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Hard Coating of Steel Fixtures for Titanium Parts?

I have a checking fixture which utilizes 0.120 thick 1018/1020 ground flat steel templates. Titanium parts, which have been shot peened, rest on these templates to check form. While loading and unloading the part, it is dragged across these templates. Small, light scratches then appear on the part. As a result of these scratches, we have to do a local shot peen to rid the part of the scratches. The steel templates, for some reason, get nicks and dings on the checking surface of the template. I am looking for some way to hard coat the templates to help prevent nicks and dings. Is there such a process for steel? Would increasing the Rockwell hardness help?

Brian Mally
aircraft - Milford, Connecticut, USA
2005

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Hardened steel will be a big help. Hard chrome plating will work too.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
2005

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If your templates are ground flat for quality control purposes you should not shot peen them. This will distort them to some degree. Hard chrome and regrinding will fix your problem.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2005

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Hard chrome will require quite a bit of grinding to get the check piece back to the original flatness or contour. Electroless nickel would work nearly as well and would not require post plate grinding. To me, the better answer would be to get away from "mild" steel and go to a hardenable steel like 4140 or 4340. If heat treated in a vacuum furnace, there would be no scale to deal with.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2005

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Our company has had good success with thermal spray coatings. They can be applied to any shape, and there are no environmental hazards to worry about like there are with chrome. Additionally, the surface finish can be left rough for better hold, or polished to a smooth finish. Many materials are available such as stellite, triballoy, and tungsten carbide. Your old plates can be coated quickly saving you from having new ones manufactured.

David Jewell
- Oilville, Virginia
2005

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Chrome plating requires proper environmental management during the plating process, but as far as the user is concerned, there are no environmental hazards to worry about with chrome plating.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005