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Chrome plating ABS Material

March 10, 2009

I have a problem that I have been dealing with one of my suppliers provides me with a small plastic component made from ABS material this component is then plated with chrome. Now the issue's I'm have are as follows:
1. ABS component after chrome plating becomes very brittle almost like glass. At the fracture areas it appears to be very shiny.
2. After plating on the same sample there is what appears to be residue on the non plated area that is brown in colour.

I guess my question is what causes the ABS material to become brittle in the plating process and is the brown spots noticed on the non plated area related to the brittle condition?

Cory

Cory Couture
automotive - Ontario, Canada

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Hi Cory,

When plating ABS or ABS blends the molding is a vitally important step in the process and it is one that is often overlooked by the plater.

The molded part may be stressed before it even goes to the plating shop due to a number of possible reasons, melt temp, injection times/pressure mold temp, etc.

You should first check the molding for stress by immersion a part in conc. acetic acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] for 45 seconds and then rinsing and drying. If the surface shows white marks/lines then that is an indication of a stressed area.

If there are no white marks you need to ask your plater to check the stress numbers of his Ni deposits.

Cheers,

Jonathan Timms
- Hong Kong
March 16, 2009