Thick chromium plating means the process of coating the surface of a metal with a deposit of hard chromium; the purpose of this galvanic process is to make the metal more resistant to corrosion and wear.
It can also be called: thick hard chrome, thick hard chrome or, more simply, hard chrome.
How many types of chrome are there?
Based on the material to be worked on and the type of objective to be achieved, the surface treatment of metal chrome plating is declined in different types of interventions; in fact we are talking about chrome plating on aluminum, decorative chrome and, of course, thick chrome.
The thick chromium plating process, in particular, has the purpose of creating deposits of hard chrome, shiny or opaque based on the preparation of the previously coated piece, resistant to wear and with thicknesses greater than 1 μm (even up to 100 μm) directly on the object to be coated, ie without the interposition of layers of copper or nickel.
Characteristics of hard chrome coatings
The objects to be coated with hard chromium are treated in a solution of chromium salts and the metallic chromium coating is obtained with an electrochemical oxidation-reduction process.
To distinguish the chrome coatings, so as to allow their use in various sectors, are:
- high hardness (hardness varies between 900 and 1000 Hv)
- low friction coefficient
- suitability for use in severe tribological conditions
- non-stick
- good mechanical workability
- high chemical and thermal resistancea
The corrosion resistance of a chromium deposit, in particular, depends on the thickness deposited, the adhesion of the deposit and the micro-cracking.
The chrome deposit can be glossy or opaque and the roughness depends on the customer's requests: Ra between 0.1 and 2.0 can be obtained.
The electroplated chromium layer is not uniform in its distribution; in particular, there will be areas such as the edges or points of the metal, where there will be a very marked deposition, and areas such as the inside of the holes and undercuts, where the deposition will be almost zero.
What metals can be coated with thick chrome plating?
After appropriate preparatory treatments and without intermediate layers, it is possible to coat the following materials:
- Iron
- Aluminum and its alloys after special preparation
- Stainless steels
- Carbon steels also heat treated
- Copper and its alloys
- Brass
- Zamak
The maximum dimensions of the details that we can process are 1600 x 1100 x 300.
Possibility of dehydrogenation and/or lubrication with emulsifiable oils.
Other customer requests can also be met:
- the pieces can be, by means of protections, only partially chromed;
- with the use of specially designed frames and the addition of reported anodes they can also be chromed internally or in areas where normal penetration does not allow it
- we can also create two-tone glossy/matt areas on a single piece, to facilitate photocell readings or to respond to particular customer needs
