Faucet plating quality and plating process issues

　　The spout is also known as a faucet, is a more widely used, wash water appliances, the use of a large number of. With the progress of people's living standards, housing conditions and living equipment continue to change, the demand for mid-range spout is increasing, the spout's exterior plating quality requirements are also higher for the spout plating quality, the author has consulted a lot of relevant information, and some products for acid salt spray test. Now will improve the plating quality of the spout, the following issues.

　　1. Selection of materials

　　Spout plating quality not only depends on the plating process, but also involves the spout base material, casting process, plating pretreatment and other aspects. The valve body of the spigot is the primary component of the faucet, the material for casting brass, ZCu40ZnPb2 grade throughout, the average wall thickness of the casting is 3 mm. good faucet valve body, handle, valve cover all choose brass refinement, by casting, processing, exterior grinding, polishing, electroplating nickel, decorative chromium or chromium-nickel alloy, such products if in the casting, electroplating pretreatment, electroplating process and other good treatment, They are generally more corrosion resistant. In order to enhance the corrosion resistance of the product, to improve the level of the product, but also the use of multi-layer nickel plating process. However, some enterprises in order to save production costs, in the casting brass mixed with a lot of scrap copper, making the casting brass contains a lot of impurities, so that the product made of loose appearance, containing more sand eyes, corrosion resistance by acid salt spray test shows pitting and pitting phenomenon. Some manufacturers even use cast iron and zinc alloy have been screened as materials, because cast iron is simple rust, zinc alloy is not corrosion-resistant, from these materials manufactured by the spout is very simple to show rust spots, after 2h acid salt spray test, the valve body shows a lot of rust spots and pitting and other shortcomings. There are manufacturers of spout valve body with brass materials, and handle and valve cover selection of cast iron, plastic and other residual materials, such products in 24h acidic salt spray test, often the valve body did not occur after the corrosion phenomenon, while the handle and valve cover presents a more serious corrosion, resulting in product failure, reducing the level of the product.

Stainless steel faucet manufacturers

　　2. Casting process

　　Spout valve body is the primary component of the spout, its production methods generally choose sand casting and metal casting. Because the appearance of the spigot quality requirements are very high, so the outer surface of the casting before plating can not have any visible pores, cracks, loose and adulterated; the use of metal casting spigot body arrangement of fine, good quality appearance, high yield, and may also prevent sand casting formed on the environmental pollution problems, so most manufacturers are currently using metal casting technology. However, the choice of metal casting spigot valve, its outer surface by the metal molding, the inner cavity by the coating sand core molding, when the copper liquid poured into the metal cavity, the exterior cooling rate is faster, the casting arrangement is fine; and the inner cavity in the sand core surrounded by the slower cooling rate, more prone to shrinkage shortcomings. Some manufacturers, although the choice of materials better casting brass, 24h acidic salt spray test, the valve body is still showing light loss and rust spots, the reason is that the spout body casting, did not deal with the results of the casting process. Therefore, only to strengthen the casting mold design, alloy melting and pouring, casting process control and sand cleaning operations, in order to cast a qualified spout body castings.

　　3. Polishing and cleaning before plating qualified spout castings need to go through machining, grinding and polishing processes before plating.

　　Machining and polishing is the product is shaped, grinding and polishing the product appearance of the primary leveling, reduce the roughness of the casting, but also to eliminate the casting by the occurrence of fine sand eyes, burrs and other defects. Because the appearance of the spigot quality requirements are relatively high, the spigot exterior plating should be well combined, the arrangement should be fine, lubrication and uniformity, uniform color, polishing the exterior should be bright, there should be no bubbles, scorching, detachment, scratches and other appearance shortcomings. Polishing quality is to ensure the quality of plating, improve the appearance of brightness and eliminate defects of the key elements. The spout is a decorative product. Very sensitive to adulteration and ballast, even if it is a very small impurities, may also form the plating appearance of burrs, pockmarks or pinholes and other shortcomings, and even present coating scorching, blistering and peeling. Such as after 24h acidic salt spray test, it will present light loss and rust spots, and even bulging and full corrosion, etc., so once the treatment is very important. The sand and carbonized resin in the inner cavity after casting, the grease, copper chips and copper powder left after machining, and the polishing paste after polishing must be cleaned to ensure the quality of plating. The existence of pollutants is the primary factor of burrs and pitting in plating.

　　4. Control of plating process

　　The exterior of the spout is primarily electroplated nickel chrome. And electroplating nickel chromium process has many years of history, the plating process is very sophisticated, high purity of chemical materials and additives, less impurities; and advanced plating equipment, plating process only need to strictly process, keep the tank, rinse water, equipment and production environment clean, generally less plating quality problems. The phenomenon of corrosion resistance found in the test is mainly due to some manufacturers in order to reduce costs, plating time to cut, thin plating, can not fully compensate for the fine pores of the plating, corrosion solution through the fine pores corrosion to the substrate, showing a lot of rust spots.

　　5. Conclusion

　　1)The valve body, handle and cover of the spout should be made of cast brass or copper alloy of good quality, and discard the rust-prone cast iron, zinc alloy and other materials that are not corrosion-resistant;

　　2) choose metal type casting spigot valve body, pay attention to the casting process;

　　3) grinding and polishing to the whole, good pre-plating treatment;

　　4) strictly enforce the standard of nickel-chromium plating process, strengthen the process, to ensure the thickness of the plating.