From farming to textile manufacturing, there are many labor-intensive industries that now rely on machinery for a good portion of the work. However, just like our muscles and bones, these mechanisms are capable of wearing down with time. By applying protective chrome plating, you can reduce friction and prolong the service life of your equipment. Here are just some of the ways industries use the technique.

3 Common Applications for Chrome Plating

1. Hydraulic Cylinders & Pistons

Cylinders and pistons are two halves of a whole in the world of mechanics. Essentially, a cylinder-shaped container contains a disk-shaped piston, which is attached to a shaft. There’s pressurized fluid that pushes these parts in and out of the cylinder, creating energy. You might encounter these components in cranes, presses, forges, and other construction and manufacturing equipment. Since cylinders and pistons are constantly in motion, friction will eventually wear them down, causing them to leak or stop working altogether. Luckily, a covering of hard chrome will preserve their smooth motion, so you can go longer without part replacements.

2. Dies & Molds

When objects are mass-produced, factories don’t shape each item by hand—they use tools to create the same ones every time, so each customer gets a quality product. The most common tools are dies and molds. Dies are essentially pieces of metal that are used to punch shapes, text, or patterns into other metal pieces such as coins made by the U.S. Mint. You can also create identical shapes by pouring liquids into molds, which are shaped containers, transferring their design to the liquid as it hardens. To retain their sharp details, manufacturers use chrome plating to prevent the fine edges of dies and molds from losing definition over time. 

3. Mining & Agriculture

Both of these industries require forceful, repetitive motions to harvest natural resources, whether it’s coal or corn. Therefore, the metal machinery used to complete these tasks can wear down over time, making the process less efficient. By protecting diggers, angle teeth, pulleys, and rolls, miners and farmers can continue their work longer without stopping to replace gear.

If you believe your work could benefit from chrome plating, get in touch with Porter-Guertin Co. of Cincinnati, OH. They are proud to protect shafts, cylinders, tubes, molds, rolls, and a variety of other metal parts, with various thicknesses. They also provide corrosion-resistant coatings, so you can protect your gear from wear and rust. To learn more about their offerings, visit the website. You can also call (513) 241-7663 to speak with a chrome plating expert.