Get Your Free Research and White Papers!

It never ceases to amaze me, the amount of research and testing that goes into plating a small part or powder coating a new substrate.
 

Get it right, and the product will last a lifetime in the most adverse weather and conditions. Miss it just a hair, and you might have peeling, discoloration or, worst of all, corrosion.
 

Many in the finishing industry spend hundreds of hours each year testing new products, pretreatments, coatings and equipment in order to give OEMs and consumers the best finish that money can buy. This is why Products Finishing has launched a new section on PFonline.com that highlights research and data on various topics in the industry.
 

Our new Research/White Paper zone has all the latest and greatest information on what works and doesn’t work, through trial and error of suppliers, researchers, academics and others in the field … and with no fees to pay, ever.
 

Been up all night wondering about corrosion-current data for nickel-chromium couples? Go to PFonline.com, and read what William Safranek, Robert Hardy and Hugh Miller wrote about it.
What’s the latest research on stripping metallic coatings? Frank Altmayer, the NASF technical education director from Scientific Control Laboratories in Chicago has a paper that is a must-read on the topic.
 

Want to know about electroplating of zinc-based die castings in a system incorporating dual chromium? James Lindsay, William Lovell and David Hardesty wrote a paper on it several years ago that we have featured in our Research/White Paper zone.
 

The name James Lindsay may ring a bell to many of you who read PF’s NASF Report, but the author of the paper referenced above is actually the father of NASF Technical Editor Dr. Jim Lindsay, who edits the research papers for the NASF that are published on PFonline.com.
 

Dr. Lindsay’s father was born in Scotland, and, upon graduation from General Motors Institute of Technology in 1932, began R&D work on electroplating, painting and welding at General Motors Corp.’s Ternstedt-Detroit plant. Much like his son today, James Lindsay was very involved in the American Electroplating Society, eventually becoming a member of the board of directors. He was the 1969–70 AES national president and was technical editor for Plating from 1973 to 1976.
 

If you have research material you would like published, please send it to my attention at the email address at the bottom of this column and we’ll be happy to consider it. We’ll also share these submissions with Dr. Lindsay for consideration to be “peer reviewed.” Anyone interested in conducting such peer reviews of papers should contact him directly at jhlindsay@charter.net with a list of areas of expertise he or she would be willing to take on.
 

We are looking for white papers on finishing topics, whether it be plating, painting, powder coating, anodizing, mechanical finishing or any other area of interest to the industry. These papers don’t have to be technical in nature; what we are looking for is research and information on subjects such as:
•    What to look for when buying specific equipment.
•    Processes that save time and money for shops.
•    Tips and techniques to help job shops become more efficient in operation.
•    Best practices to deliver products to customers.
 

And, more importantly, please visit PFonline.com and take a look at the research and technical material we already have for your review. There is no charge to read it. We think sharing information in our industry is important, and we look forward to bringing it to you.
 

So if you’ve been searching day and night for an overview of hard chromium plating using trivalent chromium solutions, we’ve got just the answer for you: PFonline.com’s Research/White Paper zone.