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What equipment do we need for Chrome Plating plastic?

We are looking to start a business to chrome plate plastics for the automotive industry. Could you help us in knowing what type of equipment we need?

Kind Regards,

Raul Morales
supplier of parts to automotive industry - Monterrey, N.L., Mexico
May 24, 2008

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May 28, 2008

The answer to your question is that plating of plastics is done by immersing the parts into a series of about 30 open-top rectangular tanks filled with cleaners, etchants, catalysts, electroless plating solutions, and finally copper, nickel, and chrome electroplating solutions. These tanks will include appropriate heating and cooling equipment, filtration, solution agitation, and electrical bussing systems. The parts are usually conveyed from tank to tank by programmed cranes.

The company that made Shakespeare's pens, Renoir's brushes, and Ansel Adams' cameras makes excellent chrome plating equipment, Raul :-)

Seriously, the equipment is the last thing you'll need to worry about. I'd suggest starting with our Tutorial on Chrome Plating, then trying to get hold of "Standards and Guidelines for Electroplated Plastics", then making contact with a major supplier of plating chemistry to come in and talk to you because the chemistry is proprietary. Sometimes the supplier may even be able to get you in to see a plating on plastics plant in a different geographical area. By that point you will have developed enough trust in the supplier to let them guide you, or you will have decided that you need to retain a consulting engineer experienced in chrome plating plants. Good luck.

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

adv.