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| Besides the racking/unracking area, there is little “human” involvement in the plating line. Everything is automated, including the additions, temperature controls, etc.
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Singer/songwriter Neil Young said, “Rust never sleeps,” and it would
seem neither does the mind and enthusiasm of Al Kononiuk, plant manager for
United Metal Finishers (UMF). The zinc chromate plating company was recently
awarded the TS 16949 certification. Always thinking about the future, Mr. Kononiuk
decided that although UMF is ISO 9001-2000 certified, this was not enough for
his company. He decided that UMF needed to meet the new automotive standard
of TS 16949 in order to be ready for the future, which is now. UMF retained
Lee Waller of Genisis Technology, who worked with Bob Davila and his team to
bring the ISO project to a successful completion.
This new standard, ISO TS 16949-Second Edition, was issued in March 2002 as
an automotive sector-specific QMS set of requirements that uses ISO 9000:2000
(verbatim) as its base. It has replaced the ISO/TS 16949 standard based on ISO
9001, and it is intended to be an alternative to QS 9000 and other national
automotive OEM supplier requirements. The International Automotive Quality Management
System Standard was developed by the automotive manufacturers and the national
trade associations of five countries: AIAG/US; VDA/Germany; FIEV/France; ANFIA/Italy;
and SMMT/UK. The goal was to develop and publish one uniformly accepted automotive
quality management system standard that would be recognized internationally.
“We are a hometown plater that is going global,” stated Mr. Kononiuk.
Since the company has been certified under this new specification, it has seen
business that was going to Mexico and other countries come to UMF, because these
other shops cannot meet the new specification. “We used to do business
in our area, and, maybe some in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Now we can do business
all over the United States and the world. Our goal, however, was not just to
meet the standard, but be the benchmark for the plating industry.
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| Fig. 1– Dipsy-doodle plating line at UMF.
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“At United, we recognize our obligation to customers requiring high-quality
work. Quality is a priority of every one of our employees, and we are constantly
involved in making our controls and systems more reliable.” UMF is currently
installing a control panel that will regulate all bath chemistries.
The entire company worked to attain this certification. Most of the associates
at UMF have 30 years tenure; however, even the newest employee approached this
project with the enthusiasm of a true veteran. “We all started here together,”
noted Mr. Kononiuk. “We watched our kids go through school, grow up, have
kids of their own. Even other platers who have visited the shop remark about
the family aura. It can be a serious business and still have a human factor.”
One area where UMF decided to eliminate the human factor was in the plating
line chemistry. Mr. Kononiuk presented his chemical supplier with a challenge.
Since he believed cyanide zinc plating was a better process than non-cyanide
zinc plating, he wanted Accu-Labs to partner with UMF to develop a zinc plating
chemistry that was temperature tolerant with better throwing power. Cyanide
zinc is not as stressed as other types of competing chemistries, so thicker
deposits are possible. Also, the company, which had at one time turned away
plating jobs, was taking on more work. These new jobs, including airbag components
and other automotive pieces, had parts that featured more recesses and bends
than previous parts UMF had plated on its dipsy doodle line. This type of line
moves parts in a wave pattern through the baths, dipping them in and lifting
them out and then back into the next bath.
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| Parts dip down into the tanks on the dipsy doodle line. UMF has found that this type of line is the most efficient for running the thousands of parts it plates every day.
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“We engineered a low-strength cyanide zinc bath that allowed for a wider
temperature range, yet still produced consistent finishes,” stated Peter
Tremmel of Accu Labs. A special brightener was also developed for this line.
Mr. Kononiuk named it himself, Shazam 100.
“We have also worked with UMF on the chromate baths,” continued Mr.
Tremmel. A typical trivalent blue chromate bath will provide up to 12 hours
of salt spray protection. The one UMF installed provides a finish that withstands
up to 48 hours. All parts are treated with the blue chromate prior to yellow
or black, so this increases the parts’ corrosion resistance. This will
also allow UMF to move away from hexavalent chromium.
Chromates are available in clear (blue), yellow or black. By immersing zinc-plated
work in the chromic acid solution, the surface of the zinc is converted to zinc
chromate. This provides most of the corrosion resistance of the finish. Chromating
does not add dimension to the deposit; therefore, dimensional tolerances on
pieces such as screws and tight-fitting components are not an issue.
The dichromate or yellow chromate is still a hexavalent bath. It provides a
yellow iridescent finish that gives about three times as much corrosion protection
as clear chromate without costing much more.
Black chromate creates a slightly iridescent black finish by incorporating silver
into the conversion process. The corrosion resistance offered is midway between
a clear and a dichromate finish. The lightfastness of the true black chromate
is frequently preferred over black dyes or other methods used to blacken zinc.
The dipsy doodle continuous rack process at UMF is capable of finishing 9,000-18,000
pieces per hour and 500,000 parts per day, depending on the size and shape of
the parts and zinc thickness specified. “That plating machine is a sleeper,”
commented John Casperson, plating consultant. “You don’t realize how
many parts come off of it. You can plate 300-350 racks of parts per hour.”
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| UMF zinc plates and chromates parts for a variety of customers, including many
automotive related manufacturers.
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The plating system can produce thicknesses up to 0.0005 inch, depending on the
size and shape of the part. The plating line sequence is shown in Figure 1.
UMF is also completing a feasibility study about adding a zinc chromate hoist
line. Mr. Kononiuk, always looking ahead, saw the need for tanks that could
handle larger parts. The line running now limits part size to 29 inches. The
new line will be able to handle parts up to six-feet long. The chemistry on
the new line will be the same as what is used in the dipsy doodle line. “We
may tweak it a little to improve the current density,” noted Mr. Tremmel,
“but overall there isn’t much change in it.”
“We are working as partners,” Mr. Kononiuk interjected. “I feel
that is the key to the future of this industry, partnering.” UMF partners
with its customers and its suppliers, such as Chicago Rawhide, Olsen International
and Sureway Manufacturing. Mr. Kononiuk participates with his customers in developing
quality standards by serving on several committees. “I think that is the
highest honor a vendor can have, when a customer calls him and asks his help.
Usually, the customer drives you, but we are helping drive them to higher standards.
There is a dialog all around.”
Partnering also includes UMF’s employees. They understand the company’s
goals and are conscientious about meeting them. “The key to the future
is the people we partner with,” noted Mr. Kononiuk. “That includes
our suppliers, customers and associates here at UMF.”
