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Nickel plating of steel screws

2006

Dear,

I have a problem to decide the performance of steel screw plated by nickel.
Currently we have SST machine and we have tried to put the screw into the machine and run the machine for 24H. After 24H all screws are become badly rusty. Our Nickel Plating thickness is 5-7 micron. How is the correct standard for Nickel plated running in SST machine (how long)? is there any standard to correlate between plating thickness and running time in SST machine?

Asep Suprianto
Mecoindo - Bekasi, Indonesia

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What process are you using to clean and plate the screws? Are you deploying barrel plating in chloride nickel then nickel phosphorous? Are you performing ASTM B117? Assuming you are cleaning, plating and testing properly, try the SST for 8, 16 and 20 hours. For better results in the SST try high phosphorous (10-13%) as long as your specs do not require magnetic nickel. Good luck!

Blake Kneedler
Feather Hollow Eng. - Stockton, California
2006

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Asep,
Of course it will rust. When you assemble your screws onto your machine some wear and tear are bound to happen on your screw head exposing the bare steel to corrosion. Try testing the screws themselves without assembly.

SK Cheah
- Malaysia
2006