Tag Archive for metal finishing

Electroplating from the Start

Electroplating is a form of metal plating which is used by many industries in a range of capacities which include the aerospace, automotive, army, space, medical, electronic and engineering sectors, to name but a few.  It is useful due to the fact that it is so versatile and lends itself so because of its electrochemical process where metal ions in solution are bonded to metal substrates by means of electrodeposition.

Before Electroplating

Pre Electroplating, all parts must be thoroughly cleaned and then a process of chemical baths must be followed so that the parts can be prepared and activated so that the adhesion for the strong bond can take hold and become effective.  This is key in the electrodeposition process.  Many variables must be monitored closely during the electroplating bath process, such as the power supply which provides a direct flow of current to the parts in submerged.  This enables ions to be attracted to the surface of the metallic part evenly.  Every mole of electrons that are transferred to the part, allows one mole of metallic ions in the solution to adhere to the part during the bath process.  A chemical reaction can subsequently occur where the reduction and oxidation of ions takes place.

Types of Electroplating

Specialist plating facilities are able to plate a large array of different base materials to protect various surfaces.

Base materials for electroplating include:

  • Brass
  • Copper
  • Nickel
  • Stainless Steel
  • Nickel Silver

Surface finishes for electroplating include:

  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Copper
  • Electroless Nickel

About Electroless Nickel Plating

Electroless nickel plating is a high quality but cost effective coating solution which can drastically extend the life expectancy of a stainless steel component.  This is due to the metal layer deposited by the electroless nickel coating creating an even thickness across the components surface, despite its shape.  This makes electroless nickel plating very popular in sectors such as the defence, health, automotive and aerospace industries.

Support for Offshore Oil and Gas Industry with New Tax Reform

The offshore oil and gas industry is facing a radical reform with regard to the way that the industry is taxed.

The UK government plan to move away from their previous focus of maximising revenue for the Treasury, admitting that the new burden of maximising extraction will mean a lower tax burden.

 Economic Benefits “For Years to Come”

The treasury minister announced on Thursday 4th December that this new support for the industry will provide economic benefits for years to come.

These radical reforms will mean that the tax burden on the oil and gas industry will be lower, encouraging investment in the North Sea, and providing significant economic benefits for the UK for the future. The reforms include the implementation of a basin-wide investment allowance, designed to reduce the tax rate for companies investing in the future of the UK Continental Shelf.

Offshore Exploration in the North Sea

This will be in addition to tax concessions announced in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, which included an immediate cut in the supplementary charge element of offshore tax, from 32% to 30%. There will also be more flexibility in tax allowances for companies that haven’t yet seen an income from their investments. Furthermore, the government has committed to boosting offshore exploration through supporting seismic surveys in under-explored areas of the North Sea.

Reducing the Tax Burden on the Oil and Gas Industry

“The government is demonstrating its long term commitment to supporting the North Sea oil and gas industry with a package of measures expected to drive around £7bn of additional investment,” said MP, Priti Patel. “These measures will reduce the tax burden on the industry, driving investment in the North Sea that will provide economic benefits to the UK for many years to come.”

The changes to the tax regime follow the recent review of the sector by Sir Ian Wood. The review recommended a new regulator, and a requirement that the industry, government and that regulator should be co-operating more closely.

Chief executive of industry body Oil and Gas UK, Malcolm Webb, said: “We are encouraged to note that fiscal policy will now be framed in the context of the sector’s wider economic benefits and will also take account of the global competitiveness of the industry in terms of commodity prices and costs.”

Metal Finishing Services for oil and Gas Applications

Here at us, we provide a range of metal finishing and metal plating services for both onshore and offshore oil and gas applications. Our revolutionary metal coating SeaTEC100 is a solution to increase the longevity of components used in subsea conditions that protects mild steel from salt spray corrosion and marine corrosion for an extensive period of time. For more information about corrosion resistant coatings, please call us or email

Common Applications of Electroless Nickel Coatings

Electroless nickel plating can be applied to a variety of components. Its fantastic properties make it the perfect plating solution for a variety of applications, including the following:

Electrical equipment

Electroless nickel coatings are perfect for electrical equipment due to their solderability and conductivity properties.

Applications include heat sinks, computer drive mechanisms, memory disks and drums, terminals and lead wires, chassis, connectors, diode and transistor cans, interlocks, junction fittings and printed circuit boards.

Packaging and handling machinery

Packaging and handling machinery can benefit from an electroless nickel coating due to its properties of wear resistance, cleanliness and the attractive finish it provides.

Chemical equipment

Nickel coatings have excellent chemical resistance, making them perfect for applications in the chemical and petroleum industries. This includes ball, gate and plug valves, chokes and control valves, oil field tools, oil well tubing and pumps, drilling mud pumps and blowout preventors.

Molds and dies

Electroless nickel coatings are used for molds and dies due to the lubricity of nickel that minimises erosion and abrasion. This coating is commonly used on zinc die cast dies, glass molds, plastic injection molds, and plastic extrusion dies.

Food service equipment

Electroless nickel is commonly used to plate food service equipment due to its superior corrosion and wear resistance, its an attractive finish and high degree of cleanliness.

Salvage

Electroless nickel coatings can be used for restoring parts to their original dimensions, for example, molds, shafts, landing gear and gears. They can also be used to repair mis-matched parts as they are a cost effective alternative to hard chrome and often eliminate subsequent machining or grinding operations.

If you are looking for a metal coating that provides high levels of corrosion resistance, lubricity and wear resistance, call the us team , email  or get in touch via our contact page.

us Announce New Nickel Diamond Plating Service

us are pleased to announce the latest of our new metal plating services available; nickel diamond plating!

We’ve got a wealth of experience in the processes of electroless nickel plating, copper plating and metal finishing, so nickel diamond plating is a natural extension of our quality range of services.

What is Nickel Diamond Plating?

Nickel diamond plating combines an electroless nickel deposit with fine particles of diamonds.

A variety of substrates can be coated using nickel diamond, including metals such as carbon and tool steels,  aluminium, alloys, copper, brass, bronze, stainless steel, and titanium.

The use of diamond particles contained within an electroless nickel coating offers a practical and affordable way to utilise the properties of diamond on the surface of components.

Common Applications of Nickel Diamond

Nickel diamond can be used for a huge range of applications across a variety of industries. Common applications include the following:

  • Machinery parts for the textile industry
  • Wood working tools
  • Computer parts
  • Paper handling equipment
  • Mechanical shaft shields for automotive water pumps and chemical process pumps
  • Gage blocks

What are the Features of a Nickel Diamond Coating?

Nickel diamond coatings provides a highly corrosion and wear resistant coating. By providing maximum protection to the surface of the substrate, coated machinery parts will have an increased lifespan. This helps to keep maintenance and related downtime due to the replacement of high wear parts to a minimum, reducing costs.

Due to the electroless chemical method of deposition, nickel diamond plating is able to cover surfaces with perfect uniformity. Therefore, regardless of the geometry of the component, the nickel diamond coating creates a uniform deposition on all areas of the part, even on recesses and holes.

Key Benefits of Electroless Nickel Diamond Plating

Nickel diamond plating has many benefits which make it a superior choice of coating, including the following:

  • Excellent wear resistance
  • Excellent hardness
  • Enhanced corrosion resistance
  • Increased thermal transfer
  • Conformity to complex geometries
  • Can be applied to all common metals and alloys
  • Can be used to cover entire surfaces or selected areas

Nickel Use in Rocket Engines and Aerospace

Nickel coatings are often used in the aerospace and aircraft industry because they are an effective corrosion resistant coating at high temperatures.

This means that they are capable of protecting airfoil components from abrasion and erosion by providing a surface coating that will allow high nickel/chromium alloy parts to be joined by brazing or welding, to produce nickel or nickel alloy components for space applications and to repair worn or damaged components.

By repairing parts rather than replacing them, they can continue to be used rather that scrapped.

Nickel and alloys of nickel are often used for space applications.

Electroless nickel coatings are used in the Aerospace industry for space applications:

  • Docking
  • Cargo bays
  • Rudder mechanisms of the NASA Space Shuttle

Nickel electroforming has also been used in the space program. It has been used to produce lightweight precision parts for rocket engines, such as:

  • Waveguides
  • Antennae
  • Bellows
  • Heat shields
  • Thrust chambers

High precision electroformed nickel bellows are widely used in the aerospace industry, as electroforming is often the only practical and most economical method. These parts are used for:

  • Flexible electromagnetic interference shielding
  • Metallic hermetic seals
  • Volume compensators
  • Temperature and pressure sensors
  • Flexible couplings

Whether it is electroless nickel plating, diffused nickel plating, or copper plating, the staff at us will ensure that you receive the right service for your industry. To make an inquiry or request more information, please visit our contact page at http://www.electroless-nickel-plating.co.uk/enquire-electroless-nickel-plating-corrosion-resistance-copper-plating.php

What are the Advantages of Aqua Blasting / Vapour Blasting?

Here at us, we have recently added an aqua blasting service to our comprehensive range of metal plating and metal finishing services. This non aggressive technique effectively removes the dirt and corrosion from the surface of the material, but it does not damage the surface in any way, as can be the case with some other ‘blasting’ techniques.

The Benefits of Aqua Blasting

The primary benefit of aqua blasting is that all the critical dimensions of the component stay the same, making the process safe to use on precision engineering items, molds and automotive engine components.

It cleans by utilising the flow of water to remove dirt, not by impact; therefore it doesn’t change the dimensions of the part. In addition to cleaning the surface, it also de-greases it simultaneously.

Aqua blasting is far gentler than grit blasting and bead blasting, but just as effective. During grit and bead blasting, the media is ricocheted off the surface of the component in an aggressive manner.

But the water involved in aqua blasting reduces the ricochet of media due its cushioning effect; therefore the angle of the media is changed to produce a lapping effect which travels across the surface to give an even satin/polished finish.

Typical Applications of Aqua Blasting

• Degreasing and surface finishing of components in the automotive, reconditioning & maintenance industries
• Removal of paint, rust, scale, carbon & similar deposits in engineering industries
• Surface preparation prior to bonding, re-painting or re-coating
• Satin finishing of stainless steels & other special materials
• Cleaning of PCB’s & electrical connectors
• Removal of small burrs from manufactured components
• Cleaning of dies & molds

Restore Your Garden Furniture in One Easy Step

When you bought your metal garden furniture it looked fantastic, right? You couldn’t wait to sit out in your garden, lounge around on your new chairs, or lay your gorgeous new table ready for a BBQ.

But after a couple of years exposed to the elements, it’s not looking so good anymore. You can’t sit on the chairs without getting rust marks on your clothes, and you’re using it less and less as a result.

Well you’re in luck, because us have come up with the perfect way to restore garden furniture to its former glory, without having to buy a whole new set for a small fortune!

The process of chilled iron shotblasting is the perfect way to clean up your garden furniture, remove all the rust, and make it look brand new again.

Chilled Iron Shotblasting Metal Cleaning & Finishing

We have used chilled iron shot blasting for all sorts of restoration projects, from car restoration and repair, garden furniture restoration and steel window frame restoration. It’s also a great way to restore any metal component that has deteriorated over time.

Chilled Iron Shotblasting is the perfect process to clean all types of metal as it will effectively remove paint adhesive, plastic/rubber insets, grease and rust, leaving the component ready to be restored as required.

If you have a set of metal garden furniture that you’d love to be able to use for the remainder of the summer, or you’d like to get looking great ready for next spring/summer, contact metal cleaning experts us on our phone number or email: 

 

How Are Nickel Coatings Used in Aircraft?

Nickel coatings are often used on various parts of aircraft due to its fantastic properties of corrosion resistance and hardness. Needless to say, the Aircraft industry has an ongoing need for nickel plating.

Electroless nickel plating is used in the Aircraft industry to provide:

  • Corrosion resistance at high temperatures to protect airfoil components from erosion and abrasion.
  • Provides a coating that will allow high nickel/chromium alloy parts to be joined by brazing or welding.
  • To repair worn or damaged components so that they can continue to be used rather than scrapped.

Electroless nickel coatings have been used on the following aircraft parts:

  • Bearing journals
  • Servo valves
  • Compressor blades
  • Turbine blades
  • Pistons
  • Engine shafts
  • Engine mounts
  • Landing gear
  • Hydraulic and manifold systems
  • Gyroscope components and optics

For more information about the use of electroless nickel plating in the Aircraft industry, please contact the staff at us or email: 

Aqua Blasting Now Available at us

As experts in the field of electroless nickel plating, corrosion resistance and surface technology; we are delighted to be able to add Aqua Blasting to our repertoire of fantastic services. Also known as vapour blasting; this wet-blasting process is perfect for the gently eradicating surface dirt and grime from metal components.

Aqua Blasting permits the non-aggressive cleaning of a surface to produce a satin finish on a number of metal materials – which resultantly won’t pick up marks after treatment.This new process that we are now offering involves the use of a non-ferrous media; which is subsequently mixed with water to result in an extra-smooth finish once the process has been carried out.

No Alteration of Critical Dimensions

That is possible thanks to the flow of a water-borne abrasive. Aqua Blasting cleans by the flow of water and not by impact; with the water acting as a lubricant between media and component. With the water acting as a protective buffer; and the emulsion gently eradicating any grime – the underlying surface is crucially left intact.

Vitally, there will be no alteration of critical dimensions. The creation of any dust is also avoided; as there no break-up of any media during the Aqua Blasting process. Unlike with shot blasting (and other blasting methods which actually move the surface material from the components), the process is non-intrusive; and it is perfect for delicate parts and soft metal.

Aqua Blasting is commonly used when a fine finish is required for aluminium, alloys, steel and many other metals; including bronze, magnesium, titanium, brass and copper. It also used in the removal of carbon deposits, paint and rust in engineering industries; as well as in surface preparation prior to bonding, re-painting and re-coating.

Aqua Blasting Suitable for a Range of Industries

Examples of industries where the process is commonly utilised include automotive, aerospace, reconditioning and maintenance. The process is particularly ideal for the degreasing and surface finishing of a number of bike and car components; including cylinder heads, motorcycle wheel hubs and side covers. Aqua Blasting can also help to reduce porosity in castings and is very easy to keep clean.

It can be applied to almost all metals; and degreases and cleans the surface of them in tandem. To find out more about our new treatment process – as well as a range of our other metal plating and metal finishing surfaces – you can call us or email .

4 Reasons to Choose Heat Treatment Solutions at us

As experts in metal plating and metal finishing, we also offer high temperature heat treatment solutions. Our heat treatment services expose metal coatings to high temperatures for sustained periods, diffusing the electroless nickel layer onto the steel. These treatments optimise the mechanical and physical properties of a coating for a given application.

Add Flexibility to your Coating

Exposing metal coatings to heat treatment solutions gives them a degree of flexibility. It’s a common misconception that heat treatment is a process for hardening metal, as many heat treatments are applied to soften metal in order to allow metal working operations such as deep drawing, cold forging and machining. The heat treatments at us can be used for stress relieving and de-embrittlement as both pre-plate and post-plate treatments.

Maintain Corrosion Protection

Luckily, the heat treatment process does not affect the increased corrosion protection offered by an electroless nickel deposit.

Small Components can be Treated Economically

Even the smallest of components can be heat treated. We load them onto shelves to maximise the heat treatment capacity and minimise the cost of the treatment for our customers.

Carefully Monitored Heat Treatment

The staff at us use chart recording equipment to monitor the temperature changes of both the furnace and the work. This enables us to create heat treatment profiles which determine shot blasting solutions for many different requirements. Our monitoring also ensures the material achieves the required temperature for the required time, in turn eliminating heat sinks on larger components or mixed loads.

UK Heat Treatment Services

Here at us, we provide a range of metal finishing and metal plating services, including the heat treatment of metals. Our high quality electroless nickel plating service is the perfect solution for critical high-end engineering items such as those used in the defence, healthcare, automotive and aerospace industries. For more information, please call us or email

The Ultimate Corrosion Protection

Here at us, we are experts in the fields of corrosion protection and corrosion resistance. We have spent years developing extremely sophisticated metal finishing techniques in order to establish ourselves as market leaders.

Our metal plating tanks are up to 10 meters in length, making them the largest in the UK. We have even been known to construct bespoke plating tanks in house to cater for customer’s specific needs. We can plate parts of all sizes, from small components the size of pins, to large applications such as oil pipelines and castings weighing up to 25 tonnes.

us’s onsite laboratory

The corrosion protection and corrosion resistance offered by the metal finishing services at us is closely monitored to ensure that we offer our customers the very highest standards.

We have a laboratory onsite which carries out all of the necessary tests to ensure that the thickness and hardness of the coatings we provide is measured accurately. We are also committed to investing in the very latest instrumentation to continually maintain the highest levels of quality for our plating services.

If you would like to find out more about our range of metal plating and metal finishing services that are the ultimate in corrosion prevention, contact us our phone number or email

Nickel Plating Services in the Automotive Industry

Electroformed, electroplated and electroless nickel is commonly used in the automotive industry.

One of the biggest and most obvious uses of nickel is the use on bumpers, wheels and grilles. The use of nickel plating on parts such as these is partly due to the fact that it looks good with its shine and bright finish. But nickel also provides excellent corrosion resistance, durability and wear resistance, as is often demanded by makers of vehicles.

Nickel and Industry Warranties

Nickel plating is a great way of metal hardening and can protect components for decades, which is obviously great news for the automotive industry because it means that manufacturers can offer industry warranties.  High quality plated components can be produced in bulk, with consistency and reliability.

The automotive industry is the biggest user of nickel for plating applications. Steel bumpers are very popular as they look great, and they are also very durable. Substrate materials include steel, aluminium and plastic. The benefit of using nickel plating on substrates such as these is that they are relatively cheap, and with a layer of nickel plating they can be made extremely durable.

Environmental Benefits of Nickel

Nickel plating lightweight materials such as aluminium and plastic is also beneficial because lightweight parts on a vehicle improve fuel efficiency. It’s also better for the environment for parts to have a longer life as it reduces scrap. Also, plated components can be recycled, which is good for the European auto industry as their objective is to produce vehicles that are completely recyclable.

If you would like to find out more about metal hardening and metal corrosion protection, or the use of nickel plating in the automotive industry , why not ‘Like’ the us Facebook page or follow @nickelplating on Twitter for regular news, pictures and case studies.

 

Nickel and Computer Hard Disks

It’s truly amazing how far the IT industry has advanced over the past few decades. Laptops, computers and tablets continue to reduce in size, but despite shrinking, they can actually hold more data than ever before.

IBM invented the very first computer disc storage way back in 1956. The disks were about 150cm in diameter, which is roughly twice the size of an old vinyl record, and they could store 100 kilobytes of data. The computer hard disks we use today can be as small as 1cm wide and hold more than 400 gigabytes!

Hard disk drives work by using a magnetic head to move to a location where information is stored. As experts in electroless nickel plating, us have a wealth of knowledge about the use of nickel and the benefits of using nickel in everyday items such as hard drives.

Nickel really is a critical part of the technology involved in hard drives and is used in the film heads. It is applied to the magnetic heads using a plating process that uses heat, not electricity, to deposit the nickel layer.

This film head technology means that the storage density of hard drives has increased by 10 every 8 years since 1979! It also means that hard disk drives can now be used in mobile phones, video games consoles and iPods.

If you would like to find out more about us’s plating services and metal finishing services, call us or email: 

Reduced Lead Time for Nickel Plating

The last few months have been a really exciting time here at us. The new laboratory is finally finished and it has made a dramatic difference to the way we run the business. Before the lab, nickel plating jobs often took up to 2 weeks to complete, because we had to send samples off for testing before returning them to the customer.

But now we have a brand new lab and we can do this testing in-house, which has reduced our lead time to 24 hours! It really is a massive improvement on the turnaround time of our work, and in turn benefits customers a great deal too.

Quality Director Paul Allen said, “The lab is a fantastic step for us. Not only can we reduce offsite costs for testing, we can offer our customers a much faster service. Completed metal plating jobs would often have to wait to be dispatched until the required test results and paperwork had been completed by a third party laboratory. Now that we do the necessary testing in-house, our service is so much quicker. So far, our customers are very happy!”

The new lab has the facilities to perform all the tests that verify hardness, phosphorus levels and diffusion layers. We have also invested in a Mitutoyo Micro Hardness Tester and we use colour metrics to measure the phosphorus levels of diffused nickel.

If you have a project that requires a fast turnaround for your plating needs – we can meet them! For more information about our new laboratory and the positive impact it will have on your metal plating order, please call our phone number or email .

us Nickel Plate Bespoke Furniture for Meta

As electroless nickel plating specialists, us have been approached for various plating techniques for a variety of projects.

One of our more unusual projects involved nickel plating a very out of the ordinary table for Meta, the contemporary objects and furniture company created by Mallet Antiques.

Designed by Asymptote Architecture, this amazing coffee table has been hand cut from a 5.2 tonne billet of gunmetal-quality steel, and nickel plated by us! Named ‘Ivo 03’, this unique piece of furniture has been exhibited in Milan, New York City, London and Miami.

This type of steel is perfect for this piece, as it can be carved with the finest detail and then polished.

The table consists of 2,000 mathematically delineated diamond shaped pieces, each of a slightly different shape. The slumped glass top has been suspended across the surface of the steel, which is highly polished to give the look of shiny waves of steel.

The base of this beautiful table is made from bespoke Tula steel. Tula steel is an historic metal that Meta has carefully recreated by analysing an original and rare piece of Imperial Tula steel dating back to 1780.

The edges of the table’s metal base have been hand etched with an intricate and sympathetic pattern of incised relief, by the same craftsmen who restored parts of the Kremlin Palace.

In addition to nickel plating, the table was also hand finished using traditional polishing methods to bring out the smooth, reflective qualities if the metal.

If you would like to find out more about the special projects we have undertaken at us, visit the electroless nickel plating case studiespage of our website. For help with your unusual plating project, contact us or email 

 

Electroless Nickel Plating for the Oil and Gas Industry

Electroless nickel plating has been a popular coating choice in the oil and gas industry for a number of years. It is used in a wide variety of applications within the industry mainly due to its uniform, thick deposit and superior corrosion resistance.

Many base materials that are typically used in the oil and gas industry are greatly enhanced by the application of electroless nickel, resulting in lower fabrication costs and extended service life. Shutdowns and delays in the oil and gas industry are very common because of the need to replace components, but as electroless nickel substantial extends the life of parts and components, a huge amount of money can be saved.

Electroless Nickel on Valves, Flow Control Devices and Ball Plugs

Electroless nickel coatings are often used on valves and flow control devices due to their uniform thickness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance. These parts are critical components in the operation of a well where good performance and long life are major economic factors. The coating also provides an excellent surface condition for ball plugs and improves the sealing at the seat areas. It’s now very common for mild steel ball valves to be coated with a layer of electroless nickel.

Applications of Electroless Nickel

There are lots of areas within the oil and gas industry where the application of electroless nickel has been successful. For example, in crude oil production at a plant in the Middle East where the gas contains 55% hydrogen sulphide and is processed at 80C, mild steel ball valves had a maximum life of three months, with failure occurring as a result of corrosion, surface cracking and erosion. However, by electroless nickel plating the valve components, their lives were extended and no surface deterioration was evident after two years of continuous service.

Similar benefits have been noted on ball valves at plants using the sea water injection system, which involves pumping sea water under high pressure in order to force the oil to the surface. At the Ghawar oil field in Saudi Arabia, 75 microns of electroless nickel on the valves had satisfactorily withstood the operating conditions to such an extent that no degradation of the coating was detectable after four years of operation.

Electroless Nickel Plating for Oil and Gas Applications

us provide a range of metal finishing and metal plating services for both onshore and offshore oil and gas applications. For more information about corrosion resistant coatings, please call us or email

Engineering Applications of Electroless Nickel Plating

Over the years the staff at us have developed a wide range of metal finishing and metal plating techniques. We are able to process many materials such as ferrous substrates, plate stainless steel, plate copper and its alloys, and even plate aluminium alloys.

There are endless applications for electroless nickel, and they can be found in a huge number of industries.

Electroless nickel plating is a very common choice for many engineering applications because it has lots of great qualities, for example:

  • Wear resistance
  • Hardness
  • Corrosion resistance
  • Uniform coating
  • The ability to plate non-conductive surfaces

 

 

 

Electroless nickel plating can be used for a number of industrial applications, including, but not limited to the following:

  • Sea water pumps
  • Aircraft control systems
  • Photographic equipment
  • Oil field drilling equipment
  • Aircraft engine mounts
  • Undercarriage fixtures
  • Hydraulic pistons
  • Valves and pump shafts
  • Printing rollers
  • Machine slideways
  • Excavating equipment
  • Hydraulic cylinders
  • Fine instrument pivots
  • Memory discs
  • Spray nozzles
  • Worm wheels
  • Valve blocks

If you would like to find out more about electroless nickel can be used as a corrosion resistant, hard wearing coating for your engineering application, contact the specialist team at us , or email: 

UK Industrial Output Increased by Rise in Oil and Gas Extraction

 

The UK’s industrial sector has received a significant boost thanks to an increased output of oil, gas and manufacturing. The Yorkshire Post has reported that industrial output grew at its fastest rate in six months in March, after an unexpected bounce in oil and gas extraction.

Official data from the Office for National Statistics has showed that industrial output rose 0.5% in March, after creeping up by only 0.1% in February. This is the strongest growth since September, and has exceeded leading economists’ forecast of that it would remain the same.

Oil and Gas Extraction

Oil and gas extraction rose to 4.9%, which was its fastest rate since February 2019. Falling oil prices and rising production costs as North Sea oil gets scarcer had previously contributed to a general downward trend.

Britain’s economy grew by 2.8% in 2019, the fastest growth rate of any big advanced economy. It did lose pace in the first quarter of 2019 when total output rose by just 0.3%. However, recent data shows that manufacturing output rose by 0.4% after upwardly revised growth of 0.5% in February, which was slightly faster than expected.

Marine Corrosion Protection for the Oil and Gas Industry

Here at us, we carry out a significant amount of metal plating work for parts and components to be used in the oil and gas industries. A common requirement for plated components used in these industries is their ability to resist corrosion for a substantial amount of time, especially in subsea conditions.

Our commitment to research and development allowed us to create SeaTEC100, a metal coating that protects mild steel from salt spray corrosion and marine corrosion for an extensive period of time. SeaTEC 100 has been independently tested to withstand salt spray conditions for over 25,000 hours, a period of time that is unprecedented within the engineering industry.

Metal Plating for Oil and Gas Applications

We provide a range of metal finishing and metal plating services for both onshore and offshore oil and gas applications. For more information about corrosion resistant coatings, please call us or email

Explaining the Process of Electroless Nickel Plating

Here at us, our metal finishing experts regularly carry out the process of electroless nickel plating. As professional electroless nickel platers, we have put together a step by step guide that will explain the process of electroless nickel plating and how it works.

Unlike electroplating, there is no need to pass an electric current through the bath of chemical solution to initiate the plating process. The metal surface instead goes through a series of cleaning and auto-catalytic reactions, described below.

Pre-treatment Process

Before the process of electroless nickel plating can begin, the surface of the substrate goes through a pre-treatment process. During this process it is cleaned with a series of chemicals which remove oils and other corrosive elements from the surface of the metal.

Activation of the Substrate

Once the substrate has been cleaned sufficiently, it can be activated with an acid etch or proprietary solution which prepares the surface for a deposit of the plating material.

Corrosion Resistant Coating

Once the plating process has been carried out, the electroless nickel coating has the result of making the component highly corrosion resistant. A coating of this type will provide superior corrosion protection in a number of environments where corrosion resistance is necessary for the longevity of the part and protection of the component. Electroless nickel acts as a barrier coating that protects the substrate underneath by providing a pore free barrier coating against the corrosive environment.

Choosing an EN Coating Based on the Nature of the Corrosive Environment

When selecting a type of electroless nickel coating for optimum performance, it’s important to consider the nature of the corrosive environment and the deposit’s resistance to corrosion through environmental factors.

Optimising the Performance of Electroless Nickel Coatings

In order for the performance of electroless nickel coatings to be optimised for maximum corrosion protection, the coating must provide a number of properties. For example, the electroless nickel coating must be continuous and free of any microporosity, roughness, nodules and irregularities within the microstructure.

UK Based Metal Finishing and Metal Hardening Company

For more information about electroless nickel plating and how it can be used to provide superior corrosion resistance, please visit the us website, call our friendly staff for advice on +44 (0)845 224 3571 or email

Copper Plating for Lord’s Cricket Ground

Here at us, we’ve recently been involved in an exciting project copper plating part of the bar for use at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Situated in St John’s Wood in London, Lord’s Cricket Ground is often referred to as the ‘home of cricket’.

Of course, it’s such a busy bar that it has to be very large to accommodate everyone, and make sure that everyone gets served their drinks in a reasonable amount of time.

To make sure that this happens, the bar staff at Lords pour pints of beer from allocated drink stations along the bar, which can then be passed to members of staff serving customers in order to save time.

Lord’s Cricket Ground Bar

The piece that we have copper plated is used to conceal the plastic pipes that the beer travels through as it is pumped up and down the bar. Because of all the pouring stations, there are obviously lots and lots of pipes that pump the beer down to them, and they needed to be contained in a way that was not only practical but looked good too. As you can see, the piece is long and circular, perfectly designed to hide the pipes. We think that the copper plating creates an aesthetically pleasing feature which will look really good at the historic cricket ground.

The pictures show a section of the copper plated surround, several of which will be fitted together to make up a 25 meter length tube that will run from one end of the bar to the other.

As you can see, the parts have been copper plated separately for ease of handling and transport reasons, and will be fitted back together once it arrives at Lords and then assembled at the bar.

Copper Plating for Decorative Applications

As experts in copper plating, we’ve noticed that the process has become more and more popular for decorative applications. A copper plated surface is generally very bright and shiny, therefore it’s a really attractive option when it comes to metal plating. In addition to the appealing look of a copper plated surface, it also naturally kills bacteria, which makes it perfect for us in the food and drink industry!

If you are interested in the process of copper plating for either a functional or decorative application, us can help. To make an enquiry or simply to have a chat with one of our friendly team about your requirements, call us or email

Pickling Stainless Steel Components for Aerospace Group Meggitt

As experts in electroless nickel plating, us have taken on some great projects over the years, as well as working with some really fantastic companies. In the past we have been lucky enough to do some work for Meggitt, a global engineering group specialising in components for extreme environments and smart sub-systems for aerospace, defence and energy markets.

Removing Scale from Stainless Steel

Meggitt are a FTSE 100 supplier of aircraft parts, and they supply flight displays and wheels to both Boeing and Airbus. Our job was to pickle a stainless steel component for a project located in offshore Brazil.

We were lucky enough to be involved in the project due to our experience working with hydofluoric acid, which requires safety procedures that we are familiar with. Using this type of acid was integral to the process we carried out for Meggitt, therefore we were an obvious choice to help with it.

Hydofluoric and nitric acid was used to remove the discoloured scale from the stainless steel component, and as you can see from the pictures, the process makes a huge difference to the surface of the steel.The component on the right in this image shows what the steel looked like before the process of pickling, and the component on the left shows the finished result.

If you would like more information about us’s experience working with substances such as hydofluoric acid and stainless steel, please don’t hesitate to call us on our phone number or email us at . Alternatively, you can click here to visit the us website.

Clean, Strengthen and Polish Metal with Chilled Iron Shot-Blasting

What is shotblasting used for?

Shotblasting is a method which is used to clean, strengthen or polish metal.

This method is used in a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, construction, shipbuilding and foundry. Basically, it can be used in any industry that uses metal!

Airblasting

Airblasting is a form of shotblasting that is carried out using a blastroom or blast cabinet. The blast media, for example iron, is pneumatically accelerated by compressed air and projected by nozzles onto the compartment.

The shotblasting media itself can be mixed with water, which is called wet blasting. In wet blasting and air blasting, the nozzles can be installed in fixed positions or they can be operated manually. They can also be operated using an automatic nozzle manipulators or even robots.

Shotblasting facilities at us

At us we pride ourselves on using the most technically advanced equipment to achieve the highest quality finish on all our projects. Our shotblasting capabilities include the following.

  • The ability to shot blast components of up to 20 tonnes in weight.
  • The capacity to shot-blast up to a 216m³ components.

If a finer surface finish is required then it is also possible to blast the component with Aluminium Oxide 180-220 grit.

The shot blast booth at us, used for shotblasting and heat treatment, has a capacity of 216m3 and is made from stainless steel which minimises the particles that settle on the work. We also pride ourselves on our excellent customer service, our fast turnaround times, quality workmanship and competitive rates.

To find out more about about shotblasting and abrasive blast cleaning processes available at us, please visit the us website, call us , or email us at