APT NEWS & EVENTS

Ducta-bright 7a® Nickel Selected for BPSIS Ammunition

Ducta-bright 7a® Nickel is the cornerstone finish within APT’s family of ammunition and firearm finishes.  It was developed in 2010 in response to growing demands within the self-defense ammunition market for a ductile, bright nickel process that could reliably withstand the extreme stress that occurs when casings are loaded and fired repeatedly.  Traditional bright nickel systems have organic brighteners added which increase the stress in the deposit.  This results in a finish that can often crack or flake during loading and/or firing.

Ducta-bright 7a® was developed in response to this in a year-long R&D project at APT.  The goal was to create a ductile and bright nickel deposit that would be optimized for the most aggressive ammunition applications.  Of the 40 process variants that were developed and tested, group A within Lot 7 produced the best combination giving the process its signature name.

Figure 1: Ducta-bright 7a® withstands the extreme crimp of the Lehigh BPSIS Casing.

Challenge

Recently Dave Fricke, President of Lehigh Defense, approached APT with a challenge for his new BPSIS (Black Powder Substitute Ignition System) casings.  Dave needed a coating that would withstand the extremely aggressive star crimp at the case mouth without flaking.  To say the crimp is aggressive is putting it lightly….the casing mouth is essentially turned into modern art through a dramatic crimp/fold process.

Solution

APT Engineering recommended Ducta-bright 7a® nickel for the application and the results illustrate how truly durable the deposit is.  The nickel finish remained fully adherent and did not crack or flake even despite the brass itself beginning to craze due to the extreme yielding of the crimp process.

Dave who was doubtful if he would find a finish suitable for the BPSIS was thrilled, “I was pessimistic about finding a finish for the BPSIS application.  Ducta-bright 7a® performed flawlessly providing a bright and durable nickel that will help ensure our rifle performs when it counts.”  Lehigh Defense is known for innovation in projectiles and firearm applications.

The use of Ducta-bright 7a® for the BPSIS system represents a great example of surface engineering innovation in partnership with Advanced Plating Technologies.  Visit Lehigh Defense for more information on the Black Powder Substitute Ignition System.

 

Want to learn more about APT’s Ducta-bright 7a®? Contact a member of our Technical Team to get more information. 

 

APT Responds to Covid-19

APT Responds to COVID-19 with Increase In Medical Metal Finishing Services

Gold Plating of Medical Devices

There are many questions and lots of uncertainty with COVID-19. Advanced Plating Technologies will remain open during this time as an essential business. APT provides services to critical industries such as medical, defense, automotive & power transmission. Advanced Plating Technologies offers a range of plated medical device coatings to improve biocompatibility as well as enhance the hardness, corrosion resistance, wear resistance or lubricity of a medical device. APT has been providing gold, tin, electroless nickel, nickel, passivation and powder coating for a variety of medical devices for a number of OEMs like G.E. Healthcare, Medtronic, W.L. Gore, 3M, Stryker:

  • Gold plating of electrical contacts, forceps, arthroscopic & endoscopic components for biocompatibility and scanning components for high temperature join-ability
  • Passivation of catheter eyelets, arthroscopic & endoscopic tools, titanium & cobalt-chrome implants and medical device springs and wire forms for corrosion resistance
  • Tin, electroless nickel and high purity nickel coatings on anesthesia delivery components, laryngoscope handles, radiation focus plates, radiation lead and tungsten shielding, and scanning components for joinability
  • Powder coating of stethoscope chest pieces, radiological vessels, component tool kits and various structural and device housing components
Medical Device Plating

Medical Device Plating

As an ISO 13485:2016 certified company, Advanced Plating Technologies recognizes the responsibility to exceed standards and expectations. APT looks forward to continuing to help our customers continue to make life saving equipment all while striving to keep our employees safe & healthy during this difficult time. A full press release was sent our to our customers and can be downloaded at the bottom of this post. APT will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.

COVID Letter

APT Now Offers Full Bright Silver in Barrel & Rack

Bright Silver Plating Advanced Plating Technologies is excited to bring yet another engineered solution in metal finishing: 99.9% pure, bright silver plating available in barrel and rack methods. Until recently, a bright silver of this ultra-high purity was not commercially available.  With traditional organic brightened silver baths, the organic brighteners co-deposit with the silver resulting in a reduction in silver purity.  APT’s high-purity, bright silver process provides a fine-grained, lustrous silver deposit that is hard, wear resistant and maintains the full conductivity of 99.9% pure silver.  APT’s new bright silver finish is complies with ASTM B700 Type 1, 2 or 3, Grade B, Class N or S as well as QQ-S-365, Type III, Grade A or B.  APT’s bright silver plating provides brilliant cosmetic appeal with outstanding electrical and wear properties for industries including the power transmission & distribution, telecommunications, electrical interconnect, aerospace, medical and automotive industries.

In addition, APT is adding capacity in silver plating with the on-going construction of a new barrel silver plating line.  This line has been engineered to accommodate high volume barrel silver plating in bright, semi-bright and matte silver plating and will provide both copper and nickel underplates.  The new line will be completed mid-year 2019 and will ensure that APT maintains both the capacity and competitive lead times to service our customer base.  The addition of this new barrel silver line will allow for increased capacity and reduced lead times in APT’s current core business of rack silver plating services.

If you have an interest in APT’s fully bright silver plating, you can submit a RFQ or contact one of our certified finishing engineers to learn more about this new technology.

APT Adds Truck Service into Chicago Area

Advanced Plating Technologies Now Runs Weekly Truck into Chicago

Advanced Plating Technologies have officially launched their newest service – freight & logistics. Starting in the tail end of 2018 as a beta test, APT is now fully up and running on weekly trips into the Greater Chicago & Milwaukee areas. The new truck can accommodate pick ups of full size skids eliminating any logistical hurdles. “We’re all very excited to have the truck up and running full time” said company President Matt Lindstedt, “Coupling the new freight service with our increased capacity, fast lead times and competitive pricing, this truck allows us to help customers get high quality parts faster.”

Advanced Plating Technologies also is completing a new high capacity barrel silver plating line. The new plating line will produce the fastest barrel silver lead times in the Midwest, if not the country. In addition to silver plating, APT has increased capacity for tin plating and nickel plating – both in rack & barrel. If you are interested in having APT provide you a turnkey solution for your plating request a quote today or call us to discuss at 414-271-8138.

gold plating company

APT Completes New Plating Line; Additional Expansions Planned for 2019

Capacity Expansions Are Underway at APT:

16-Line Thumbnail

New Plating Line at APT

Expansions are underway at Advanced Plating Technologies. In addition to 2018 being the 70th year in business, the fourth generation, family owned company has recently completed a brand new plating that will service rack and barrel copper. The new plating line is the first production line build at APT in over 7 years and the first new plating line in 20 years. This new infrastructure investment showcases the drive that Advanced Plating Technologies has to expanding as a company and staying downtown Milwaukee to continue providing jobs to over 80 individuals and counting.

“We are very excited to have this line up and running. Since investing so much into our waste treatment system in 2016, we have been committed to growing as a company more than ever and building additional infrastructure is the best way to do it,” said company President, Matt Lindstedt. The line was primarily assembled in-house with oversight and consulting from John Lindstedt (CEO), Matt Lindstedt (President), Erik Probasco (Plant Manager), Douglas Winslow (Facilities Manager) & James Lindstedt (Production Manager). “We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and experienced staff that was able to provide insight during the expansions” said company CEO, John Lindstedt.

In addition to the already completed line, APT plans to complete another barrel silver and tin plating line which is aiming to be live Q2 of 2019. “We will by far have the fastest turnaround and most capacity for barrel silver in the entire Midwest, if not the country” said Matt. “We will be designing the line exactly how our customers are demanding parts – with increased capacity and better efficiency.” The new plating line will allow APT to run both barrel and rack plating simultaneously with limited turnover time. Be sure to check in often for updates on the recent and planned expansions at Advanced Plating Technologies and see below for images of the new, completed plating line .

16-Line Expansions Full Line

16-Line No Operator

 

APT To Exhibit at OTC in Houston

APT To Exhibit at OTC in Houston

Advanced Plating Technologies will be attending the world’s largest event for the Oil & Gas industry April 30-May3 in Houston, TX when the company exhibits at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in booth 7404 for the second consecutive year. “With our growing presence in the Oil & Gas industry, we were very excited to finally be able to exhibit at the OTC show. We are currently working on multiple projects with the end use being Oil & Gas components,” said President Matt Lindstedt.

Some of the notable finishes offered by APT for this industry include heavy build electroless nickel plating for corrosive and erosive applications, gold plating and silver plating for high reliability interconnect and signal transmission as well as copper, tin and tin/lead metallic lubricants for power transmission systems. APT will be featuring product samples for viewing at the 7404 booth. In addition to the already listed finishes, passivation, black nickel, as well as electrolytic nickel will be points of interest for those within petrochemical.

“We’re very excited to be able to showcase our surface finishing capabilities to the industry leading OEM’s as well as other suppliers at the show. Through our dedicated engineering and commitment to improvement we are really pushing our brand and OTC is the perfect place to keep that momentum going”, said New Business Development Specialist Scott Benson.

OTC this year will feature more than 2,300 exhibitors from 100 countries. The show floor is spread across four platforms: NRG Arena, NRG Center, Outdoor Exhibits and the Pavilion. Advanced Plating Technologies will be located in the NRG Arena on the main floor in booth 7404. APT will have representatives from Sales, Marketing, Production and Engineering at the show.

Fast Facts:

What: Offshore Technology Conference (OTC)

Where: NRG Arena – Houston, TX

When: April 30-May  3, 2018

Booth: 7404

OTC 2018

APT Announces Matthew Lindstedt as President

Matthew Lindstedt Named President of APT

Milwaukee, January 10th, 2018 – Advanced Plating Technologies has announced Matthew Lindstedt has been named President effective January 1st, 2018. Former President, John Lindstedt, has been named Chief Executive Officer effective immediately.

Matthew Lindstedt

Matthew Lindstedt

Matthew has been with Advanced Plating Technologies (formerly Artistic Plating Company) since 1990. He started in polishing and plating before moving to the Maintenance Department in 1992. While at Arizona State University, Matthew continued to work at APT during summer vacations and school breaks. After graduating college and a tour of service in the Air Force, Matthew returned to APT full time in 2003 when he became the Engineering Manager. He transitioned into the Technical Sales Manager role shortly after in 2005 where he remained the Technical Sales Manager until 2018. During his tenure as Technical Sales Manager, Matthew expanded APT’s sales into new markets including Ammunition, Firearms, and Oil & Gas and led the company to more technically-focused industries.

“Matt has helped transform APT into what it is today”, said CEO John Lindstedt. “His vision, leadership skills and work ethic are a few of the attributes that he will bring as President. Our goal is to be the most technically proficient metal finishing shop in the United States and I feel Matt is the best choice to lead that continued effort.”

About Matthew Lindstedt

Matthew, 41, has been with Advanced Plating Technologies for 27 years and worked full time for the company for 15 years. He graduated from Arizona State University on a ROTC Scholarship in 1999 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Upon graduating from Arizona State, Matthew served in the United States Air Force from 1999-2003. Matthew achieved Professional Engineer (P.E.) accreditation in 2003.

About Advanced Plating Technologies

Advanced Plating Technologies is a Fourth Generation Family Owned company and currently has over 70 employees. Advanced Plating Technologies is an industry leading, plating and powder coating company that provides engineered solutions in surface finishing across a range of demanding industries including the medical, defense, power transmission/distribution, telecommunication and the oil & gas markets.  Founded in 1948 as Artistic Plating Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the current name reflects an engineering focus and commitment to technological growth to provide exacting plating, passivation and powder coating services for major OEMs and quality-focused suppliers. For more information please visit www.advancedplatingtech.com.

Advanced Plating Technologies to Exhibit at 2018 SHOT Show

2018 SHOT Show Set For January 23-26

Advanced Plating Technologies will be exhibiting at the 2018 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, NV. This year’s show marks a milestone 15 years that APT has exhibited at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show. This will also be the 40th Anniversary of the show which is held each year and organized by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and is the largest of its type for the shooting, hunting and firearms industry.

“We have seen the ammunition and firearm industry at high and low points throughout our tenure with providing surface finishing solutions. I think it shows very positive about the industry and the NSSF to be able to continuously provide a high quality show for 40 years”, said Technical Sales Manager, Matt Lindstedt. Advanced Plating Technologies will be showcasing its full line of proprietary ammunition and firearm cornerstone finishes at the show: Ducta-Bright 7a® Nickel, Black-TPD®, Eclipse-TPD® and Tacti-Black® Electroless Nickel as well as copper plating for bullets and projectiles.

“Our engineering and production staff has been hard at work developing new surface finishing technologies and we are excited to be pushing a new post-plate finish option, HP+™, for use on our black nickel and black electroless nickel finishes” said Sales & Marketing Associate, Scott Benson. HP+™ is a proprietary process in which a rare earth metal molecular sealer is bonded to the surface which enhances the depth of the black and reduces the luster (brightness) of the finish. It will also improve dry film lubricity and corrosion resistance.

For more information on the 2018 SHOT Show or to register to attend, you can visit the website by clicking here. Be sure to check back often for updates and information leading up to the show.

Fast Facts:

What: SHOT Show

When: Tuesday January 23 –  Friday January 26

Where: Sands Convention Center – Las Vegas, Nevada

Booth: 15632

2018 SHOT Show

 

APT To Exhibit at Medical Design & Manufacturing Show in Minneapolis

Medical Design & Manufacturing Conference Set for November 8-9

Advanced Plating Technologies will be participating in the 23rd Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) trade show in Minneapolis, MN in booth 2522. More than 600 suppliers will be showcasing industry specific technologies and this will be APT’s 7th consecutive year having a booth at the Minneapolis show.

“We are excited to once again be returning to Minneapolis to showcase our surface finishing solutions to the medical device industry. Our range of plated medical device coatings to improve biocompatibility as well as enhance the hardness, corrosion resistance, wear resistance or lubricity of a medical device continue to advance and draw more interest each year we attend the show”, said Technical Sales Manager Matt Lindstedt. In addition to plating services, APT also offers passivation of stainless steel and titanium medical-grade alloys and powder coating for selective or highly cosmetic medical device applications.

To learn more about APT’s full line of capabilities specific to medical devices, please visit our medical coatings page.

medical design information

 

Fast Facts:

What: Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) Minneapolis

Where: Minneapolis Convention Center – Minneapolis, MN

When: November 8-9, 2017

Booth: 2522

 

APT Selected as Beta Test Site for new TriRinse℠ System

Beta Testing for TriRinse℠ Set to Begin

Advanced Plating Technologies is proud to announce that the company has been selected to beta test Hardwood Line Manufacturing’s new TriRinse℠ System. The company will be installing the tank on one plating line. This announcement comes on the heels of the 2017 NASF SUR/FIN show in Atlanta where Hardwood Line showcased the new system.

TriRinse℠

The rinsing process is essential in metal finishing avoiding the carryover of chemicals from one bath to the next during the plating process. Fresh water is used to ensure that the parts are free from chemistry prior to entering the next bath. The TriRinse℠ system utilizes a triple rinse in one tank and focuses in on multiple factors of the rinse cycles:  Greater rinsing efficiency, less line length by limiting the amount of tanks and tools needed, and the cornerstone of metal finishing – waste treatment. The TriRinse℠ system will ultimately have greater efficiency in water usage resulting in less wastewater that would have needed to be treated. “Our company invested the largest amount of money in company history with a new waste treatment system that was completed in 2016. With that being said, our company is very aware of the environmental impact that surface finishing can have. The new TriRinse℠ is an exciting and beneficial tool for the surface finishing industry and we are excited to be the shop that will have it installed on one of our lines”, said company President John Lindstedt. Advanced Plating Technologies and Hardwood Line Manufacturing will be reviewing baseline data prior to installation to compare to the results from the TriRinse℠ system both during the testing as well as after the testing is complete.

For additional information on Hardwood Line’s new TriRinse℠ technology, please visit their website or click here to download a PDF version of the process.