What to Need to Know About Metal Finishing

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Sheffield Platers, Inc.
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What to Need to Know About Metal Finishing
You only need to take a casual glance around you
and you will notice an object or two that has
some metallic part and especially those that have
undergone some NADCAP metal finishing this will
include something such as the computer that you
use every day among others. Metal has been around
for thousands of years and it continues to play a
key role in our lives to such an extent that it
has become an important component of each every
technological invention and innovation. You
cannot start imagining what life could have been
without automobiles, nuts, bolts, jewelry and
dental fillings since they are all metal products
that we use just about daily.
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The metals that are used on a regular basis and
they include tin, copper, zinc, lead and nickel
together with a few other rare but precious
metals like silver, gold, palladium and platinum.
All these are elements that occur naturally and
have to be extracted from the earths crust with
each one of them having a unique and distinct
property that is beneficial to mankind. On the
other hand, all these metal have their own
inherent weaknesses that should be improved upon
in order to maximize its utility this informs
the importance NADCAP metal finishing processes.
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NADCAP metal finishing is a broad term that is
used to describe the process that is involved in
placing a type of metallic coating on the surface
of another metallic part which is typically
referred to as a substrate. The process may also
involve the implementation of other processes
such as cleaning, polishing or any other process
that will eventually improve the surface. Some of
the processes that are involved in NADCAP metal
finishing include the electroplating service
which refers to the process of depositing metal
ions on a substrate using an electric current.
The terms NADCAP metal finishing and
electroplating service are at times used
interchangeably.
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NADCAP metal finishing can be used to achieve a
number of important purposes that include
limiting the impact of corrosion, serving as a
primer coat to promote paint adhesion,
strengthening the substrate and increasing wear
resistance, reducing the effects of friction,
improving the appearance of a part, increasing
solderability, making a surface electrically
conductive, enhancing chemical resistance,
cleaning, polishing and removing surface defects.
You can understand NADCAP gold electroplating
finishing better by interrogating some of the
most common metal finishing processes.
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The electroplating service, which is also known
as electro-deposition is one of the best examples
of NADCAP metal finishing processes that involves
depositing a metal or an alloy on the surface of
a substrate. The electric current will pass
through a liquid known as a bath wherein
dissolved ions of the metal and the substrate is.
The object will work as a cathode and attract the
metal ions inside the plating bath. There will be
a pre-treatment process that will include
cleaning, rinsing and stripping before the actual
plating is accomplished. Apart from metallic
surfaces, the electroplating service can also be
used to coat plastic and several other
nonmetallic materials.
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Sheffield Platers, Inc. 9850 Waples Street San
Diego, CA 92121 1-800-227-9242 info_at_sheffieldplate
rs.com www.sheffieldplaters.com