52422

Chrome plating technique for lighting application  

June 19, 2009

Hi !

Can you suggest which is a better technique for lighting reflector ?
I see a great demand for LED lighting and planning to set up a manufacturing facility here in India. Will appreciate if you could advise the process flow and equipment required.

Nitin Raulji
product designer - Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Hi, Nitin. This forum has proven well suited for getting answers to highly targeted metal finishing questions, but when you need someone to guide you in the establishment of a manufacturing facility, you need to retain a metal finishing consultant.

Chromium plating is rarely used as a reflector because, despite its shiny look, it is a better absorber than reflector. If you touch a chrome plated truck bumper after a hot day in the sun, you may well burn yourself.

Have you decided whether the substrate will be metal or plastic? Common reflector materials include bright dipped and anodized aluminum, and PVD vacuum aluminized plastics. For the high end, rhodium plated reflectors are a possibility. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey