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How Metal Finishing Works

Metal plays an important role in our lives today and it has become an important

component of every other technological innovation; whether you are talking about

automobiles, dental llings, nuts and bolts and any other metal product that we use

today. There are dierent metals that are used in various forms on a regular basisand they include tin, copper, zinc, lead and nickel in addition to some rare precious

metals such as silver, gold, palladium and platinum. hile all these metals have

distinct benets, they also have some inherent weaknesses that have to be

corrected and improved so as to ma!imize their utility; this is where the process of

nadcap metal nishing comes into play.

"adcap metal nishing is an all#encompassing term that is used to describe the

process of placing one type of metal coating on the surface of another metallic part;

this is typically known as a substrate. The process may also include the

implementation of other processes such as cleaning and polishing or otherwise

trying to improve the surface. "adcap metal nishing will consist of the

electroplating service; this is a process through which metal ions are deposited onto

a substrate using an electric current. $ctually, metal nishing and plating services

are many times used interchangeably. %owever, it is important to note that nadcap

metal nishing can include a wide range of process all of which have a dierent

benet to the end user.

 The process of nadcap metal nishing has many valuable purposes and they include

reducing the impact of corrosion, serving as a primer coat that promotes paint

adhesion, reduction of the eects of friction, the improvement of the aesthetic

appearance, increasing solderability, making surfaces more electrically conductive,increasing chemical resistance as well as cleaning, polishing and the removal of

defects. &ome of the most common methods of nadcap metal nishing include the

following'

Electroplating' $lso known as electro#deposition, the process involves depositing a

metal or metal alloy on the surface of a substrate. $n electric current will be passed

through a li(uid that is known as a bath and which contains the dissolved ions of the

metal and the substrate. There will be a pretreatment process that will include

cleaning, rinsing, and stripping that has to be done before the electroplating

service.

Electroless plating' The electroless plating service is somewhat similar to

electroplating because the substrate will be placed in a li(uid solution that is lled

with the desired metal that is usually copper or nickel. The dierence is normally in

the way that the deposition takes place such that instead of electricity it will be

applied through a chemical reaction.

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Passivation' "adcap certied passivation is more often than not used as a post#

treatment plating process and it will almost always be as a means of providing

addition protection against corrosion. )uring the process of passivation, a metal

o!ide coating will be applied so that it can typically lengthen the time within which

any onset of corrosion can occur. *assivates will be available in dierent colors and

in most cases they will take the appearance of the nished part.

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