When it comes performance and extending the life of your molds and dies, choosing the best plating for molds and dies plays a critical role. Whether it is nickel plating or hard chrome plating, the coating application can protect from corrosion, improve wear resistance, and overall productivity in manufacturing facilities. Let’s take a look at the two best plating for molds and dies: electroless nickel plating and hard chrome plating.
Electroless Nickel Plating Delivers a Uniform Finish
One of the main reasons electroless nickel plating is a chosen finish is due to its uniformity. As we all know molds and dies can have very intricate cavities, undercuts and thin walls. Electroless nickel plating can deliver a uniform finish ensuring weak areas are non-existent and the overall wear is even so performance is maximized.
There are a couple of other areas that electroless nickel is best plating for molds and dies. To begin, no microcracks. In last week’s article, we discussed microcracks and the difficulty in spotting them, especially if the plating is too thick. When electroless nickel is deposited evenly and with the recommended thickness, it will leave no room for exposure, and protected from corrosion to the base metal.
Next, the protection of electroless nickel plating reduces any type of friction between the mold and the material. This means that the part or cast can be released in a more efficient way, lowering the stress on the tooling.
Hard Chrome Plating Serves an Important Purpose for Molds and Dies
Hard chrome plating is the best choice for molds and dies when you need a specific outcome for your application. The hard chrome plating on the molds and dies achieves a surface that is resistant to abrasions and erosion. This is a perfect solution when you are in a high volume production environment when the molds are in constant contact with molten or injected materials.
Hard chrome plating is also a perfect solution when high temperatures conditions are necessary for production. Hard chrome plating maintains its hardness and can handle thermal cycling better than other coatings. But let’s not forget it’s shiny finish. The mirror type finish can improve the release of parts with low friction making this a critical application for long production runs.
What is the Best Plating for Molds and Dies?
That is up to you and your environment. However, if you need a second opinion with evaluating critical production situations, contact EN-CHRO Plating and our experts in electroless nickel plating and hard chrome plating can walk you through the process. We’ve been helping customers for over 35 years of projects of all sizes. You’ll be amazed at our quick turnaround and high quality results. Contact us today to find out best plating for molds and dies at 708-450-1250 or email us at quotes@enchro.com.