Too often the coating of parts is an afterthought for design engineers. Rather than being a part of the discussion in the early stages of design, designers try to solve problems with coatings at the point of manufacturing – or even after manufacturing. While each type of surface treatment (anodizing, electroplating, thermal spray etc.) provides its own unique set of properties and benefits, each of these processes also has limitations that should be addressed early on in the design process to ensure optimal performance.
Typically, engineers are looking to extend the life of equipment by protecting parts from wear, abrasion. Protective coatings not only guard these parts against these issues, they can also provide lubrication and increase structural integrity. Using the correct surface treatment on equipment can increase a parts lifespan, eliminate the need for production downtime, and reduce overheads too.
Key factors affecting surface treatment that need to be discussed at the outset of the design process are:
- Process limitations
- Choice of base metal
- Part configuration and design
- Surface finish.
Engineers risk lengthening product cycle times by not making surface treatment discussions a primary consideration early in the design process because they risk specifying a treatment that cannot be completed due to the design properties of the part in question.
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