Abbreviations used in electroplating specs: MFZn-Ni, MFZn1c, MFZn2-C, MFZn-1S-2, MFZn8-S

? Hi Joe. You've moved on to the second problem of what does "-S" mean ...

But you've skipped over the first problem of what does "MFZn8" mean? Although it probably means 8 microns of Zinc plating, does it imply "per ASTM B-633" or "DIN xxxx" or "ISO xxxx" or "JIS xxxx" or "Honda xxxx", etc. Numerous specs may have "MFZn8", and some may have an "-S" ... but complying with one doesn't necessarily mean you complied with the spec. that the customer intended :-(

Luck & Regards,

A. Per your question regarding MFZn2-C, "C" means Yellow passivation.
B means Blue passivation,
C means Yellow passivation and
K means Black passivation

? I think C may refer to CLEAR and K may refer to Black? Be happy to hear from someone who KNOWS!

A. C means the Zn plating color is yellow, and B means Bright color.

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November 2013

Hi all. I'd bet that the answer is right within the spec and the way to know is to read the spec. I hope people are not quoting & plating to specs they don't even have -- but seeing so many inquiries here, there seems little doubt that people are doing just that. I'd love to see the certs:

"We hereby certify that these parts have been plated in full accordance with internet rumors about what that spec might say"  :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
finishing.com
Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Hi John. Apparently "MF" means a ferrous substrate in lots of different Japanese specs; "Zn-Ni" means zinc-nickel plating, "8" probably means 8 micron plating thickness. "a3-3" is probably some description of the chromating requirement but I'm not sure.

Hello Cintadi. It has the sound of a JIS spec for zinc plating plus chromating on steel to me,

These letters and numbers are not specifications! They are acronyms used within a specification. I would inquire of these customers if they are referring to Japanese specifications JIS H-8610 [link by ed. to spec at TechStreet] and JIS H-8625 [link by ed. to spec at TechStreet] or some other spec. Good luck.

A. Hi Angie. According to an on-line list of specs maintained by epiplating.com, I believe that one is a Mitsubishi Motors spec for zinc plating on a steel substrate. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Karthik.

Where did you get that spec? Did it come from a Honda drawing? If not, is it reasonable to think from the circumstances where you found it that it is a Honda spec? If it came from Honda, you get the spec from your Honda buyer. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Muhammad. It sounds like zinc-nickel alloy plating. Please put it into context: where did you hear it?

Most people seem to think it's a Honda spec, so if you have no reason to believe otherwise, then you probably ought to contact Honda and get the spec. You cannot offer plating to a spec. without having the spec. in hand, so finding out what the acronyms stand for isn't the whole answer anyway. Good luck.

Regards,

Q. Hi, Ted Mooney

Yes, it is Honda Spec.

MFZnNi2-B
This is Zinc alloy plating (Ni is 6 ~ 10%)
Thickness is 8 Microns min and Bright in colour

Please explain in detail.

Thanks

A. Hi cousin. Sorry, but we might be having some language difficulties. You've told us this is a Honda spec. for Zn-Ni plating with 6-10% nickel, a minimum of 8 microns in thickness, and must be bright in color. So I don't quite understand what you mean by asking us to tell you "what does it mean?" :-)

If you are asking us to put the spec on line or email it to you, sorry but no one is allowed to do that except your Honda buyer and perhaps specification services which have licensed that right from Honda. You must contact your Honda buyer and get their specs from them. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Marudhupandian.

I hope this isn't too confusing, but if I were to ask you to tell me about "type 1 class 2" plating, you would respond that it is a shorthand within a specification, and will mean different things depending on what specification I'm talking about, and I'd need to find out the specification number first.

While we might assume that MFZN5-C means 5 microns of zinc plating with yellow chromate, that code is a shorthand within a specification (perhaps JIS H-8610 and JIS H-8625) but you must find out what specification number it refers to and get a copy of it, because there is really nothing to prevent a given manufacturer from using that acronym/abbreviation for something different in a different spec. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Answering my own question...

MFZn2-C is defined on Honda HES D2003-05.

How to interpret MFZn2-C (what the M means, what the F means, etc) is defined on Honda HES A3010-05.

Unfortunately, as best I can tell, the "-C" just means "colored chromate" and doesn't indicate clear or yellow.

A. Hi Puma ,

'MFZn8Cr3' means:

Zn - Zinc plating
8 - Thickness 8 microns
Cr3 - Trivalent Chromate Passivation

Regards,

There are no awards for brevity here, Mr. Prudchaya. My guess is there's a typo there and what you wrote doesn't specify a thickness though ... or that it's a Honda spec. where the 2 means 8 microns. But please don't guess :-)

Regards,

Hmmm. We'Ve moved on from guessing what cryptic abbreviations mean to guessing whether something under a smudge is an H or a II or something else :-)

Seriously Cinthya, you can't proceed without getting clarification of what the customer needs.

Regards,