Successful salt spray corrosion testing requires a precise and meticulous mindset, and Plateco’s quality and lab teams have just that. The Plateco Quality Department and Plateco Lab Department are composed of analytical and dedicated individuals whose goal is to provide our customers with the most accurate and up-to-date salt spray data available, whether it be by testing specific components for PPAP or providing supplemental data.

Although Plateco, Inc. is not A2LA accredited, our chamber is set up per ASTM B117 / ISO 9227 and checked daily by certified lab personnel to ensure performance compliance. We access our chamber only once every 24-hour period to provide the most accurate and uncontaminated salt spray data. Besides testing customer product, Plateco also conducts monthly testing on our most requested processes across all of our production lines to ensure that all plating chemistries are within Plateco parameters and that we are providing our customers with the best zinc plating possible.

At Plateco, we are capable of testing per the requirements of many specifications, most notably: ISO 2081, JDM F22, JDM F23, JDM F15, ASTM B633, ASTM B695, ASTM F1941, and many others.

Benefits of Plateco Salt Spray Testing

• Product is tested “as processed” at the Plateco facility instead of “as received” at customers’ facilities or labs, ensuring there is no material handing degradation.
• Once product leaves plating facilities, product is subjected to material handling degradation due to the repeated handling and transportation of the product. This can often lead to inconclusive or failing salt spray test data as product is no longer safely controlled once it has left the surface finisher’s facility; it is instead “as received.”

Passivation is the process of chemically cleaning stainless steel with acids to remove free irons for the steel surface, forming a protective oxide film that resists corrosion. Stainless steel is not able to be zinc plated due to a lack of magnetic material on the surface, but the presence of iron will still cause product to rust, which is why Plateco offers passivation services in accordance with ASTM A967.

Benefits of Passivation

• Chemical barrier to protect against corrosion
• Surface contaminant removal
• Extended life of the metal

Hydrogen Embrittlement is the introduction of hydrogen ions into the substrate of metal during the zinc electroplating process. This hydrogen can cause product to become brittle and susceptible to failure in the field. Hydrogen Embrittlement is combated by heating product up to a certain temperature for a predetermined amount of time to release hydrogen from the substrate in a process called hydrogen embrittlement relief, otherwise known as “baking” product.

Plateco, Inc. approaches the hydrogen embrittlement relief process a little differently than our competition. Typical platers use a large industrial oven with doors, but we have discovered that these industrial ovens are not ideal when it comes to proper baking of product; they do not hold product at the designated temperature for the full amount of time and not all product is brought up to full temperature due to improper air flow. Instead at Plateco, we use a conveyor belt oven that slowly moves product over an eight-hour period.

Learn more about hydrogen embrittlement and Plateco’s process at Hydrogen Embrittlement: What It Is and How to Combat It. Then step over to our Case Study: To Passivate or Not to Passivate to understand how baking affects the passivate application and how Plateco addresses this chromate quality issue.

Benefits of Plateco’s Baking Process

• Slow-moving conveyor belt to ensure parts are brought up to temperature and held at temperature for the predetermined amount of time
• An oven opening of less than a foot tall to allow for even distribution of product over the entirety of the conveyor belt, allowing for proper air flow and even distribution of heat
• Regular temperature testing and verification to ensure consistent temperature and quality

Plateco, Inc. offers specialized packaging or material handling to protect our customers’ product during shipment. Is your product delicate, and does it require wrapping in foam/paper or layer packing to protect during transit? Does your product need specific piece counts per box or to be arranged in a specific manner after zinc plating? Plateco Off-Line Material Handling Specialists package product to your exact specification to ensure that all packaging meets your particular needs.

Reach out to your Plateco Sales Representative at sales@plateco.net, and we would be more than happy to help with all of your packaging requirements.

Benefits of Plateco’s Off-Line Material Handling

• Product can be shipped directly to your customer instead of going back to you for packaging
• Highly detailed work instructions that specify every detail of the requested packaging
• Experts who are trained to your exact specifications and motivated to meet your every need