Machines are one of the most important creations of humans. Because of machinery and equipment, the lives of the humans became easier in each generation. This allows more creation of more complex technologies making daily life even easier. In addition, new products and benefits emerge because of the invention of new technologies.
However, just like any other man-made creations, machine, and equipment breaks and can fail once it is near the end of its useful life. The law of physics is still applied when it comes to machines. Wear and tear, as well as impact and corrosion, are some factors that determine a machine’s useful life. If a machine has reached its useful life, the machine cannot be operated anymore.
Large equipment, which is more prone to tear and wear, is often maintained because these machines are very expensive. Machines that often move as a part of its operation are also prone to tear due to friction. Replacing the parts of large equipment can be more expensive than getting a new one. The cost is heavy, which could burden the operations of the business. A business owner would want to extend his or her machine and equipment’s useful life as long as possible. New technology has emerged in recent years to strengthen the durability of parts in equipment or machines. This technology is called hard chrome plating.
What Is Hard Chrome Plating?
Hard chrome plating is the application of chromium alloy to various types of ferrous and nonferrous materials. This is done to add resistance against abrasion, friction, and even restore dimensions of undersized parts. Chromium is an ore that can be found on chromite deposits. Hard chrome plating is a widely varied industry. It can be used on industries that need machinery that is prone to wear and tear. Chrome plating can be applied to things as simple as a screw and on grand schemes like aerospace, automotive parts, and railways.
Benefits Of Hard Chrome Plating In…
- Agricultural Sector
In order to help condition the land for farming, farmers are using a different kind of equipment such as the plow and the cultipacker. Both use parts that are often exposed to the soil and hard rocks. Exposure to these elements will make wear and tear happen at a faster rate.
- Pulp And Paper Industry
The pulp and paper industry is involved in processing wood as a raw material which can be readily used in other product creations. Since cutting wood is not an easy task, machines are used for the hard process. With a lot of wood processed daily, someone who is involved in a pulp and paper industry will take care of the tools by coating with chromium.
- Bulk Handling Industry
Bulk handling is the industry which handles the dry materials such as minerals, salt, sand, gravel, sugar, woodchips, and stones in bulk. These materials are stored and retrieved through conveyor belts, moving floors, bucket elevators, and unloaders. With the bulk processing of these granular and lumpy materials, machinery used will be exposed to friction and abrasion all the time. By coating chromium in the machines, the friction and abrasion will be significantly reduced.
Depending on the product being manufactured, firms that focus on manufacturing uses different kinds of machines. Hard chrome plating is used on manufacturing through an application on landing gear sliding tubes, engine components, shock absorbers, and other things. All the tools that are being used in manufacturing depend on the raw material that is being transferred. However, tools that are used in this industry are prone to wear and tear and are therefore needed to be coated with a protective layer of chrome.
The application of hard chrome plating is not frequent. Once the machine or the equipment is coated, its longevity is affected by a lot of factors. Included in these factors is its: maintenance, quality, and how thick the coating of the chromium, and last, but not the least, how someone will use the machine. Even after coating the machinery, if it is used improperly a lot of times, even a coated machine can be destroyed easily. Chrome plating can also be applied to a wide range of materials. In addition, it can even help the machine parts be less reactive when it comes to extreme weather conditions.