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Why does part become too brittle after the de-embrittlement process? What should I do? [Australia] 

May 4, 2007

I work in the automotive industry and having problem with part (Zinc plated and gone thru the de-embrittlement process. During assembly of this part, the tang on the part is too brittle and broken off during the assembly process.Please advise.

Raymond Goh
Quality Engineer - Melbourne, Australia

Hydrogen embrittlement damage occurs quickly and is permanent, Raymond. You must do the baking almost immediately -- how much time actually elapsed?

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, NJ

What Ted said is extremely true.
Next, is the part properly designed?? Try mounting a couple dozen unplated parts and see how many break.
Next, you may need to do a pre-bake or a shot peening process.
But normally, if the parts are in the oven within 30 minutes and spend 4 hours with the parts at 375F, you should have no problem. Spending too long in the acid etch is another common cause.

James Watts
- FL