Recently, a Duval customer approached us for help with a coated part. The customer would machine the part, send it to a secondary plating vendor for a chromium carbide plating, and then to Duval for ID grinding. After the grinding, the part would be sent back to the customer for assembly, high-pressurized testing for leaks, and a final heat treatment. Unfortunately, final testing repeatedly revealed microscopic, linear cracks after heat treatment. What was causing these cracks? The customer went to Duval Precision Grinding for a solution.

Precision Grinding Plated Parts

Precision grinding plated parts requires special care and attention to ensure the plating is not damaged during the grinding process. Duval’s expert precision grinders have years of experience performing ID grinding, OD grinding, surface grinding, jig grinding, and CNC grinding on components with a wide variety of plating and coating types. It seemed possible to Duval and the customer that the cracks were not related to grinding, but that was not yet enough to solve the problem. The team at Duval dove in to isolate the cause.

Expert Insight Helps Determine the Cause

Engineer and precision grinding expert, Brian Gamache, was brought on to give insight based on his past experience with similar situations. Brian knew that if it was a grinding issue, the cracks would be apparent immediately after the ID grinding operation was completed. However, the cracks did not appear until after subsequent testing processes, indicating that something else was causing the coating to expand when heated.

Based on the information provided, the team was able to determine that the cause stemmed from an issue during the coating process. The customer was able to relay our team’s findings to their plating vendor who corrected the problem.

At Duval Precision Grinding, our top priority is helping customers achieve optimal product results for every component we process. Our team will work personally with you to guarantee your satisfaction with the quality of the parts you receive.  For more information about precision grinding plated parts, contact Duval precision Grinding today.

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