May 28/19

Mold Coatings: Solving the Sticky Parts

Are you a knowledgeable mold coatings user or buyer? Perhaps you want to learn more about mold coatings in general?

We are here to provide you with the mold coatings information you never knew you needed.

Mold coatings is a very important topic for anyone dealing with the protection and quality of machines and parts. We offer some of the best manufacturing molding capabilities no matter what industry you are in.

It is easy to think you may not need to know information about manufacturing mold coatings. It is always a surprise when companies find out how much mold coatings impact their industry.

The impact happens when uncoated injection mold components fail. Sometimes even everyday and ordinary mold coatings don’t work as long as expected.

Mold coatings benefit machines and parts. They allow them to be better and last longer. Cost should never be a factor as most mold coatings are reasonably priced.

Nitride vs Chrome

Let’s start with chrome as mold coatings. Chrome mold coatings are hard, durable, and a very good choice for preventing erosion and damage.

The trade name for chrome is QQ-C-320a.

• The Rockwell hardness is 72 RC.
• The applied temperature is 130 degrees.
• The Co-Efficient of Friction against steel is .20 or less.

No matter what the circumstance, chrome is effective and efficient. It increases a machine or machine parts life.

For example, if you apply chrome to shafts and other high-wear machine parts the differences are noticeable. If you apply thick chrome with plating baths you ensure you are receiving the best chrome deposit possible.

The benefit is it gives you a longer machine or machine part life. There may not be any mold coating that is better.

But Chrome can be very expensive. What’s more, chrome has a negative environmental drawback. It is a carcinogen.

But, there is an alternative. Nitrite imbues nitrogen into machine parts. The process uses gaseous plasma or liquid salt baths.

The nitrite process gives machines and parts a benefit of extreme hardness imitating chrome. The nitrate process doesn’t add any material but treats the equipment or segment as part of its bore.

Nitrate does exactly what Chrome does with effectiveness and efficiency. It protects the material from corrosion.

Often nitrite doesn’t even need any oils for better corrosion. You can add shine to it with an oxide finish for high gloss or matte achieving the look you want.

Nickel Boron vs Nitride

Nickel and nickel boron are usually around .12 to 3 mil thick. Sometimes they seem to have difficulty with uniform mold coating application.

This is because a lot of machinery and parts have irregular shapes. It is not easy to apply nickel and nickel boron in irregular shapes.

Nickel and nickel boron are wear-resistant and exceed industry standard hardness. They also almost never chip because their substrate moves and flexes.

Once you combine nickel boron with nitride you create one of the best mold coating results. The machine parts which have injection molding provides:

• Wear resistance.
• Rust and corrosion prevention.
• Friction with low co-efficiency.
• Is very good with corrosive off-gassing of PVC or halogenated fire-retardant materials.

Manufacturing and machines are all about physical integrity and logistics. It is about making machines and parts perform their applications no matter where their location.

This means the machines and parts must have strength, durability, be non-corrosive, and efficient. Sometimes they also need to be mobile. Not always easy to find at a cost one can afford.

Metal Plating Texture

The cool thing about today’s mold making for plating is it does not cause deficits in the machine or part in any way.

This has to do with metal plating textures having a unique set of logistics that are able to mimic the shape and texture of a mold.

Some of the logistics for injection molding and metal plating texture include knowing;

• Release factors of textures.
• What gloss level need is there in the texture?
• What is the quick release of the product?
• Is there corrosion or erosion?

It is important to understand metal plating textures are synergistic. There must be some sort of master blend matrix in metal plating texture.

This is so it can achieve the specification of hardness and durability needed. Machinery and parts in today’s mold coating world have to have a surface that serves as one of its integral parts.

The machine’s surface is as much as an integral segment in today’s machinery as any internal application part.

Nickel Teflon Coating

Nickel Teflon coating or Nickel PTFE has a Rockwell hardness measurement of 45 R.C.

It also has excellent release properties and the ejection of its polymers is difficult. It is cheaper than most other mold coatings yet still has lubricity.

The lubricity doesn’t last very long though. PTFE in and of itself isn’t hard. But you can increase its durability.

You can add some nickel to it which helps its hardness and anti-corrosion capacity. Some of the best benefits for Nickel Teflon coating include:

• It has very good friction.
• Its unique PTFE particles are uniformly distributed.
• Very good release abilities.
• Can be heat treated to help harden or increase its wear resistance.

Hard Plastic Mold

Something many of us forgets but needs to know is mold coatings need reapplication sometimes.

We tend to use our machinery and parts down to their bases. So we need reapplication abilities of mold coatings to help extend its service life.

That is a very positive benefit with hard plastic mold. One of the negatives is we know repeated re-application of any coating wear machinery down and degrade the base material.

Hard plastic injection molding helps improve base materials in machinery. But it requires a very sophisticated and complex industrial machine.

This machine can heat the plastic to its melting point and inject it into a mold cavity. Once cooled you can keep creating for the next identical part.

This is not a cheap process nor is it done with a machine that fits in most smaller companies’ budgets.

Summing Up Mold Coatings

Mold coatings provide industries with the best use of extending the life and durability of machinery and parts.

We try to ensure our mold coatings give your machinery and parts the life and durability you need. We believe mold coatings should always enhance the machinery or part.

It also should provide machinery and parts of extra hardness and durability. It seems almost an added bonus mold coatings reduce friction.

This ensures machinery has smoother operational abilities. Most people notice smoother operation abilities right after the application of mold coatings.

Our goal is ensuring everyone has the information and ability to use, buy, or learn about mold coatings.

Mold coatings are always unique. There are no two mold coatings which are identical. We want to learn more about your unique machinery situation.

We want to provide what you need for your unique machinery situation. Whether it is in automotive design, machinery needs, injection molding or mold coatings

Don’t wait to make your mold coating product world-class. Call or contact us today.