call us: 800.806.6059
Our Products
Electro-Coatings of Iowa is expanding into Zinc Electroplating!
Why? Electro-Coatings has been in the metal finishing industry for nearly 70 years, offering processes such as Kanigen® electroless nickel alloy; Electralloy™ thin dense chromium; industrial hard chromium; stainless steel passivation. We approach markets based on sustainable customer needs and a suitable market. For several years now, we’ve been asked to enter the zinc plating market by existing customers and soon-to-be customers who have been unable to find zinc plating vendors with the necessary capacities, abilities, or the willingness to grow. The time is now for Electro-Coatings of Iowa to make an impact on the zinc plating market in Iowa and the Midwest by delivering in a bigger and better way.
How? We have the existing space in our Iowa facility. We also have the crew and management staff to get the job done. We’ve hired both managers and lead platers with extensive zinc plating knowledge and experience. We’ve installed a 130 feet long, fully automated barrel plating machine. This machine has the ability, to produce a steady and large flow of barrel work. Nobody will outperform us in fastener plating! We are also installing a large capacity, high volume rack line. We will have the ability to zinc plate frames, weldments and sections of threaded rod, shaft, or tubing up to 21 feet in length. We will also be able to produce large volumes of smaller parts on our custom-made racking in our large tanks. We believe our rack line tanks will be some of the longest in the Midwest.
What Kind of Bath? We will be providing a high-efficiency alkaline zinc plating process. This bath plates at rates comparable with acid zinc at lower current densities, yet still provides a distribution of 1.5 to 2:1. This process runs most efficiently at lower amps per square foot. This means we can load our racks and barrels by up to 100% more parts and maintain thickness at the same amperage and time. This considerably increases our production rates! Because this bath runs so efficiently, hydrogen embrittlement is much less than what is seen from traditional alkaline plating baths. Most of the current goes to depositing zinc rather than generating hydrogen and oxygen gas. We are well equipped with a small batch oven and a large walk-in oven for hydrogen embrittlement relief.
What Kind of Chromates? We are beginning with both clear and yellow capabilities, but will consider adding others, such as black or olive drab, if customer demand merits. Our chromates are fully RoHS compliant, free of hex chrome and provide salt spray performance of 144 hours in our clear-blue-bright and 120 in yellow. The manufacturing world is changing and moving away from hex chromates. We want to be ahead of the curve and a market leader.
When? Our barrel line is operational now and we are beginning to take on new customers to help us ramp up production. Our rack line is under construction and we plan to be operational in mid-May.
Have a Question?