In 1946, Bill Raymond and Johnny Stout founded R&S Plating as specialists in Indianapolis Hard Chrome. Their facility started in the Indianapolis area. During all the changes in the site and with technology, R&S Plating has continued to work out of the same facility for seven decades. As a family owned and operated the facility, we take customer service to heart. Therefore, our team pay close attention to details and strive for perfection in all of our hard chrome plating applications. We are excited to grow our community to more of the 114,400 business in the area. R&S Plating not only serve the greater Indianapolis area but most of the midwest as well! Whether you are a Fortune 500 business or a smaller company, we have solutions for you. Whatever your need, our Indianapolis plating company will be there to help.
No project is too big or too small. We are located within the Crossroads of American, and we are a quick drive away. Whether it is industrial, military, or commercial we are glad to help!
What is Indianapolis Hard Chrome?
Also known as “Satin” Chrome, hard chrome is used in many industrial applications. Additionally, this type of application is used on surfaces that are unprotected from excessive wear and tear. Not only is it used for abrasion tolerance, but hard chrome is also used for oxidation resistance. Hard chrome provides a long-lasting protective coat.
Chrome finishing is also known as “flash” coating and creates a thickness of .0001 to .0005 on the needed area. The thicker the application there is a chance of defects on the substrate becoming more amplified. The hard chrome does not level itself, which is what causes the amplified defects.
Hard chrome plating is mainly used to reduce friction to minimize wear and tear, this makes them valuable to these Indianapolis industries:
- Automotive for pistons, shock absorbers, and more.
- Aerospace for landing gears components and actuator components.
- Machine tools for drills, screws, and many more.
- Gears
- Salvage parts to restore worn parts.
- Plastic molds for anti-stick properties.
- And many more industries.
Our Indianapolis Hard Chrome Process
The first step in getting your substrate ready to be plated is decreasing. Degreasing removes heavy soiling from your part. The next step is manual cleaning to removed the smallest amounts of dirt and other impurities. The next step is placing your part into the plating vat to warm it to the solution’s temperature. The last step in the plating process is to apply the solution to the desired thickness.
Build up of hard chrome is done on undersized products. This helps to be able to grind down the excess to get your specific desired finish. The build-up of materials will leave you with a rustproof, durable material that will last for many years.
For injection molding, we use a “flash” application that adds a protective coat as well as ease of cleaning the mold. Hard chrome prevents molds from getting dirtied by plastics, syrups, and more than get stuck in the mold cavity.
Not all substrates are created equally. Different pieces may use slight variations in the application process. Other substrates many need other etching solutions. Depending on the part being plated, R&S Plating’s turn around time is typically five to seven business days. However, some materials (pending part preparation) can take as little as two to three business days to complete.
Our Indianapolis Hard Chrome Company
R&S Plating offers flash and builds up using wiring, racking, anode fabrication, and masking. With our years of experience, our typical applications are on hydraulics, shafts, molds, aircraft components, dies, tooling, and centrifuge bowls. Not only do we add hard chrome to materials, but we can also remove it as well.
If there is a certain budget or production timeframe that you need to stay within, do not hesitate to reach out to see how we can work with your needs.
Contact Our Indianapolis Hard Chrome
All of R&S Plating’s Indianapolis employees have a vast amount of hours of hands-on training. We ensure all of our work to be of the highest quality, for your satisfaction. In fact, our motto is “by staying ready, there is no getting ready”. If you do not see what you are looking for in hard chrome, we also offer cadmium. cooper, nital etching, passivation, sulfamate nickel, baking and hydrogen embrittlement relief, white layer removal, and zinc plating. As you can see, we want to be your one stop shop for all of your plating needs. Additionally, if you have more questions, reach out to a representative at R&S Plating and we would be more than happy to assist!