Youngstown Hard Chrome Plating and Grinding, Inc.

With our ability to provide exceptional quality hard chrome plating for large and heavy industrial items, Youngstown Hard Chrome was hired to finish the giant hopper highlighted here. Designed for integration with plastics processing machinery, it features dimensions of 91” O.D. x 78” in length.

Problem:
In addition to the magnitude of its size, this hopper has an unusual geometry that added a level of complexity to the plating process. We needed to engineer a production strategy to ensure consistent coverage at a uniform thickness on all interior and exterior surfaces.

Solution:
One of our tactics involved fabricating custom anodes to provide the best control over the chrome deposit distribution and the plating speed. We also built custom lifting fixtures that allowed us to deftly maneuver the hopper in and out of the tank. After properly preparing the surfaces for plating, we leveraged the capacity of our deep plating tanks to process this workpiece. With our strong background in surface engineering, we controlled the process to create a hard, tough, low friction, and corrosion-resistant finish. We also polished the hopper to smooth out the surfaces and restore the work piece to ±.002” tolerances.

Results:
In addition to visual inspection, thickness testing and surface inspection confirmed we satisfied the requirements in the client specifications. By overcoming the challenges of this project and returning the hopper to the customer in less than one week, we helped them keep their process running and avoid costly production outages.

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of our hard chrome plating processes or obtaining a quote, contact us today.