
When rubber and plastic parts are coated in the thin dense chromium and XADC coatings it will reduce maintenance requirements and downtime in the molding industry, including injection, extrusion, blow, pultrusion, RIM and SMC applications. The life of the molding components gets extended, particularly when ‘glass filled’ and ‘mineral filled’ resins are being formed. ‘Mineral filled’ resins are typically used for roofing panels.
The coatings also increase material flow due to the smooth, micro-nodular surface produced by the coating, leading to more shots and shorter cycle times. Molding areas stay cleaner longer and require less maintenance when they are used, and most burned-on plastic/rubber compounds can be quickly removed. They maintain required gloss levels and enhance textured surfaces. Post-polishing can improve reflectivity to a SPE #2 level. They can be applied to all ferrous and non-ferrous materials including beryllium copper and ampcoloy bronze. Surface hardness will be increased to 78 Rc* with this coating and, in comparison, will be increased to 98 Rc* with the XADC.
When coating rubber and plastic parts, utilizing thin dense chromium coatings is optimal. The reason for that is that the thin dense chromium coating is a low-temperature, multistate surface finishing process. It utilizes proprietary chemical solutions and application processes that are carefully monitored to produce its thin dense chromium, a silver satin matte chromium coating. Precise deposits insure fidelity to part contours and details, without the edge build or “dog-boning” associated with conventional ‘chrome plating’ processes.
The benefits of using the thin dense chromium coating are:
- 78 Rc* Surface Hardness.
- Reduced wear and corrosion resistance
- Absolute adhesion to basis metal- no chipping, cracking, flaking or peeling
- Improved release characteristics in plastics forming tools-cores, cavities, lifters, pins, screws, plates
- Reduced maintenance and part replacement costs
The thin dense chromium is unlike all other conventional hard chrome plating operations. The proprietary TDC coating conforms precisely to details in metal tools, resulting in a hard (78 Rc*) slippery, and corrosion-resistant tool surface.
RMS finishes will improve slightly to (Below the process may deter slightly.) Surfaces greater than will reflect greatly improved finishes.
Source: EzineArticles.com
