Plating   In Mold Finish we offer two different types of plating for molds and tools, each one with different properties, and different applications.: Autocat ® Nickel Chromate® Hard Chrome   Autocat ® Nickel With this exclusive process a layer of a hard nickel alloy is deposited over the entire surface of a mold or tool. The process is  chemical, no electricity is applied, so the thickness and coverage is absolutely uniform on all surfaces exposed to the treatment. Complex geometries such as entrant angles, ribs, holes, even finelly textured surfaces are uniformly covered which is not possible with other processes such as hard chrome or electrolytic nickel. The layer has exceptional corrosion  resistance and very good hardness (50Rc as-plated and up to 66Rc with a low temperature bake). This makes it very useful when molding corrosive or hard resins. It has an inherent lubricity that helps eject difficult to mold parts. It can be polished to a superb finish making it an ideal option in molds for transparent parts such as auto lenses, refrigerator pans, etc..            Mold for bezel of rear lamp of a japanese car being polished to eliminate scratches and other flaws before plating.     Same bezel prepared and ready to be      plated             Insert of the same mold already             plated and polished to a mirror A-1             finish        Stainless steel mold for the outer bezel of a front lamp of a japanese truck that had to be constantly polished due to the low hardness the base steel.      Another view of the same mold      already plated and polished        Slider of the same mold also plated        and polished                                      Mold for a transparent refrigerator meat pan plated and polished. Both sides of the mold were treated for maximum transparency and resistance to stains and oxidation. Mold for PVC bracket of washing machine plated for corrosion resistance                     Front cover with Hard Chrome on the logo and Nickel on the texture surface .   Chromate® Hard Chrome Hard chrome process was the first and, for a long time, probably the only method to protect a steel surface from oxidation and scratches. For that reason, many customers and designs still specify it as the coating of choice. Specially formulated chemistry and fixtures have to be used in this variant of the traditional process for molds and other related tooling due to their complex geometries and restrictions in their design. The process deposits a thin and dense layer of chrome without microcracks always found in hard chrome deposited in the traditional way. With its elevated hardness of 72Rc makes it an ideal choice when molding abrasive resins like thermosets (Bakelite®), bulk molding compounds (BMC) or glass fiber reinforced plastics. It is also good to protect beryllium copper inserts or aluminum blow molds. As plated, it has a matte finish but with our special technique a good luster can be attained. There are limitations in the geometry of the cavities that can be processed, being more adecuate for simple flat or slightly curved areas. The thickness varies from 0.0002" to 0.0005" and cannot be controlled as acuratelly as the Autocat® Nickel. It has to be processed in our facilities.