Quote:
Originally Posted by dmorg1
I am not a plating expert by any means but I do manufacture parts that require various types of plating.
It is my understanding that the embrittlement is only a concern with materials that are 40 rockwell and above. (I may be wrong on this)
I have a few parts that I manufacture that require hard chrome plating and my plating vendor does bake them to relieve embrittlement. They are 45 RC but also plated to a mil spec.
Dave
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We see it about the same and agree it's not just zinc... it's any electroplating. This is one benefit of electroless nickel...it's a good way to avoid risk for hydrogen embrittlement on hardened steel parts but it also needs a post-bake.
Being a dinosaur, I used to spec materials and finishes and we had a "standard" note about baking. We would apply it to anything with over about 30 points carbon, anything heat-treated, or anything with high stress and/or stress concentrators that were subjected to impact or really high loads.
And it's not just an issue in plating. Even exposure to seawater can introduce atomic hydrogen and embrittle parts... probably a result of corrosion chemical processes.