Testing & Control - Metal Finishing

Latest News

IPC Wants Your 'Tin Whisker' Technical Papers
Previously unpublished abstracts sought for the 7th International Symposium on Tin Whiskers in November.
BYK-Gardner Announces 7th Annual User Meeting
Speakers from automotive makers, paint makers, part suppliers as well as raw material suppliers will share their best practices and challenges to optimize color & appearance.
2013 Powder Coating 'Summit' Set for June 18-19 in Columbus, Ohio
The PC Summit, co-produced by The Powder Coating Research Group, The Powder Coating Institute and Powder Coated Tough magazine, brings together some of the greatest minds in our industry's technical and commercial communities.
SUR/FIN 2013 to Host Global Manufacturing Panel on Monday, June 10
Speakers to include an esteemed list of international manufacturing experts from the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, China and Canada.
Uyemura Japan Eyes Expansion
New research racility marks milestone for finishing research.

Podcasts

Metal Finishing Audio Newscast--January 9, 2013
Exclusive interview with Dan Dunigan and Kenn Leuzinger, founders of The Finishing Experts.
Metal Finishing Audio Newscast, December 18, 2012
Review of three independent manufacturing reports: the Federal Reserve's U.S. Industrial Production Summary for November; Association for Manufacturing Technology's October Orders Report; and the latest PMI Index from the Institute for Supply Management.
Metal Finishing Audio Newscast, August 14, 2012
Manufacturing technology orders; U.S. July unemployment report; SIFCO ASC featured on FOX Business Network's "Manufacturing Marvels" Show; AutoTechnology training programs; COATING 2012 technical sessions
Metal Finishing Audio Newscast, June 2012
NASF Annual Awards Presentation; Save the date for SUR/FIN 2013

Blogs

Guest Blog: Import Penetration Still Outweighs Reshoring Trend
Posted by Reg Tucker • 02 April 2013
BY MICHELE NASH-HOFF. In January, the U. S. Business and Industry Council released a report, "Import Penetration Rises again in 2011; Challenges Manufacturing Renaissance, Insourcing Claims,"...
tags: U.S. manufacturing, imports, reshoring
rated:
Making Reviews Worthwhile for Employees and Managers Alike
Posted by Reg Tucker • 05 March 2013
BY MARKO DUFFY. It’s a new year, and if you’re like me you’re absolutely giddy over the excitement of starting another round of meaningful and impactful performance reviews...
tags: Performance appraisals, employee reviews, continuous improvement
rated:
Automotive OEMs Are Riding the 'Wave'
Posted by Reg Tucker • 02 February 2013
Coming off a year which saw a rally in both automotive production and sales – mostly evident in the US and China – it’s not surprising to see that momentum course through the entire ...
tags: automotive parts suppliers, OEMs, powertrain, engine components
rated:
Guest Blog: What a Plater Thinks of Masking for High-Tech Applications
Posted by Reg Tucker • 18 December 2012
By Marko Duffy. This is how we platers think it goes…An engineer calls his co-workers over to his cubicle to show the latest device he’s created—an intelligent, innovative work of t...
tags: electroless nickel, masking, profits
rated:

Matt Stauffer

Ask The Expert

Zinc & Zinc Alloys, Bright Nickel, Trivalent Chrome, Acid Copper
Matt Stauffer is the Director of Technical Service at Pavco, Inc. in Charlotte, N.C. He leads a group that specializes in helping customers maintain, optimize, and troubleshoot a wide variety of metal ...

Features

Clean “As-Received?”
The "Cleaning Lady" and "Rocket Scientist" provide some actions that job shop owners can take to protect their production line against common cleaning pitfalls.
Members' Content
Unfinished Business—Thoughts of a Senior Plater, Part II
In Part II of what he calls his “swan song,” industry veteran John “Jack” Horner touches on a range of subjects, from Ni electroplating from a sulfamate plating solution, to anodizing Ni, to zinc as an undercoating for Cu-Ni-Cr on steel.
"Unfinished” Business—Thoughts of a Senior Plater, Part I
In this retrospective piece, industry veteran John “Jack” Horner reflects on the early research and development and testing that spurred innovations in modern plating.
New Developments in DC Acid Copper for Vertical Plating Tanks
Acid copper plating has come a long way since the early days of double- and single-sided printed wiring boards. This article discusses how the North American printed circuit business continues to adjust to the every-changing landscape of global market conditions.

Downloads

The Study of Color Strength Measurement in Anodizing Dyes
In the past, engineers of quality assurance department matched color by eyesight or colorimeter to identify the change of hue. However, the method does not offer the best accuracy, nor does it indicate color strength. In this study, Everlight Chemical Industrial Corporation attempted to find a better measurement of the color strength and used the statistical analysis to get the estimated equation.
Zincate- or Stannate–Free Plating
For more than 80 years now the most generally accepted process for the preparation of aluminum and it alloys for plating has involved the use of a “zincate” or “stannate” processing solution. Environmental issues relative to the use of these processes are becoming more and more of a problem. The process itself is long and involved and will differ from one alloy to another. This article presents a much more environmentally acceptable alternative that is considerably easier to work with, gives far more consistent results and is more cost effective.
Electroless Nickel/Immersion Silver—A New Surface Finish for PCB Applications
This paper expands on the work conducted in 2010’s “A New Surface Finish for the Electronics Industry [2].” Process flow and the associated chemical steps will be discussed to alleviate concerns of fabrication difficulties. This work will detail additional performance characterization and discuss the surface finish performance on a production scale. The test data presented will include solderability, tarnish and corrosion resistance, aluminum wire bonding and contact performance.
Update on Accelerated Corrosion Testing
In this comprehensive refresher, Ray Singleton, president of Singleton Corp., underscores the usefulness of accelerated corrosion tests in comparison to real-world exposure, while focusing on the consistency of the results.
The Trouble With Plating Baths
Matt Stauffer, director of technical service at PAVCO, offers valuable tips and advice on matters related to common plating bath problems.

Latest News

Podcasts

Blogs

Features

Downloads

There is a US version of this site available...

Members' Login

Not a member?