Don’t scrap it, MAP it.
You’ve chipped the tool, mis-machined a mold or worn out a jig. Maybe a piece moved in the holder, someone read a print wrong or you were trying to repair a shaft with a spinning bearing. Regardless of how it happened, you have a damaged piece on your hands.
Before you throw it out, know there are a handful of options to repair your damaged tool or mold. Fixing a cylindrical shaft, mold or ID requires a thickness of anywhere between .001 to .1 for best results – and we know a few repair options that can help bring your damaged tool back to working condition. Check out these three ways to mend a damaged product.
Weld it – Welding an item is always an option. However, welding requires a large area of damage to work on. With items such as jigs or shafts, the area is often too small to handle the large amount of heat generated during repair. Welding smaller items will likely damage the part causing heat sink, warpage and annealing.
Chrome build-up – Adding chrome build-up can help increase wear and reduce overall friction of your tool. This option uses a lot of chrome, however, and often more than is necessary. Depending on how big or small your item is, it may not be worth the cost. You’re also limited on the thickness of the coat, ranging from .0004 to .030 max. If you’re not willing to compromise the benefits of chrome’s rockwell, take a look at our next repair option.
MAP it – Machinable alloy plating, or MAP, is ductile, electroplated, sulfamate nickel plating used to repair or salvage worn tool steel, copper or castings. The hottest temperature it reaches is 225 degrees, eliminating the risk of heat-caused damage. With a heat resistance of 700 degrees, it is sure to last through your toughest tasks. The thickness of the application ranges from .001 to .100+ and has an rc of 45-48, producing a protection on your product that stays parallel and won’t bend. Plus, MAP is thin enough that it doesn’t change your tool’s or mold’s design and it can be further plated with chrome to maintain hardness.
Next time a mistake is made, remember there are more solutions than throwing the product away and buying something new. At Meadville Plating, MAP is one of our specialties to save you money – instead of spending more to remanufacture worn, mis-machined, or damaged tool steel, copper and castings. Learn more about MAP and our other plating techniques by calling 814-724-1084.
