Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


-----

Help to plate cast aluminum

I am looking for solutions to overcome the wear in aluminum cast bores "Valve Body" the maximum operating pressure is 400 PSI. The plating layer shall have about 0.020 Inch about 0.5 mm thickness , please advise what is the cost effective plating technique and other alternative solutions to consider.

Thanks,

Salim Safran
- Chicago
 

---

Mr. Salim,

The thickness you mention is beyond normal plating range. You have to look for suppliers that do electroforming, vacuum deposition or thermospraying. All of these processes have pros and cons, some are very expensive, and most surely all will require additional processing since the growth of such a layer is almost impossible to control accurately enough for a valve housing.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico