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-----Idiomatic / semantic problems with "plating" translations
How are the terms related to plating used correctly in English? First of all, there is "Plating" to which "electroplating" and "electroless plating" belongs. What about these dipping and fusing processes such as HAL? Are they also referred to as "plating"? In German, a difference is made between these finishing treatments which cause a diffusion, e.g. fusing and those which don't, e.g. electroplating and electroless plating. How is it in English?
Marlies Hanf- Germersheim, Germany
1999
Hi, Marlies. Thanks for the insight.
In American English, among industry people, 'plating' means electroplating; 'electroless plating' means autocatalytic plating processes like electroless nickel. We try, sometimes unsuccessfully, to call displacement processes like copper sulphate ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil link] on steel 'immersion plating' rather than 'electroless plating'. Hot dip processes are called hot dipping, except hot dip zinc processes, which are called 'galvanizing'.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
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