Electroless nickel plating steel parts

[bigj2]

I have a steel plate with many drilled and tapped holes that I want to plate .003 thick. How and what material do I use to plug the tapped holes so they do not get plated undersize?

 

[CSLufkin]

Are you plating yourself? Normally our plating house will just screw bolts into the holes, often they use the bolts to hang the parts with.

 

[bigj2]

NoI am not plating this in house, it is going to an outside service. I was told that if you put in steel bolts in the steel plate and electroless nickle plate to .003 that the screws will bond to the plate to the point that they will flake off the plating when they are removed. Is this correct?

 

[kenvlach]

If you EN plate a steel part with steel bolts installed, the EN plating will be continuous over the steel surface. So, of course it will have to fracture when you torque the bolt out.

Just tell the plater which holes to plate and which to mask/plug. Also, where you want the parting line if some are countersunk or have o-ring lands. Also, for heavy parts, let the plater know preferred support points.
SOP for platers.

 

[tripleZ]

Just curious, but where are you getting your parts plated 0.003" thick at? I could never find a plating house willing to give me more than 0.0004" per side of electroless nickel, at least without adherence problems (or so I was told). Chrome plating was a different story, but they were always finicky about electroless nickel thickness.

 

[kenvlach]

triplez,
Acquaint your plating vendor with the MIL & ASTM specs.
MlL-C-26074E
"3.3.2 Thickness. Unless otherwise specified. minimum thickness of the nickel coating shall be... 0.0015 inch (0.039 mm) (grade C) for iron-based alloys."

ASTM B733 has more options, but for 'SC4 Severe Service,' 75 microns or 0.003" is required.

 

[tripleZ]

Thanks...wish I would have known this forum existed 4 years ago when I needed the plating service!

 

[kenvlach]

FYI, plating questions are usually posted in the
Materials
Paint/coatings engineering Forum
forum332

Also, see the Hotline Letters at finishing.com:

http://www.finishing.com/Letters/index.html

and the archives at Products Finishing Online
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http://www.pfonline.com/Scripts/Arc...es/clinics&qp=&Zone=&qt=+electroless&x=58&y=4