No matter your industry, there will be times when you need to coat a part — whether to protect it from conditions in its target application, improve its performance, extend its lifetime or simply to enhance its aesthetics. Regardless of the underlying reason, a coated part will have better quality than an uncoated one. But once you’ve determined that you need to coat your part, researching and evaluating the broad scope of available coating options can be daunting.
This video shows how General Magnaplate fortifies your engineered coating by infusing polymers into the substrate and applying a proprietary sealing process so it becomes an integral part of the new surface.
When it comes to contract manufacturing, relationships matter. Not only must you earn customer trust every day, you must also hope that the companies you partner with to help you serve your customers share your commitment to quality and service. That’s the kind of relationship that Firstex Industries, a global metal parts fabrication company, has established with General Magnaplate. Firstex customers know the company will fulfill an order to their exact specifications and quality standards. And when parts require surface enhancement, Firstex customers appreciate — and ask for — General Magnaplate engineered coatings.
Electroless Nickel Plating: Understand Your Options
When it comes to protecting parts against corrosion and wear, electroless nickel (EN) plating has been around for a long time—in fact, more than two centuries. When evaluating surface protection methods, it’s often worth considering this tried and true process. This overview will cover the basics of electroless nickel plating and the different types available, plus advantages and disadvantages to help you make a better-informed decision.
When you learn that a company has earned AS9100 certification, you know it is committed to continuously improving its operations. Carrying out the policies and procedures required to achieve and maintain the certification requires company-wide participation and coordination. For example, in recent years the AS9100 standard has included safety objectives, addressing counterfeit parts and approaches to risk-based thinking. These initiatives involve multiple departments and multiple stakeholders.
Sometime during your metal or alloy part’s lifetime, it will be vulnerable to corrosion. Corrosion is a common problem, and it occurs in many different forms. If you’re trying to protect a metal part, chances are a simple solution will not be sufficient. In order to address the problem, it pays to have a good understanding of corrosion and its effects.
When you need to enhance the surface of your part, chances are you don’t want to coat the entire part. Although masking is an essential aspect of the surface protection process, it is often an afterthought. Without proper attention, customers can underestimate the amount of time masking adds to the coating process. A poorly masked or unmasked part can lead to trouble down the road. To be sure, not all coating jobs require masking. But to avoid unpleasant surprises, make masking a key concern as you work with your coating provider.
If your part is made from a high-strength metal or alloy and has undergone proper finishing processes, it’s easy to be confident that it will be immune to damage when used in the field. However, it’s possible the very measures you take to ensure a reliable product may actually leave it vulnerable to an insidious and not-well-understood threat: hydrogen embrittlement.
Aerospace environments involve some of the toughest conditions for equipment. Threats like friction, galling, corrosion and high temperatures can cause some of the industry’s most common metals and alloys to fail. And if a part fails, it can be impossible to access or too costly to repair or replace.
Engineered coatings address these challenges by creating dry, lubricated surfaces that protect critical components from wear and weather—maximizing their lifespan in demanding aerospace applications.
Common Threats to Aerospace Parts
Some of most common threats to aerospace equipment include the following.
Fretting, galling and friction. Fretting and galling occur when sliding metal surfaces such as aluminum and titanium alloys generate friction and stick together under heavy loads—like when a spacecraft leaves or re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. These conditions can cause wear, fatigue and seizing on critical components.
In powder and bulk solids handling processes, many conditions can hinder equipment reliability and performance. Wherever friction or buildup can impact equipment reliability or lifetime, there’s a General Magnaplate engineered coating that can help ensure optimal material flow and machine performance.
