Electroplating and painting line installation

Citation

(1998), "Electroplating and painting line installation", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 45 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.1998.12845aaf.004

Electroplating and painting line installation

Electroplating and painting line installation

There is a belief in industry that the installation of an electroplating or painting line needs to be on a relatively large scale before it becomes of interest to specialist plant builders ­ who, it is also felt, would be the only companies able to incorporate additional facilities such as fume extraction systems. The only way to build plant of this type on a small scale is to build it inhouse. This is a belief which could not be further from the truth.

That's the view of Norman Thurston, Sales Director of Carrtech Plant and Equipment Ltd which, alongside its sister company Carrtech, has been acknowledged for some time as a leading designer of small scale electroplating and coating plant. The company has developed its own design and fabrication capability to meet the needs of the smaller scale operator and incorporates Carrtech's own long established expertise in the design and manufacture of jigs.

Because the company focuses on providing solutions to small batch requirements it has shaped its back-up and expertise to a level that, it believes, compares more than favourably with larger OEM's. By way of demonstration, Norman Thurston draws attention to the procedure that he and his team follows each time to ensure that the plant design and fabrication is a precise match to the user's requirement.

"In many cases our first site visit for an installation of this type reveals limitations in terms of the plant area which can be made available for the new line," he says. "That means that a standard off the shelf solution is rarely available and each installation, therefore, has to be designed as a bespoke project. It must accommodate not just the requirements of the process but also any physical limitations or characteristics of the location".

Carrtech Plant & Equipment is able to install a full range of barrel plating and treatment equipment together with the control and handling elements required for its efficient operation. It is in this particular field that the benefits of its link with the jig element of the business are invariably seen. Apart from electrical control equipment all the material is fabricated in-house which, importantly from the customer's point of view, enables the project to remain the responsibility of just one organisation.

The expertise that Carrtech has developed in the design and manufacturing of jigs ­ the company is widely regarded throughout the UK as a leader in the field ­ plays a major part in enabling it to build plant which incorporates the full range of system elements. When this is added to the installation of specialist ancillary plant, such as extraction or scrubbing equipment, the service from the company, becomes both comprehensive and very cost effective.

A good example of a company benefiting from Carrtech's overall expertise is Ingrain and Glass Ltd. The Surrey based organisation has recenlly developed a particular expertise in the treatment and plating of magnesium components.

The line developed and installed by Carrtech features a series of small portable barrels which proceed through a 16 station line comprising rinse, passivation, cleaning and plating stages. The installation also features an extraction system which removes fumes from the process for safe discharge to the external atmosphere.

"The treatment of magnesium in this way is a recent innovation for which Ingrain and Glass deserves all the credit," says Director Michael Glass. "This new, 'green' process allows magnesium to be plated successfully and opens up new opportunities for the car component industry and for the mobile telephone industry."

The company's ability to met this new opportunity is directly linked to its operation of efficient plant ­ at a size which represents a high degree of cost effectiveness. A larger, more expensive installation may not, at this stage, be economically viable and, therefore, its work with Carrtech Plant and Equipment has played a crucial role in this equation.

"We have deliberately confined our plant design and build service to installations of this size," concludes Norman Thurston. "Although the principles we use are directly applicable to the larger scale field, we believe that ensuring our expertise is available to the full range of small plant operators gives us a leading position in this sector of the industry."

Further details are available from Carrtech, 50-60 Northwood Street, Birmingham B3 1TT.