Letter 4680

Plate-out on contact wheels of continuous plater

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Anybody see the contact wheels of a wire plater or strip plater build up with plating?

We suspect two things:

1). The 316 stainless steel wheels are not properly passivated. We plan to electropolish them.

2). That there is a sneak path whereby the contact wheels of this tank are cathodic to some other contact wheel on the line, with the result that current is flowing through the strip and causing deposition on the wheel.

Feedback would be appreciated from anybody who has seen a similar problem solved.

 
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

Dear Mr Mooney,

In the wire plants I have seen the contact wheels or contact strips are made of copper only .

If I am not incorrect , I assume that your SS Contact wheels are supposed to be cathodic in the first place so where's the question of stray current coming from ?

Secondly the cathodic contact strip/wheel is to be mounted before the plating tank and not after, as the solution is likely to carry over and coat the contact material.

rgds,

Khozema Vahanwala Saify Ind   Bangalore, Karnataka, India

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