Trying to learn Nikasil or Electroplating for cylinder bores 1

[bob1111]

We have a part here that is an automotive type bore that requires a nickel silicon carbide coating on the inside of the bore. This is typically done by electroplating I believe. We would like to look into doing this in house because the prices for this service are ridiculously high.


Could anyone either recommend a reasonable plating company for larger quantities or recommend resources to learn the process and find equipment to do it in house?

 

[TVP]

US Chrome is one relatively capable supplier of Ni-SiC composite coatings:

http://www.uschrome.com/nicom_ds.html

I'm not sure what to recommend for references. Most of this is proprietary technology, and doesn't seem to be included in most technical books. Maybe start with a Google Patent search:

http://www.google.com/patents?q=nickel+silicon+carbide+plating

 

[tripleZ]

If you're going to spend the money to do it in house, check to see what your plating byproducts are. Then check with the state EPA to see what the disposal requirements are. You might find it's not worth the money to deal with the added environmental and safety regulations. That's part of the reason we outsource our pickling and chemical passivation jobs. The environmental regs are too much of a hassle compared to the volume we run.

 

[ornerynorsk]

Nikasil, like aluminum casting from your previous posts, is a relatively expensive process to get into. We are coming into a very good buyers market with commodity and primary materials prices coming down. You should really try to align with a good vendor. It's expensive for a reason, but unless you're going to be doing an extremely high volume, it most definitely does not pay to try and do it yourself.

 

[tomwalz]

This is one of the many things in life where doing it is pretty easy. It is doing it very well, 100% of the time that is hard.

If you have unlimited time and money then go ahead. They are fascinating technologies.

Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.