Summary for yellow zinc plating equipment Discussion
yellow zinc plating equipment is the central issue here, but the answers all point to the same practical conclusion: for only about 20 small parts per day, setting up an in-house plating line is unlikely to make economic sense. Brian McCallum asks what equipment would be needed to plate small circular parts in yellow zinc, with the largest part 10" x 6" and the average 3" x 2". James Watts says it is not economically feasible to start even a tiny plating line for that volume and recommends farming the work out. Willie Alexander adds that the return on investment would likely be measured in decades and advises continuing with an established metal finisher. Gene Packman stresses that the first step is checking state and local requirements for hazardous materials, wastewater discharge, and air emissions, then using a consultant or engineer if a line is still desired. John Martin also warns that environmental and safety rules make the project difficult and likely uneconomic.
Q. I represent a manufacturing firm in the US and we are looking for the necessary equipment to plate numerous small circular parts. The largest is 10″ in diameter x 6″ long but the average is 3″ x 2″. The current standard we use is yellow zinc. What pieces of equipment would we need to achieve this? At present the volume is minimal,20 Pieces daily.
Brian McCallum
– Sedona, Arizona
2006
A. It is not economically feasible to start even a tiny plating line for 20 parts a day. Farm it out.
James Watts
– Navarre, Florida
2006
A. Brian
Your ROI would probably be measured in decades if you want to set shop. I advise you continue using an established metal finisher.
Willie Alexander
– Colorado Springs, Colorado
2006
A. Firstly, before thinking about plating equipment it is necessary for you to check with your state and local regulatory agencies and find out the requirements and permitting for hazardous materials, waste water discharge and air emissions. Then you can hire a consultant and/or engineer to design a plating line and the necessary waste treatment or waste minimization equipment. I think that unless you have a very large volume of parts it would be greatly more cost effective (and much less liability) to have the work done at a job shop.
Gene Packman
– Great Neck, New York
2006
A. Setting up a plating facility entails going into much more detail than easily be managed in the space available in a thread on this forum. Having said that, there are numerous threads on the forum which give some indication of the difficulties both involved. I’d be surprised if the quantities of product you’re talking about plating yourself would make economic sense due to the stringent environmental and safety legislation involved. If you really want to go ahead it would be better to engage the services of a consultant to ensure you cover all bases and to get a realistic idea of the costs involved.
John Martin
– Wales
2006