The Advantages Of Plating Fasteners

When ordering fasteners, it is important to get all the details right. When you consult a high quality vendor, you will find that they will not simply sell the screws or bolts you need without asking any questions. Most of them will want more detail rather than the basics such as the size of the fasteners. This is because there are many aspects that can be changed depending on how you are going to use them. Making sure that you optimize this will increase the chances of getting good value for money.

One of the processes you should be keen on if you are going to use the fasteners on a long term basis is plating. In a nutshell, plating is the process by which a metal or other product is used to coat the exterior of the fastener in order to give it other extra characteristics. Such plating can be done using a variety of methods including simply dipping the fasteners into a vat of the molten metal. There are several benefits associated with plating fasteners including:

Aesthetics

Sometimes, you want your fasteners to look appealing. This is particularly important when you are putting together an item that you intend to sell, and in which the fasteners will be visible. In such cases, using aluminum hex nuts or steel hex head cap screws which have scratches and blemishes will only serve to make customers try other products. In such cases, you can have the fasteners plated using a material such as chrome in order to give them a shiny, premium look.

 

Protection

This is by far one of the most common reasons for plating fasteners. When the fasteners are made out of a material that can easily corrode, one can use plating to give them a cover that will reduce contact with water and oxygen, resulting in rusting. Some of the common metals used in plating in such cases include platinum. When using plating for such protection, it’s important to have an idea of the conditions in which the fastener will be used. For instance, if it will be exposed to high temperatures for a long time, you will find that some types of plating will last longer and work better than others.
The other option to reduce the risk of corrosion would be to buy fasteners made out of a metal that will resist it, such as platinum. However, this tends to be very expensive compared to using plated fasteners. Plating is therefore the cheapest way to get similar results. You can buy fasteners that are already plated, or ask the vendor to plate them for you.

For easy use

You can also use plating to make it easier to use the fasteners. There are some materials that can be used to cover the surface of the fasteners in such a manner that they will reduce friction during use, thus reducing the risk of damage and seizing.
As you can see, there are many advantage of using fastener plating. This is therefore a variable that should be considered every time you are ordering fasteners.