No registration or passwords; no pop-up ads -- just aloha, fun, & answers.
(as an eBay Partner & Amazon Affiliate earns from qualifying purchases).
Home /
T.O.C.
Fun
FAQs
Good
Books
Ref.
Libr.
Advertise
 
Help
Wanted
Current
Q&A's
Site 🔍
Search
pub  Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989



-----

The electroless nickel plater smoked my tool steel extrusion head




Q. Hi I need some help to understand what went wrong. I had a extrusion head made of tool steel which has been plated approx. 10 times. The last time I tried to have it plated the company called me and said the head had been destroyed during the stripping process. A 2" thick by 3" wide piece of tool steel turned into a 1" piece of charcoal. can anyone explain how this would happen?
Thanks

Randy Bodin
I have parts plated 4 times a year - Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
2007



simultaneous replies

A. They forgot and left your die in nitric acid (perhaps overnight, maybe over weekend!). If they value your business and their prestige, they must pay for another die. If you want to be indulgent and keep them as suppliers, give them more jobs to let them get even. If you also want to be helpful, tell them there are proprietary strippers (like the ones that advertise here) that prevent such accidents.
G. Marrufo-Mexico.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2007


A. Much as tool steel is different than say 1018 steel, all electroless nickels (EN)are not alike. There are high phos, low phos and phos levels in between. On top of that there is EN co-deposited with PTFE, cubic boron nitride and / or silicon carbide. Subsequently hardened EN via precipitation hardening heat treatment once again changes the mechanical and chemical properties of the deposit. If a plater believes that a plated die or mold is high phos, they'er used to parts being in a strip for up to a week in some cases. One way to kick off the stripping of these coatings is to start off in nitric acid. If one tries this and it turns out to be another type of EN, the coating can be readily stripped in minutes and then the nitric would attack the tool steel. It's impossible to tell; what did your plater say? Is he the same plater that has successfully stripped and re-plated it in the past? It's an interesting story but parts that have been stripped and re-plated several times over don't just all of a sudden become dissolved IF THE SAME PROCESS IS USED.

milt stevenson jr.
Milt Stevenson, Jr.
Syracuse, New York
2007


Q. Thanks for giving me some insight on this.
This company has done all the stripping and plating on this tooling,I called them late last week to ask about there process. the stripping process they use nitric acid they said it usually takes about 5 hrs. to strip and after checking the bath about 1.5 hrs. later they noticed some bubbling going on so they pulled up the basket and saw my parts destroyed.now I took in 9 parts altogether and 4 parts where wrecked.
Thanks,

Randy Bodin
- Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
2007



EASY TO EXPLAIN

Stripping Solution was adulterated. Most probably they added HF by accident or increase strongly the temperature (the less probably. I usually conduct stripping analysis to our parts and the process is stable for a "X" system at a fixed T.

Jose Castellanos
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
2007


adv.
Metalx nickel stripper



(No "dead threads" here! If this page isn't currently on the Hotline your Q, A, or Comment will restore it)

Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread

Disclaimer: It's not possible to fully diagnose a finishing problem or the hazards of an operation via these pages. All information presented is for general reference and does not represent a professional opinion nor the policy of an author's employer. The internet is largely anonymous & unvetted; some names may be fictitious and some recommendations might be harmful.

If you are seeking a product or service related to metal finishing, please check these Directories:

 
Jobshops
Capital
Equipment
Chemicals &
Consumables
Consult'g, Train'g
& Software


About/Contact  -  Privacy Policy  -  ©1995-2024 finishing.com, Pine Beach, New Jersey, USA  -  about "affil links"