Labeled the world’s most expensive oil field by Business Insider, the Kashagan oil field was one of the largest oil discoveries of the last 40 years. Estimated to hold 16 billion barrels of oil, it is located in the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. The field owned by Eni, Exxon, Shell, Total and the Kazakh Government; is operated by, joint-venture, North Caspian Operating Company.
Currently producing 160,000 barrels per day (bpd), it is expected to reach its goal of 370,000 bpd by the end of 2017. But it wasn’t easy getting here. Plagued by problems, the biggest setback came in 2013 when a key pipeline connecting the on-shore processing facility corroded, forcing a full-shutdown. While this may have delayed the project, it also highlighted major areas of concerns and opportunities for preventative maintenance. The Caspian Sea is known for it’s harsh winters and poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas (the cause the pipeline corrosion).
Many surface finishing techniques are used in oil and gas industry for corrosion, anti-galling and wear. The portability of the brush plating process makes it ideal for off-shore rigs, and the unexpected repairs that may be needed. For example, significant damage was caused to the crown mounted compensator (CMC) cylinder when lightning struck the ENSCO rig. The impact of the lightning strike caused a substantial gouge, the size of a coin, on the CMC cylinder. Without immediate repairs the damage could cause the cylinder seals to leak, resulting in hydraulic fluid loss and the threat of significant lost production. Using SIFCO’s AeroNikl® 7280 for corrosion protection, and Cobalt 2043 to cap the repair for hardness to protect against surface wear, the on-site repair was completed in 24 hours.
SIFCO ASC has also received approved vendor status from Tenaris and VAM, the leading licensors for oil field thread design. This approved status qualifies SIFCO ASC to train operators, worldwide, to selectively apply copper onto premium threaded connections.
By learning from the experience and preventing future failures, the field is now (while behind schedule) fully operational. To date, the NCOC estimated “it’s produced more than 7 million barrels of crude oil and an ultra-light form of oil called condensate since production […] resumed in late 2016,” according to United Press International, Inc.
Westinghouse Electric Company LLCis a US based nuclear power company. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation, control and design of nuclear power plants.
The silver on three slip rings on a 480 Volt, 28 Amp Westinghouse WWG-0600 Wind Turbine Generator was worn away due to the graphite contacts. Fortunately, Westinghouse contacted the experts at SIFCO ASC and the slip rings were repaired in-situ, approximately 100 feet above ground, with the portable SIFCO Process® of selective (brush) plating.
The three slip ring areas were 18” in diameter, 1/4” wide and approximately 1/4” deep. These OEM, copper-based slip rings were molded together with epoxy to isolate them. The molded slip ring assembly was originally tank electroplated with 0.0015” silver. Premature failure occurred as graphite contacts eroded the silver. The contacts caused the silver to be “ground” into a dust, which when combined with the light lube coating created an abrasive paste that completely wore through the silver and into the copper substrate.
A thickness of 0.030” of copper was brush plated to resize the worn diameters. The grooves were then dressed back with a standard file and sandpaper until plan dimensions were achieved. After dressing the plated copper deposit, 0.003” thick layer of silver was then brush plated for improved conductivity.
While removing and reinstalling the entire assembly after repairing it on the bench was estimated to be a 10- to 14-day, $100,000 job; brush plating provided a viable, cost effective alternative completing the repair in approximately 40 hours with less than $1,000 in material costs.
For more information on our power generation services, click here
Plastics molders, operating both captive and job shops, are frequently plagued with downtime due to repairs that must be made on damaged or worn mold components. Typical repairs include damaged cavities, worn gate areas, and parting lines that cause flashing of molded parts.
Conventional machine shop practices commonly employed to repair plastics molds share a serious drawback— they all require that the mold be removed to carry out the needed repair. For larger repairs, the part must often be sent to a facility that uses tank electroplating. In-situ selective plating allows the repair of molds, reducing downtime substantially.
Selective Plating Process. Mold/die costs vary widely depending on size, materials and origin. With costs ranging from tens of thousands of dollars up to millions for large automotive part dies, the last thing a producer wants to do is buy new tooling. Just the cost of removing a mold from the machine for outside repair is substantial, and the cost of lost production is greater still. This makes typical in-situ plating repairs for a one-day job a very attractive option. These costs vary depending on the size and depth of the mold area needing repair.
As a general rule, defect depths of up to about 0.060” are good candidates for this type of repair.
If a mold has a lot of corrosion, scratches and other small surface flaws that result in a poor finish on the molded part, the temptation may be to remove the tooling and send it out for tank electroplating. However, selective plating can take care of these flaws in place, without extensive masking, and is significantly faster than tank electroplating.
What’s more, selective plating equipment is portable, enabling the operator to meet plating and buildup requirements wherever they arise. The molds used in many high-end products such as automobiles have become increasingly expensive and have long lead times due to offshore manufacturing. Therefore, it becomes critical to be able to quickly repair defective components, rather than replacing them or delaying repair by removing them from the machine, shipping them out for repairs and waiting for their return. Taking a mold out of service for an extended time is often not an option.
In addition to in-place defect repairs, there are several other applications in which selective plating provides a quick and lower-cost means of returning critical components to service.
Resizing Core Pins and Bushings. As wear occurs and pin and bushing dimensions deviate from accepted tolerances, it becomes necessary to discard and replace core pins and core bushings. With the accurately controlled selective plating process, these parts can be quickly plated back to size and put in service, often without finish machining. Nickel and Cobalt are excellent choices for selective deposition in these applications, since they have good toughness characteristics, in addition to excellent wear resistance. If a harder surface is required, nickel-tungsten, nickel-cobalt, and cobalt-tungsten alloys may be selectively deposited in a hardness range of Rockwell C 60 to 68.
Flash Correction. Worn gate areas or damaged parting lines may be repaired to eliminate flashing by the use of selective plating. After the amount of wear in the gate area is measured, the digital ampere-hour meter is used to control the amount of metal deposit needed to resize the gate precisely without the need for subsequent machining. Chipped or damaged parting lines are repaired in similar fashion.
Machine Maintenance. Many plastics molders who utilize the selective plating process for mold repair have found the process equally useful in press or machine maintenance. Scores or scratches in chromed hydraulic actuating cylinders are filled with copper and then capped with nickel or cobalt. Again, this repair is performed without disassembling the cylinder from the press and without the need to strip and re-plate chrome. Worn shafts and journal areas may be resized rapidly by the selective plating process. Totally round and concentric bearing fits are obtainable by selective plating.
Selective plating is a cost-effective mold component repair technique for a broad array of applications. It can often be accomplished without removing parts from production machinery, and can be completed in a matter of hours.
Last week at NASF’s SUR/FIN exposition SIFCO ASC Mechanical Design & Project Engineer, Derek Kilgore presented on how to improve process capabilities through the automation of selective plating.
Selective plating is an advanced method of electroplating localized areas without the use of immersion tanks. Over thirty pure metals and alloys can be electroplated and anodizing types I, II, III, phosphoric and boric-sulfuric can be precisely applied. The process can reduce costs, downtime and help where accessibility is limited.
During the selective plating process operators may perform the following tasks:
Handle parts
Perform visual inspections post plating
Modify rectifier settings (amps, volts)
Change and move anodes
Open and close valves
Rinse parts
Move and dump chemical trays
Monitor and document rectifier settings (amps, volts, and amp-hours)
Adjust amp-hrs based on solution life
Maintain specific gravity of chemistry
Detect equipment issues
Handle distractions
Due to the number of tasks a technician is responsible for during one job, variations can occur in the plating from part to part, and from operator to operator.
In order to reduce the number of tasks performed, the technician can program the rectifier to modify its settings, monitor the operation and document the setting. By making this one improvement, it not only frees operator from modifying and monitoring the rectifier, but it also allows for the following improvements in the process:
Ensures repeatable and reproducible operations
Optimizes deposit properties with standardized amps, volts & amp-hrs
Increases throughput
Allows fewer errors
Captures actual amperage, voltage and time through data logging
Improves quality control and assurance
But by taking the improvements further and automating the operation, the technician is then only responsible for 4 tasks, removing the operator and plating variation altogether.
Part handling (Load and unload parts
Post plating visual inspection
Adjust amp-hrs based on solution life
Maintain specific gravity of chemistry
With an automated system, the operator to operator variation is eliminated and the part placement, movement and pressure are the same for every part. Not only does it provide the benefits of a programmed rectifier and but also optimizes deposit properties with standardized amps, volts & amp-hrs, increased throughput, and improves overall quality control and assurance. And by taking the technician away from the operation distractions are no longer a concern, nor are the ergonomic risks posed to them.
The data collected supported the claims that positive improvements were made when automation was introduced. For the sample, 2 types of parts were plated, similar in configuration, and an analysis of the thickness was measure on Part 1 in 4 predetermined areas. The thickness was verified at the start of the plating run and at approximately every 12th part. This totaled approximately 25 samples of 450 plated parts in the period of 1 month. And of the manually plated parts, 3 different technicians were used.
In the manual or operator controlled rectifier data, a 1.5 Sigma or .5 Cpk was recorded.
Overall, by automating the process using a programmable logic controller, technicians can review data captured through the human-machine interface to determine if the operation was completed within tolerance and effectively improve Cpk values. If any errors occur, or quality standards are not met, technicians can review the data and trace the error to its source and assign the appropriate corrective action, preventing the errors being repeated.
Immersion plating consists of dipping or submerging a metal component into a nonconductive bath of metal solution ions causing a replacement reaction. With immersion plating, no external current is needed. Due to the differing nobilities of the base metal and the metal ions, the base metal will be displaced by the ions of a higher nobility which resist being in a soluble state.
One of the most common uses of immersion plating is silver on copper. When a copper component – such as a bus bar – is immersed in the silver electrolyte, the silver ions reduce to silver metal and deposit onto the copper substrate. Once the copper is completed coated with silver, the deposition is halted.
As with other selective plating applications, an immersion silver can be applied to a localized area of a component. It is imperative that this localized area remains saturated for an extended period of time in order for the deposit to form.
A properly cleaned copper part immersed in, or saturated with, the solution for up to two minutes should achieve an average deposit thickness of 5 μin to 8 μin. While a silver immersion solution plates well at room temperature, operating parameters such as pH, temperature, and solution flow will affect the transfer dynamic, increasing the reaction rate at the plating surface.
Applications for Immersion Silver
Immersion silver is used for a variety of applications, including:
Lower contact resistance
Improve solderability
Protection from oxidation
While immersion silver is inexpensive and gives the appearance of a silver plating, it does not provide the full functionality of an electroplated deposit. Due to the low thicknesses achieved and the poor adhesion, silver immersion deposits do not meet many required specifications.
For more information on SIFCO ASC’s silver plating products and services, please contact us at info@sifcoasc.com or 800-765-4131.
For years there’s been a constant debate as to the efficiency and longevity of the hydroelectric power supply in the US.
Hydroelectric power uses flowing water to spin a turbine connected to a generator to produce electricity. According to the National Hydropower Association (NHA), “the water flows through the turbines, turning blades which are connected to a shaft that spins a generator, and generates power that is then sent out to homes and businesses through transmission lines.”
There is no doubt that the public’s interest in renewable energies will continue to grow, and hydropower is one of the oldest forms of electric generating technology. The average age of a US hydro plant is 64 years. With the proper maintenance, the equipment lifetime is expected to exceed 100 years; and maintenance investments have not been overlooked. From 2007 to 2016 $8.7 billion was invested in refurbishments and upgrades.
SIFCO ASC can play an essential role in the in the maintenance schedule of turbines by restoring critical dimensions and providing corrosion protection on a variety of components. Deposits frequently used to maintain and repair turbines include:
Nickel for pre-braze operations, wear resistance, dimensional restoration and corrosion protection
AeroNikl® sulfamate nickel provides defect-free, adherent, high quality nickel deposits in three hardness levels (250, 400, and 575 Hv)
Copper for defect repair and conductivity
Depending on policy changes, the NHA is hopeful that by 2025 the US hydropower industry could install 60,000 MW of new capacity. The NHA estimates that this 60,000 MW is only 15% of the market’s untapped potential. But, in order to grow sustainably, the hydro industry will need to focus on projects that utilize the existing infrastructure. Adding more efficient generating equipment to existing facilities and adding electricity generating capacity to dams that have none today can open vast amounts of renewable energy generation for the US.
But some still believe the market has reached its growth potential. With aging facilities, the significant costs associated with building new ones, and the erratic climate, the value of hydropower becomes more and more uncertain. In times of drought, as experienced in California, residents can expect to see an increase in costs and greenhouse gas emissions, as natural gas-powered plants (and coal in some developing countries) have to temporarily fill in the main energy source. It’s good for any state to have a diversified energy mix. While renewables should be used 100%, in times of crisis when there is no wind, rain, or sun, fossil fuels will be used as a backup.
Despite the uncertainty in the existing infrastructure, or the current climate, the US Department of Energy wants to ensure a system that is “reliable, resilient, and affordable long into the future.” And according to a recent DOE report, hydropower is included in that future. “Hydropower, nuclear, coal and natural gas power plants provide [essential reliability services] and fuel assurance critical to system resilience.”
No matter what side of the dam argument you are on, they will continue to stand for decades to come – continuing to provide a source of renewable energy, which shouldn’t be discounted so easily.
For more information on turbine repair from SIFCO ASC, click here. Or contact us at 800-765-4131 or info@sifcoasc.com.
Wear and tear on molds, and the need for repairs, are a regular cost of doing business. However, these costs can be reduced if the appropriate repair method is used.
In the automotive industry, several kinds of fiber and plastic matrices are being used in compression and resin transfer molding processes for everything from body parts to internal components. These molds can be quite expensive and have long lead times to make, therefore ensuring a timely repair when issues arrive is imperative.
Damage to molds and related tooling is inevitable due to foreign objects getting into the cavities, acidic corrosion, and other causes of wear and tear, but these small flaws could cause unacceptable scrap rates. Which was the case with the fender mold of one automaker. Due to pitting in a small area at the bottom of the mold, their scrap rate rose from 2% to 15%.
The automaker was able to use selective plating to repair the area within one operating shift, preventing the mold from being taken out of service. (As a general rule, any defect depths of up to .06” are quality candidates for a selective plating repair.) If a mold has a lot of corrosion, scratches and other small surface flaws that result in a poor finish, selective plating can repair the damaged area in-situ, without removing the part or the need for extensive masking. This greatly reduces repair costs; and the end result is reduced rework and scrap rate costs.
With any brush plating application, controlling the variables of the process is essential to achieving a high quality, adherent deposit. The operator directly controls several plating variables in the selective plating operation that can affect the quality of the deposit. They are the voltage, amperage (current density), anode-to cathode speed, solution flow rate, uniformity of solution distribution at the work area, solution temperature, plating tool contact area and cover material.
The selective plating process requires movement between the plating tool (anode) and the part. This movement is called the anode-to-cathode speed, and is measured in surface feet per minute. The plating tool can be moved over the part, the part can be moved with the plating tool stationary, or there can be a combined movement. For easy reference when starting your application, the anode-to-cathode speed is listed in the technical data sheet of the plating solution.
If the part is being rotated in a lathe, the desired anode-to-cathode speed is converted into revolutions per minute (RPM). The formula to determine RPM when rotating the workpiece in a lathe is:
RPM = (FPM x 3.82)/D
Where
RPM = revolutions per minute at which the part or tool should be rotated.
FPM = recommended anode-to-cathode speed, in feet per minute, for the plating solution used.
D = diameter, in inches, of the OD or ID to be plated.
For Example:
FPM = 50
D = 6”
Placing these values in the above formula:
RPM = (50 x 3.82)/6 = 31.8
The spindle speed of the lathe should be set to the closest value of the calculated RPM as possible. But, in some applications, it may be difficult or even impossible to achieve the recommended anode-to-cathode speed with or without a lathe. In those cases, tests have shown that a change in the current density can compensate for the inability to use the optimum anode to cathode speed.
In the event the closest speed available on the lathe was 75 RPM, the current density could be adjusted as follows:
CDa = CDo x 3Ö (Sa ÷ So)
Where
CDa = Adjusted Current Density
CDo = Current Density at Optimum Anode-to-Cathode Speed
Sa = Actual Anode-to-Cathode Speed
So = Optimum Anode-to-Cathode Speed
For Example:
CDo = 7 amps/in2
Sa = 117 FPM
So = 50 FPM
Placing these values in the formula above:
CDa = 7 x 3Ö (117/50) = 9.29 amps/in2
Moderate deviations of 10 to 15 feet per minute should have no noticeable impact on the deposit (assuming all other all process variables are in control). But no movement or insufficient movement, even if momentary, may result in burning.
Sustaining the proper anode-to-cathode speed together with maintaining the other variables ensures a consistent, uniform, and adherent deposit. If you need assistance maintaining your anode-to-cathode speed, or calculating RPM or CDa, please contact our technical service representatives at info@sifcoasc.com or 800-765-4131.
When a world-leading multi-national manufacturer of large surface mining equipment began researching a method of extending the service life of its cylinder heads, SIFCO ASC’s selective brush plating outperformed welding on a number of key criteria.
For one of the world’s most renowned manufacturers of large surface mining equipment, the salvaging of failing cylinder heads – a vital component within any combustion engine – was identified as an area for improvement. Initial research suggested that approximately 35% of all cylinder head failures were due to fretting; a common issue with multiple solutions available on the market, such as thermal/cold spray, sleeving, welding, replacement or selective brush plating.
An improvement plan was activated, with welding and selective brush plating identified as the two favored remanufacturing methods. Each solution was put to the test and evaluated against strict criteria for performance, cost and lead time.
The trial results.
While welding the worn areas of the cylinder head cost less, it provided insufficient quality deposits and the potential of heat distortion. Each cylinder head was then selectively plated with nickel for dimensional restoration and wear resistance. Selective plating, although slightly more expensive, proved to be 16% faster and delivered a good quality deposit with little risk for part distortion since the operation is performed at room temperature.
The benefits of selective brush plating.
The benefits of selective brush plating include the ability to accurately focus the plating onto specific areas of a component, enabling parts to be plated in-situ, which can drastically reduce downtime and minimize production delays.
Ongoing remanufacturing partnership.
Following extensive trial successes, this renowned manufacturer implemented the SIFCO Process® as its preferred method salvaging end-of-life cylinder heads, citing the key benefits as reduced materials consumption and waste, lower energy consumption and the realization of considerable annual savings of approximately $95,000 as compared to new or replacement parts.
Integrated Power Services (IPS) is the USA’s leading independent provider of repair and maintenance services for electric motors, generators and mechanical power transmission components. Covering the whole of North America on a 24/7 basis, IPS integrates and supplies repair services, field services and product sales to thousands of customers working in asset-intensive industries. And for over thirty years, IPS has been using the SIFCO Process® of selective plating to repair and protect critical components such as the bearing fits on shafts, shaft journals and end bell bores.
The SIFCO ASC approach has been shown, over decades, to deliver consistent results in plating a wide range of materials and components. Unlike welding, which can deform the surrounding materials and generate extra work in machining, the SIFCO Process® leaves the surrounding area largely untouched and – as long as the surface is correctly prepared for application – adherence is superb.
At IPS, the SIFCO ASC approach is used to plate nickel to a thickness of up to 0.030” total, or 0.015” on each side of a journal or housing. While it is possible to build thicker layers, this involves stopping and re-starting the process and IPS operatives prefer not to do this. The company uses the SIFCO plating process mainly for small and medium components, but also for some large motor component repairs.
For IPS, the plating solution identified more than 30 years ago is still serving them well today – and long may it continue to do so. Matt Peterson, IPS Machine Shop Supervisor, concludes: “SIFCO ASC has been an integral part of the growth of our repair service division over the past three decades. They have expanded our repair capacity with their products and processes, trained many of our operators to improve their skills and offered continued technical advice in unique repair situations and when troubleshooting of an issue was necessary. I would highly recommend them.”
Read the full article in Products Finishing at PFonline.com.
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