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Part are brittle after de-embrittlement process

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     Electroplating, as well as the acid treatments before it, create atomic hydrogen which can penetrate and embrittle hardened steel parts, turning them to glass. If the components are hardened steel, as opposed to low carbon "soft" steel, they must be baked shortly after processing to release that hydrogen or the components may be permanently "embrittled".

Q. I work in the automotive industry and having problem with part (zinc plated and gone thru the de-embrittlement process). During assembly of this part, the tang on the part is too brittle and breaks off during the assembly process. Please advise.

"Solutions to Hydrogen Attack in Steels"
by P. F. Timmins (1997)

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Current Solutions to Hydrogen Problems in Steels
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A. Hydrogen embrittlement damage occurs quickly and is permanent, Raymond. You must do the baking almost immediately -- how much time actually elapsed before baking?

Ted Mooney, P.E.
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finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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A. What Ted said is extremely true.
Next, is the part properly designed? Try mounting a couple dozen unplated parts and see how many break.
Next, you may need to do a pre-bake or a shot peening process.
But normally, if the parts are in the oven within 30 minutes and spend 4 hours with the parts at 375 °F, you should have no problem. Spending too long in the acid etch is another common cause.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida

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