No matter what your informational needs are, the following online resources are a great starting point, each providing a wealth of technical and training information and links related to metal surface finishing technology, environmental impact and regulatory compliance. Continue reading
By E Probasco
In our latest profile, The Fifty Caliber Shooters Association’s quarterly publication Very High Power discusses APT’s role as a subcontractor to the US military, providing specialty plating of a new line of DDI ammunition. Engineered finishes aiding positive identification of ammunition types, and withstanding multiple load and unload cycles are key DDI design requirements achieved by Advanced Plating Technologies.
The article further discusses other APT engineered surface treatments used for corrosion prevention and metal on metal lubrication within the ammunition component industry. Read more…
Gold Plated Interconnect Crimp Tubes
Gold plating of micro-components such as those used within the medical and interconnect industries presents unique plating challenges. Many micro-component surface treatments, whether being gold plated, silver plated or even passivated corrosion-resistant alloys require specialized process tooling and processing techniques to ensure plating finishes are uniform across all functional surfaces. The cleaning, processing, rinsing and drying processes must all be engineered around the characteristics of the micro component.
Prior to developing micro-compatible processes, plating techniques were limited to significantly larger components on a more macro-scale. Opportunities to expand services within the medical and interconnect industries was the business driver that pushed Advanced Plating Technologies (APT) to focus on process development for substantially smaller micro-components. Continue reading
By M. Lindstedt
Plating of Aluminum is Key to the Power Market
The power transmission and distribution industry has long utilized copper as the material of choice for designing and manufacturing critical grid components. Copper has excellent thermal and electrical properties that are desirable when transferring and switching very high power loads. In addition, various alloys of copper available provide the machinability and physical/mechanical properties required for most design applications. Copper not only offers outstanding conductivity but its mechanical properties can be enhanced with a range of alloying metals and heat treatments. Grades such as C101 (oxygen free), C110, C145 (tellurium) and C147 (sulfur bearing), C182 (chromium) and C172 (beryllium) are all cuprous alloys that have been utilized within the power transmission and distribution market for decades. All of these grades are readily plated with conductive metals including silver, tin and nickel to enhance the surface conductivity, reduce the formation of insulating oxides and offer enhanced joinability with methods such as brazing and soldering. Continue reading
Since the early 1900s nickel plating of shell casings have been the norm for ammunition used in revolvers for law enforcement. Until the introduction of Techni-crom™, nickel shell casing performance lagged behind modern firearm performance. Continue reading
By S Patel
Silver has extremely high electrical and thermal conductivity – better than that of gold – which has solidified its use in high current power transmission and lower current power connector applications. Silver also is an excellent high temperature lubricant and can be utilized for various high temperature anti-galling applications within the bearing or fastener industries. Continue reading
By M. Lindstedt
Gold Plating Services – Delicate and Micro Parts
Gold plating services within the medical, electronic or telecommunications markets often involves the application of gold deposits on very small or micro parts. In these industries, there is an on-going emphasis on Swiss and micro machining of smaller and 
