MORE THAN EARNING ITS KEEP

When you call Precision Plating in Melbourne, Australia and are waiting to be connected, a message plays saying: "Practice makes perfect?and Precision Plating has had a lot of practice with over 30 years?experience in the plating industry". They are now well past the practice stage with their new automatic PAL line and it’s more than earning its keep for not only is it turning out superbly plated work, but it is also proving to be an invaluable sales aid.

In the last issue of PAL News to look at Surface Finishing (Autumn 2003), Melbourne-based Precision Plating were looking forward to the commissioning of their automatic plating machine from PAL.

Historically, Precision had relied on manual plating lines due to low volumes and a high variety of products and finishes. A general market shift toward fewer finishes and Precision’s move into plating on plastics created an opportunity for automation.

"Talking to other owners and operators of PAL equipment, seeing PAL machines in action and thus experiencing at first hand the quality of work that is consistently achieved convinced us that the time was right to take the automatic route," explains Rob Legg. "After speaking with other PAL plant owners we felt very confident with PAL’s quality, ease of operation and after sales service.

"We reviewed many alternatives for our new plant in this venture from building the plant ourselves, through to a variety of turnkey supply options. PAL’s machines stood out from the competition. They use high quality components, which are assembled into a highly efficient and effective plating plant. The software allows the flexibility to tweak each process and discrete pieces of equipment to get the very best results. This gives us the ability to achieve individual customer requirements while maintaining a high throughput."

The eagerly awaited automatic line has been up and running for many months now and is certainly earning its keep plating literally thousands of parts across a number of industries, including the plumbing and automotive markets.

"Our customers can see how well designed and constructed it is and have quickly gained a high level of confidence in its work when they see not only the superb quality it produces but also how easy it is to get the information they require on batch reporting," says Rob Legg.

"Our customers and potential customers can see a scientific, well engineered piece of equipment that matches the level of sophistication they are used to in their own factory. They are able to measure like with like ?and that, coupled with the quality of work we are able to achieve, is what gives them confidence.

"In terms of performance, maintenance and quality we are delighted with the machine. We have got to know it intimately over the past months and are impressed by the simplicity and elegance of the engineering. It is providing a return on the investment and justifying our decision to enter the plating on plastics market.

The technical side of things

Precision’s PAL machine uses conventional MacDermid process chemistry. OSSTjWin software provides the random load control system, a vital tool when every load in the entire system could be of different products and finishes. Other features of the machine:

• Four heavy duty side arm transporters with drip trays
• Siemens PLC + PROFIBUS
• Fans and scrubber ?the fume scrubbers are important to Precision for they believe that as a responsible electroplater, looking after the environment in which we live and work an ethical imperative.
• Etch regeneration system with automatic level control from the following rinse tank
• Water flow meters
• Top sprays on the second tank in all counterflow rinses
• Autodosing of plating process additives

Information on Precision Plating can be found at www.precisionplating.com.au

WHAT PAL LINES WERE BOUGHT FOR WHAT FINISHES?

"One of the questions we are so often asked is ‘Have you ever produced a machine for plating what we make??Well, our list is certainly getting longer and l-o-n-g-e-r" explains Tony Evans, who heads PAL’s Surface Finishing team.

"This A-Z gives the briefest of brief indication of some of the surface finishing uses to which PAL machines have been, or will soon be, put; we thoroughly enjoy the voyage of discovery with a customer in a business area new to us."

A-Z: Aluminium alloy wheels, aircraft engine parts, automotive industry requirements, bath taps, bicycle dynamo lampsets, bicycle wheels, brass components, car parts and accessories of all shapes and sizes, coins, dentist’s drill bits, dispensers for creams, dispenser shrouds and actuator covers for perfume bottles, door furniture, emblems and monograms, exhaust pipes, fasteners galore, ferrules for nebulisers, gas fittings, handlebars, hardware, heat sinks, heat treated work (pressings, stampings, spring clips and fasteners), hip, knee and finger joints, medical products, mobile phone antennae, nails for direct fastening, pharmaceutical cans, plumbing fitments, pistons, pump parts, sanitary ware, sari guards for motorbikes, silencers (mufflers) for motorbikes, spark plugs, sun glass frames, supermarket trolleys, surgical tools, valves, welding equipment, wheels and wheel rims for cars and motorbikes ?. and much, much more!

Read our Decorpart story to find out more about these tiny objects that will receive the "PAL treatment"