Transiflo and MACuGuard

Mechanical Plating

And

Galvanising

March 2003

All statements, technical information and recommendations contained herein are

based on tests we believe to be reliable, but the accuracy or completeness thereof is
not guaranteed. No statement or recommendation shall constitute a representation
unless set forth in an agreement signed by the officers of seller and manufacturer.
The following warranty is made in lieu of all other warranties, express, implied or
statutory:
Products are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship at the
time sold. No warranty is made regarding the performance of any product. The
sole obligation of the seller and manufacturer under this warranty shall be to
replace any product defective at the time sold. Under no circumstances shall
manufacturer or seller be liable for any loss, damage or expense, direct or
consequential, arising out of the use of or inability to use the product.
No suggestion for product use nor anything contained herein shall be construed as a
recommendation to use any product in infringement of any patent rights, and seller
and manufacturer assume no responsibility or liability for any such infringement.

Contents

Page

General Description
Mechanical Plating
Mechanical Galvanising
Advantages of the Transiflo Mechanical Plating Process
Advantages of Macuguard Mechanical Galvanising
History
Avoiding Hydrogen Embrittlement
Other Transiflo and Macuguard Benefits
Mixed Metal Coatings
Thicker Coatings
Sheradizing Disadvantages
Hot Dip Galvanising Disadvantages
Mechanical Plating/Galvanising
Theoretical Principle of Mechanical Plating
The Principle of Mechanical Plating Chemistry
The Surface Conditioning Steps/Removal of Oxide
Application of Copper Flash
Promoter and Flash Coat Step
The Mechanical Deposition Step
Principle Process of Application
Surface Conditioner Acid Descale
Surface Conditioner Copper Flash
Mechanical Plating Promoter
Flash Metal Coating
Zinc Metal Plating
Typical Mechanical Plating Cycle
Zinc Plating 6 20 microns
Inverplex Plating 10 microns
Liquid Delivery System
Ancillary Process Additives
Macuguard FP
Equipment for Mechanical Plating

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Plant Schematic Drawings

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General Description of the Process

Mechanical Plating
Mechanical Plating is a method of plating,which utilises mechanical energy to deposit
metal coatings onto metal parts. In general, parts, glass beads, water, chemicals, and
metal powder are tumbled together in rotating barrels to obtain the desired coating. The
process is used primarily to provide ferrous-based parts with protective coatings of zinc,
aluminium* and tin* as single layers or in combination. Decorative coatings of brass are
also available. Parts treated by this method are most often small parts, which are typically
handled in bulk.
Parts which have been degreased are tumbled in chemically resistant lined barrels with
water, glass bead impact media, and surface conditioners which clean and activate the
base metal before the addition of a promoter. The promoter chemical serves to clean the
metal powders and control the size of the metal powder agglomerates that are formed.
The mechanical energy generated from the barrel's rotation is transmitted through the
glass impact media and causes the clean metal powder to be cold welded to the clean
metal parts, thereby providing an adherent, metallic coating. The Transiflo Mechanical
Plating System is economically beneficial over previous Mechanical Plating methods in
that the rinsing stages between descaling, coppering and the plating steps are eliminated,
saving both water and time.

Single layers of aluminium or tin do not sacrificially protect steel substrates.

Mechanical Galvanising
Modification of the Transiflo chemistry has allowed the mechanical zinc plating thickness
range (6-25 microns) to be extended to cover the range 25-110 microns.
Mechanically deposited coatings of zinc within this range are known as MACuGuard
Mechanical Galvanising. The principle of the process is exactly the same as for
mechanical plating except that:

a) Modified chemicals are used,

and
b) Multiple additions of zinc powder are added during the cycle.

Advantages of the Transiflo Mechanical Plating Process

Produces corrosion resistant coatings to satisfy most specifications.

Excellent adhesion and uniformity.
Freedom from hydrogen embrittlement.
Easily plates sintered metal parts, without the need to impregnate.
Different metal coatings can be applied on a batch to batch basis in the same
equipment.
Eliminates analytical process control requirements.
Simple waste treatment; no cyanides or complexing chemicals.
Mixed metal coatings or sandwich coatings may be applied to meet specific higher
corrosion resistant applications.
Thicker coatings can be applied without significant cost increases.

Advantages of MACuGuard Mechanical Galvanising

Improved coating uniformity compared with other traditional thick zinc coating
processes.
Excellent part to part coating thickness consistency.
Low energy, room temperature process.
Freedom from hydrogen embrittlement.
No stickers.
Small components can be easily processed.
Coating thickness can be accurately controlled at any value within the range 20-110
microns.
No softening of hardened components.

History
Avoiding Hydrogen Embrittlement:
Sacrificially protective coatings of zinc and cadmium have long been established as the
satisfactory choice for a protection system for steel, especially for those components such
as nails, screws, washers etc., that could be damaged during assembly. Today cadmium is
out of favour due to the health and safety aspects of the metal, whereas zinc alone or codeposited with other metals and topcoats has been found to be acceptable for use.
The established technique for applying thin coatings of zinc has been that of
electrodeposition, on parts racked or bulk processed in barrels. Electrodeposition of zinc
has taken place in aqueous solutions based on alkaline cyanide, alkaline zincate or
chloride zinc, together with proprietary brightener systems which have produced bright
metallic coatings at a reasonable cost. These types of solutions have proven to be the
work-horse of the corrosion protection industry.
Unfortunately the use of these solutions and their associated process systems will by their
electrochemical behaviour, produce hydrogen during deposition of the zinc, i.e. cathode
efficiencies of less than 100%. With unhardened steel this hydrogen does not normally
cause a problem. Hardened steel components however, of hardness greater than
Rockwell 32C, (318 Vickers or 301 Brinell) or tensile strength of greater than 1000
N/mm2 can be affected by this hydrogen.
Hydrogen absorbed into hardened steel structures can cause a brittle fracture mechanism
known as hydrogen embrittlement whereby components unexpectedly break under load
conditions much less than the design maxima of the unplated parts. This phenomenon
can be explained more, in the attached study, carried out using different protective
finishes.
Therefore for safety critical applications, i.e. automotive braking steering, seat belt
components etc., this risk of hydrogen embrittlement failure is unacceptable.
The Transiflo Mechanical Plating Process was developed to offer the automotive
engineer, the first, commercially available, non-electrolytic technique for applying
corrosion protective coatings of zinc on critical hardened steel components. Since its
inception the Transiflo Mechanical Plating System has gained the acceptance and
confidence of the worlds automotive manufacturers as a method of applying corrosion
resistant coatings without the risk of hydrogen embrittlement.

Other Transiflo and MACuguard Benefits

As well as the major feature of the mechanical plating process avoiding hydrogen
embrittlement, there are further features for which the design engineer should be made
aware.
The Transiflo Mechanical Plating Process does not suffer from line of sight or throwing
problems. Internal diameters can be better plated, than by electroplating processes; thread
profiles are more uniformly plated.
As a result, several applications exist where tubes and other parts with holes in them have
been mechanically plated successfully. Also, mechanically plated bolts and/or nuts can
be tightened more securely at lower torque loadings.
Normally difficult substrates such as castings or porous materials, such as sintered metals,
can be mechanically plated easily. The process does not suffer any hydrogen overvoltage
problems like electroplating zinc, and because the mechanical plating process operates at
a constant pH and temperature, it stops pores acting as thermal pumps, entrapping
incompatible hot and/or cold chemicals within the structure of the base material. There is
no spotting out.

Mixed Metal Coatings

Most soft, easily chemically cleaned metals can be deposited using the mechanical plating
process.
Applications exist where specific mixtures or layers of coatings are applied, e.g.
Zinc-Tin
Tin-Zinc
Zinc-Aluminium
Zinc-Brass
All can be tailored to suit particular environments, or for such applications whereby steel
fasteners are used to fasten into aluminium substrates.

Thicker Coatings
Zinc is one of the most widely accepted coatings for protecting steel against corrosion.
In principle, the protection offered by zinc, is proportional to the coating weight or
thickness applied.
Although the electroplating process is the most commonly used coating technique, it is
only economically viable for applying thin coatings (12-15 microns maximum).
For coatings thicker than this it is normal to use other methods of applying zinc metal.
The thicker coatings utilise hot dip galvanising whilst the intermediate coating
thicknesses use sherardizing.
Each method of coating process has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main
advantages are theoretical cheapness; the disadvantages are as follows:

Sherardizing Disadvantages:

Iron-zinc alloy coating

Dusty surface

Difficult to apply uniformly

High temperature process, can cause softening and/or distortion of components

High energy consumption

Hot-dip Galvanising Disadvantages

Brittle intermetallic Fe/Zn compound formed

Difficult to apply smoothly or uniformly onto small components

Sensitive to certain silicon killed steels

Distorts components such as nails

High temperature process can soften components

Flat or small components tend to stick together

High energy consumption

Use of scrubbers for fume emissions

Short plant life

Molten zinc is hazardous

Coating thickness, is controlled by shape, and heat capacity of the component

Mechanical Plating/Galvanising
Transiflo and MACuguard Mechanical Plating Processes have become established as a
universal zinc coating technique with the versatility of using one piece of equipment to
provide a range of zinc thicknesses from plating to galvanising, and not just an eliminator
of permanent hydrogen embrittlement, for the reasons of:

It is a room temperature process which cannot soften or distort components

Small parts cannot stick together

Coating thicknesses can be controlled to an average value between 5 and 110 microns

Smooth, uniform and consistent part-to-part coating thicknesses can be applied

Simple, low cost, low energy use

Less hazardous equipment required

100% metallic zinc coating

Equal or better thickness for thickness corrosion resistance than other zinc coating
processes

The same piece of equipment can also be used for applying other finishes, whether single
or mixed metal, layered or co-deposited.

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Theoretical Principle of Mechanical Plating

As the name of the process suggests, mechanical plating takes place by the transfer of
energy from a multi-sided barrel into an impact and sliding energy of contact between a
glass bead, a metal powder particle and a prepared component surface.

6 Metal
Particle

Flash Coat

200
Glass
Bead

Copper Layer

Substrate

The diagram represents the point of energy of contact between a 6 micron particle of zinc
powder particle and a 200 micron diameter glass bead, (one of up to four different sizes in
a standard mix. The largest being 4.5mm diameter).
Cohesive bonding takes place between the lattice of the particle, and the lattice of the
substrate surface. The continuing mechanism of particle attachment forms adhesion and
compaction thus building layers of particles to achieve plating thickness.

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The factors required for this mechanism to take place are:

Correctly cleaned and prepared component surfaces

Correct chemical environment

Clean metallic powder of the correct shape, size and purity

Clean glass media

Sufficient glass media of the correct shape, size and possessing sufficient impact
energy

If one or more of the above requirements are not met, then the process of metal deposition
will be impaired or not take place.

1. Principle of The Mechanical Plating Chemistry

The Transiflo and MACuguard Mechanical Plating systems utilise the following process
steps:
1)

Surface Conditioning

2)

Promoter and Flash Coating

3)

Mechanical Deposition

Note:
Steps 1 and 2 are mainly chemical functions, whereas step 3 is mainly a
mechanical and chemical function. All the steps occur in a rotating multi-sided
barrel in the presence of glass beads. The processing steps are sequential, i.e.
there is no intermediate rinsing or removal of the parts from the barrel.

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The Surface Conditioning Steps

Removal of Oxide
The chemical equation controlling this step is represented by:
FeO + 2H+

Fe + H2O

Fe2O3 + 6H+

2Fe+++ + 3H2O

At this preliminary stage there are other chemicals present which:

Act as detergents to remove light surface oils
Provide inhibitors to prevent the formation of hydrogen, as represented byFe + 2H+
Inhibitor

Fe++ + H2

Application of Copper Flash

An adherent immersion copper deposit is applied to the oxide-free surface, as represented
by:
Cu++ + Fe

Cu + Fe++

Reaction rate is controlled by the inhibitor, which is contained in the first surface
conditioner.

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Promoter and Flash Coat Step

A salt of a noble metal is added followed by an addition of metal powder to produce a
metallic flash coating, as follows:
M++ + Zn

M + Zn++

The Mechanical Deposition Step

The process operating in an inhibited acid environment permits:
ZnO + 2H+

Zn++ + H2O

to leave a clean oxide free zinc surface, but prevents:

Zn + 2H+

Zn++ + H2
Inhibitor (from the promoter)

The acid environment must be maintained at a pH of <2.0 for the zinc surfaces to remain
clean and active, for cold welding to take place.

Principle Process of Application

All the process chemistry described previously is provided by the sequential addition of
specially formulated MacDermid chemicals and zinc powder.
The overall function of these chemicals can be described as:-

Surface Conditioner Acid Descale

The range of Transiflo and Macuguard liquid surface conditioners, are formulated with
mineral acids, surfactants and inhibitors. The consumption of surface conditioner is
added at a specific ml/sqm addition rate dependent upon the system being employed.

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The function of this material is to remove surface oxides and to control the pH of the
process, maintaining it <2.0 during the subsequent metal deposition step.
Surface conditioners are only designed to remove light oil traces and light scale, heavier
contaminants should be removed in a suitable pre-cleaning step before loading into the
mechanical plating barrel.
Normal Processing Time is 5-10 minutes.

Surface Conditioner Copper Flash

Copper flash additives have been formulated in both liquid and solid form dependent
upon the Transiflo or MACuguard system being employed. They are formulated using
either mineral acids or acid salts together with a source of copper ions and an inhibitor.
The addition rate in units/sqm of the copper flash material used varies with the system
employed and to some degree the base material being processed.
The function of the copper flash material is to further remove oxides from the surface of
the steel components and, when clean, deposit a thin adherent layer of copper metal.
This surface eliminates any metallurgical variations, in the components to be plated, e.g.
high/low carbon steels, sintered metals, castings, etc., and provides a consistent
chemically active surface to initiate further mechanical/chemical reactions.

The speed of deposition and the colour of the metallic copper coating serves as an
indicator of the activity of the surface and the cleanliness of the plating environment, e.g.
beads, part surface, etc.
Normal Processing Time is 5 10 minutes

Mechanical Plating Promoter

The promoter chemistry used in the Transiflo and MACuguard processes is supplied as a
liquid or solid product dependent upon the mechanical plating system being used. It
contains a salt of a noble metal, an inhibitor and a dispersant.
The addition rate of this material in units/sqm varies with the mechanical plating system
being employed.
The function of the promoter is to provide a source of noble metal ions, to disperse and to
maintain the subsequently added zinc powder free from oxide. The inhibitor is designed
to slow the dissolution of zinc, in the acidic plating environment.

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Normal Processing Time is 1 2 minutes

Flash Metal Coating

Zinc metal powder to MacDermid Specification MP15 is added at the rate of 4.6g/m2 of
component surface area contained within the barrel.
The function of the MP15 zinc powder at this stage is to initiate the deposition of the
noble metal ions in the solution as an adherent thin metal film on the coppered surface of
the steel components.
Normal Processing Time is 5 minutes

Zinc Metal Plating

Zinc metal powder (to MacDermid Specification MP15) is added to the barrel at a rate of
7.7g zinc/square metre of work in the barrel/micron of deposit required. As an example
of this; if the load surface area is 20 sqm and the desired thickness of zinc deposit is 10
microns, the calculation would be:
7.7 x 20 x 10 = 1540
Therefore the required amount of zinc powder added to achieve the desired thickness of
deposit, (10 microns) would be 1540gms.
The function of the MP15 zinc powder is to provide sufficient metal powder particles to
be cold welded, and compacted to produce a uniform zinc coating of the desired
thickness.
With mechanical plating systems the maximum zinc thickness obtained is 25 microns.
No more than 5 micron equivalent amounts of zinc powder should be added at any one
time. There should also be an interval of up to 7.5 minutes between zinc additions
dependent upon the energy available in the barrel. Once the last addition of zinc powder
has been added to the barrel, the zinc metal should be allowed to deposit and compact
over a period of 10-30 minutes dependent upon part type.
At the end of the plating sequence there is a nominal 10 minute plate down time to allow
maximisation of metal powder deposition and the compaction of the deposit to the
component substrate.
Once complete either before or after the first decant of chemistry water is added to the
barrel and the parts, media and liquid are tumbled slowly to polish the surface of the
components. This may take 5 10 minutes.

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Typical Mechanical Plating Process Cycle

Zinc Plating 6 20 Microns

1.

Load oil free parts and media

2.

Adjust water level (18C - 25C)

barrel angle and speed

3.

Add appropriate surface conditioner

at calculated addition

5 10 mins

4.

Add coppering agent at calculated addition

4 8 mins

5.

Add promoter at calculated addition

030 2 mins

6.

Add zinc flash at 4.6gm/m2

5 mins

7.

Add zinc plating metal at 7.7gm/m2/micron

15 30 mins

**
The pH must be maintained below 2.0 preferably below 1.5 for the above
processing stages.

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Inverplex Plating 10 Microns

1.

Load oil free parts and media

2.

Adjust water level (18C - 25C)

barrel angle and speed

2.

Add appropriate surface conditioner

at calculated addition

5 10 mins

3.

Add coppering agent at calculated addition

4 8 mins

5.

Add promoter at calculated addition

030 2 mins

6.

Add zinc flash at 4.6gm/m2

7.

Add zinc plating metal at 53.9gm/m2

10 20 mins

8.

Add tin plating metal at 24.3gm/m2

15 30 mins

5 mins

**
The pH must be maintained below 2.0 preferably below 1.5 for the above
processing stages.

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Liquid Delivery System

The development of liquid chemicals was in response to an industry need for automation.
Machine sizes utilising load weights of 1000Kg have become more common. This in
turn can equate to zinc additions of up to 100Kg per load. Operators can be relieved of
some of the repetitive tasks by use of the LDS system. The process cycle is more
accurately controlled and the operator becomes more productive.

Ancillary Process Additives

MACuGuard FP (Torque/Tension Additive)
MACuGuard FP is a product that is added during the plating cycle, which becomes an
integral part of the coating system. The resultant lubricated coating is dry (non-tacky),
non-evaporating, non-toxic and colourless. It does not affect post chromate treatments
and will remain on the parts indefinitely, until ready to use, even if the parts become wet
before assembly.
As with any mating surfaces the lubricant film should be applied to all components so
that the application torques are completely reproducible, and able to meet virtually any
industry standard torque tension requirement.

Recommended Quantities
The amount of MacuGuard FP required will depend on a number of variables:

The particular torque-tension relationship required

The type of plated surface to be treated

Generally the amount of MACuGuard FP will be determined by experimentation. It has

been found that most applications require between 0.5-5.0gm/m2 to provide adequate
lubricity.

Recommended Process Cycle

MACuGuard FP is added directly to the mechanical plating barrel normally being mixed
and added with the last 5 microns equivalent of metal powder. Once the plating cycle is
complete, the parts may be rinsed and separated from the media, chromated (if required)
and dried.

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Equipment For Mechanical Plating

MacDermid do not manufacture mechanical plating equipment, but work closely with the
manufacturers, in order to provide the best suitable equipment for the plater.

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Courtesy of NES Equipment

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Courtesy of NES Equipment

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