Project Details
Projekt
Blasting with solid CO2 as a pre-treatment process for electroplating
Subject Area
Metal-Cutting and Abrasive Manufacturing Engineering
Term
from 2012 to 2018
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 224877078
With 25% market share is electroplating one of most important surface finishing processes in Germany. The quality of the electroplated layers depends significantly on the material surfaces. In order to coat surfaces for functional or decorative purposes, the electroplating has been established. For high-quality of electroplated products, the surfaces must be sufficiently cleaned and pre-treated. For this reason, the surface pre-treatment processes prior to galvanization are of great importance. Since the results of the galvanic surface treatment are highly dependent on the pre-treatment steps, no residues of grinding and blasting agents should remain in and on the workpiece surface. A residue-free cleaning is necessary, in order to ensure a high quality coating. Currently, the electroplating requires a variety of chemical baths for this purpose. The pre-treatment process for the electroplating is very important to obtain a good adhesion. To roughen surfaces the glass beads are currently the used method. This is followed by a rinsing to remove residues of the blasting agent. Subsequently, the surface of the component to be plated is pickled. For this purpose, the toxic and polluting chromium (VI) is used. In addition, the conventional pre-treatment method prior to the electroplating is expensive and time consuming. The aim of this project is to replace the conventional pre-treatment process prior to electroplating using dry ice blasting, grinding, lapping and laser beams. Furthermore, the empirical model will be complemented by the Wenzel model. The correlation between the setting parameters of the alternative process and the target values has to be described.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
