicate the gleaming appearance of metal on automotive trim and exterior parts.
While difficult to execute properly, electroplating a metal coating onto these non-metallic parts is achievable and can significantly improve their appearance and increase their usefulness. The ““metallization” of plastic parts typically involves the etching of the plastic substrate in a chromic acid-based solution to promote adhesiveness. This is followed by the immersion of the substrate in a nickel- or copper-based plating solution, a process known as electroless plating due to the absence of electricity. The final step is the electrodeposition of the metal of choice, which can be gold, nickel, copper or silver depending on the desired result. SPC is one of the few automotive metal finishing companies that have mastered this challenging process.
Plating and metal finishing for cars and motorcycles isn’t limited to electroplating. A process known as electroless plating, which involves the deposition of metal onto a substrate without the introduction of an electric current, is widely used in many automotive manufacturing applications. An electroless plating bath consisting of nickel and a 3-5% boron component can serve as a suitable substitute for chrome plating. As mentioned, electroless nickel plating can also be implemented as a step in the electroplating procedure.
In general, electroless plating offers certain advantages over traditional electroplating processes. Because it does not require the use of electrical power, electroless nickel plating can be a more cost-effective automotive metal finishing solution. It also results in a more even coating of parts and can reach recessed areas and blind holes with greater efficiency. Electroless plating enables a more uniform coating of the substrate and makes it easier to achieve the desired coating thickness. Finally, electroless nickel is regarded as a simpler process, as it requires less in the way of complex or sophisticated machinery.
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There are some disadvantages associated with electroless plating. The largest disadvantage of boron electroless nickel plating is that it offers limited corrosion protection. The lifespan of the chemicals used to create the plating solution is also limited. The lack of electricity requires more frequent bath maintenance to avoid the rapid depletion of the chemicals used to produce the desired chemical reaction.
In summary, metal plating provides a number of important benefits for the automotive industry:
With nine decades of metal finishing experience to draw upon, SPC can develop a customized car or motorcycle electroplating process for any vehicle manufacturing application. We have been at the forefront of automotive metal finishing technology for many years, including the development of a revolutionary automotive gold plating process that can enhance the performance of electrical and electronic operating systems.
At SPC, we take a solutions-oriented approach to the automotive metal finishing process. We work closely with our customers to develop a customized plating process that meets their needs and fits their budget requirements. This often involves an on-site consultation so we can observe your current manufacturing procedures in person. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of how your business operates, we can then recommend the most appropriate plating solution. We can also create a prototype that allows us to fully test a plating method prior to full-scale implementation.
You can also count on us to deliver a high-quality automotive metal finishing solution. SPC has been an ISO-certified company since . This exemplifies our ongoing commitment to providing the best products and services to our customer base. It also demonstrates our non-wavering focus on continuous improvement in everything we do.
*Please note that Sharretts Plating does not plate with chrome. This content is for educational purposes only.
Choosing the right electrical contact system can be one of the most important decisions for a plating operation. Plating shops use high-current rectifiers and are large energy consumers. Poor power distribution and inefficient contacts are often the key factors driving large electrical losses, quality problems and costly plant shutdowns.
Not only are contacts exposed to high electrical currents, but they also are subject to mechanical and aggressive chemical abuse. A new and clean electrical contact system may perform well, but after a year or so of use, it will perform much differently. It’s essential that the contact area transmit the current with minimal electrical loss on its way to the rack and, more specifically, to the components that are being plated or anodized in the tanks.
Contact saddles often are specified with a simple bronze-casting V-block design, but this critical contact junction sometimes does not have a large enough surface area or electrical cross section to meet the high current requirements of the rectifier.
New contact and power distribution systems are being designed to meet those technical demands, however, as well as to address issues of chemical corrosion and contact cleaning. No one contact design would work perfectly with every plating application, however, as there are many different tank construction and design philosophies. The most common flight bar shape, for example, is rectangular, in a variety of thicknesses and heights, and they demand specialized contacts in order to work efficiently. In some cases, extreme chemical exposure requires special consideration to ensure proper contact over a longer period of time. And the availability of adequate space for contact placement on a tank rim may also require a custom design or modification.
There are a number of important factors to consider in selecting new contacts:
A fire in a plating plant is not unheard of, and many workers in these shops have smelled and felt the heat from overheated flight bars and contact saddles. It’s not uncommon for flight bars, contact saddles, base plates, cables and electrical bus bars to be warm to the touch, but hot is unacceptable, and will put the plant and personnel at high risk for injury. High heat is generated from the rectifier to the bus bars, in cables from the bus bars to the contacts, as well as in the interface between the flight bar and the contact saddle. Cables, particularly if they contain too small a cross section of copper and are inadequately sized, or if they are frayed, worn, chemically burned or have improperly crimped lugs, are many times the culprit when fire erupts.
Often, the single most critical area of high heat generation is at the point where the flight bar and the contact saddle meet during the transfer of electrical power; in the case of a V-block contact saddle and a round bar, this interface would be only two thin lines of contact. In addition to temperatures high enough to cause fires or burn employees, a great amount of energy and current are lost in travelling to the parts on the rack, and this can adversely affect the time and deposition rate of plating.
Many shops use an upside-down J channel or shepherd’s hook design at the top end of the racks’ arms for hanging off the bus bar. This is also an area of little surface contact, which leads to a reduced current flow. Rack contacts with a V design ensure that the contact area is large and consistent, easily alleviating this problem.
Spring-loaded contact systems are available for amperages ranging to 14,000 amps. These systems are based on two spring-mounted contact fingers on parallel contact halves. The distance between the spring-loaded fingers is slightly smaller than the rack, thus allowing the contact surfaces to be cleaned by abrasion. The weight of the bus bar when lifting allows it to be easily removed with little resistance from the fingers. Additionally, stainless steel covers protect the fingers from the plating chemicals while also acting as centering guides for movements such as a swinging flight bar as it enters the contact block. This contact block system is relatively inexpensive and can be designed in a variety of sizes ranging to 5,000 amps per contact block; a reinforced cast block with integrated guides for amperages to 14,000 amps also is available.
Pneumatically controlled contact blocks are the next step toward increasing current transfer. Available in a finger contact design or a plate contact design, they are designed for transferring large currents as well as for very light flight bars.
Poor contact pressure at a clamping connection combined with the cross section, material and surface condition, are the essential factors responsible for electrical resistance and power losses. Electrical resistance decreases with increased pressure, brought about by the further evolution of the contact block using hydro-pneumatic power. This allows clamping pressure as strong as 10 tons for a 5,000-amp contact at 90 psi. This clamping pressure is exponentially higher than with a spring-loaded or pneumatically controlled contact block, making them ideal for transferring current in applications ranging from 3,000 to 15,000 amps and more.
Consistent quality in any plating process is negatively affected by corrosion. Exposing contact surfaces to this environment leads to increased electrical resistance, heat-related problems and even the destruction of individual components. Optimizing automated process flow, and minimizing repair and maintenance costs requires cleaning systems. Hand cleaners can quickly clean finger contacts or other contact surfaces, and flight bar supports at the rinsing tanks can also be substituted with cleaning saddles, ensuring that the flight bar is automatically cleaned before the next plating or anodizing cycle.
Overall, specifying the correct contact saddles, rack contacts and adequately sized cable connectors are important factors in full optimization of a plating or anodizing facility. By taking the time to make an informed decision up front, shops can save time and money, and improve production in the future.