Arthur S. Kushner

Arthur S. Kushner Consultant

PLATING BATH TITRATIONS

We have now installed a small on-site laboratory and have a technician determine concentrations and “add” for our plating baths and some of our cleaners. The problem we now have is this: He does not have enough time to complete the titrations and calculate the “adds” in a timely fashion. Do you have any suggestions on how we can improve this process and reduce the time requirements?

Read More

HARD NICKEL

We plate sulfamate nickel on steel components to build up worn areas. Recently we have found that the nickel is very hard and almost impossible to machine properly. What might cause this problem?

Read More

BLACKENING OF STAINLESS STEEL

We are looking for information on a simple process for blackening of Type 420 stainless steel needles. The blackening should be permanent, corrosion-resistant and medically acceptable. Since the needles are small in size, the method should be capable of processing in bulk.

Read More

RUSTING PARTS

Our customer requires a steel part to be plated with both nickel (0.00015–0.00030 inch) and zinc (0.00025–0.00030 inch). The part is sterilized in an autoclave prior to use. Why is it rusting, and how do you suggest we solve this problem?

Read More

PAINT ADHESION ON STAINLESS STEEL

We use stainless steel fasteners that have to be painted after assembly. We have tried a number of different processes, but adhesion of the paint has been poor. We would prefer a black finish. Do you have any suggestions?

Read More

A NOTE TO MY READERS

What’s wrong with my plating bath?

Read More

Cracked Chrome

We have a problem with our hard chrome plate. A customer has stated that the hard chrome we are plating has “too many cracks” and the cracks are “too deep.” Where can we obtain additional information on how to control the cracking?

Read More

CQI-11 Assessment

Recently our company was asked when we will implement the CQI-11 Plating System Assessment Program. Before we can do anything we must find out what it is. Do you have any information on this program?

Read More

Makeup of a Woods Nickel Strike

I am confused about the makeup of a Woods nickel strike bath. Some of the terminology that is used is different than the terminology I learned in my chemistry classes. Can you give me some help with this problem?

Read More

Nickel-Iron Pitting Problems

We monitor surface tension and keep the value below 50 dynes/cm. The bath is agitated vigorously using a low-pressure air blower. Do you have any suggestions on how we might solve this problem?

Read More

Plating Floating Plastic Parts

We are trying to plate small plastic parts that float in the plating solution. The parts have an electroless copper coat and must be plated with nickel and gold. We would like to barrel plate the parts rather than rack them. Do you have any suggestions as to how this can be done?

Read More

More Blisters

We are plating Type 303 stainless steel with copper using a cyanide copper plating bath. After the completion of the cyanide plating step, we observe blisters on the surface of the parts. We use 5-gal tanks. What are we doing wrong?

Read More
PF Podcast
FABTECH 2024
The Finishing Industry’s Education and Networking Resource
Koch Finishing Systems
Metal Pretreatment Technology
Gardner Intelligence
New Acid-Free Bright Nickel Process
find masking products online
Heatmax Heaters ad with short lead times