Plating and Grinding

Hard chrome plating is almost, always applied to things that are made of steel, usually hardened steel. It is not the same as regular chrome plating. It is metallic looking and is used a lot for crankshafts, hydraulic arms, and earth moving equipment- things that need to be precise in their measurements. Variations are optimized to be very porous for oil retention. This kind of plating requires ID-OD-centerless grinding.

Grinding is a type of cutting using an abrasive wheel as the blade. It is thought to be the most accurate way to cut hardened steel. It gives the nicest finishes and is very accurate when things need to be just right. If someone wanted to make something of hardened steel that needed to be perfectly smooth and dimensional, ID-OD-centerless grinding along with hard chrome plating would do the trick.

On the other hand, if someone needed something less, they could choose from several other types of plating. One is zinc, which gives moderate corrosion protection. It is used mostly on hardware such as furniture. Cadmium isn’t used very much because it is toxic, but it resists saltwater. However, it should not be used on boats because it can kill fish and other marine life. Tin is non-toxic and is used for electronics and food storage. Silver plate is used mainly for decoration on things like teapots and utensils. Chromating on aluminum is used for powder coating. It is also used because it provides good protection against corrosion.