Corrosion doesn’t send a warning. A part clears inspection, gets shipped, goes into service, and six months later someone’s trying to figure out why it’s failing. By then the finishing decision that caused it was made a long time ago by someone who’s long since moved on to other problems. Read more
If you’re an OEM, you know the drill. You design a perfect component, it looks great on the CAD screen, but three months into field testing, it’s galling, seizing, or just wearing down into expensive dust. Usually, the culprit is simple: friction. Most people try to solve this with grease. Read more
In aerospace manufacturing, metal finishing is rarely the first thing discussed. It usually comes up later, often after a problem is identified. Corrosion. Binding during assembly. Parts that pass inspection but don’t perform as expected. When that happens, surface treatment gets a closer look. Aerospace metal finishing isn’t just about Read more
Corrosion has this annoying habit of showing up when you’re not really paying attention. You think a part looks fine, and then a few months later you notice a bit of roughness or a tiny pit that definitely wasn’t there before. You’ve seen that happen on components that were supposed Read more
Why Magnesium is a Game-Changer for Lightweight Applications As technology evolves, industries like defense and medical manufacturing demand lighter, stronger materials. Magnesium fits the bill, offering exceptional strength-to-weight advantages. But plating magnesium? That’s where precision and expertise matter most. The Challenge of Plating Magnesium—And How AST Solves It Magnesium’s reactive Read more
Scaling Up: How AST’s Tank Sizes Enable Industrial-Scale Production When it comes to production plating, tank capacity is more than a convenience, it’s a competitive advantage. With tanks ranging from 50 to 1,000 gallons, AST can handle large parts, prototype plating, or bulk processing with outstanding efficiency. Magnesium Line Tank Read more
A Coating That Goes Beyond Protection The defense and aerospace industries require components made with high precision to tight tolerances. Every component must perform flawlessly, often under extreme conditions. That’s why electroless nickel plating is frequently the coating of choice for mission-critical parts. Often referred to as an “engineering coating,” Read more
When selecting a metal coating for your application, cost is always an important factor. While it might be tempting to choose the least expensive option, it’s critical to understand the trade-offs in durability, performance, and long-term value. Here, we explore how the cost of different coating types compares, particularly focusing Read more
Precision and Dimensional Control Electroless nickel is often referred to as an engineering coating due to its exceptional precision. It allows for tight control over thickness, making it suitable for high-tolerance applications. Typical coating thicknesses range from 0.001” to 0.002”, with tolerances as close as ±0.0001”. This precision makes electroless Read more
Selecting the Right Metal Plating for Your Application When it comes to metal plating and coatings, selecting the right process depends on several factors, including the base metal, environmental exposure, wear resistance, conductivity, and cost. Whether you need corrosion resistance, increased hardness, or improved conductivity, we offer a range of Read more
Gold Electroplating is a method of depositing a thin layer of gold onto the surface of another metal. Gold plating finds its uses in jewelry, semiconductor industry. It often requires that the substrate be cleaned and etched before it can be electroplated with gold. Gold plating solution is made by Read more
Plating on titanium parts adds value & functionality for many parts, especially aerospace parts and components. Titanium is an extremely hard metal that can be used in a wide variety of applications. It has excellent corrosion resistance, high strength-to-weight ratio, low density, good thermal conductivity, and high electrical conductivity. Titanium Read more
Electroless nickel plating on magnesium is the preferred engineering coating solution for applications requiring high levels of corrosion and wear resistance, deposit uniformity and hardness, solid lubricity, and solderability. Electroless nickel plating is an autocatalytic chemical process used to deposit a uniform layer of nickel-phosphorous alloy onto a part without the necessity Read more
Chromate conversion coatings are the most widely used coating for corrosion protection of Aluminum Coatings and Corrosion Protection Chromate conversion coatings are used to passivate metals using an immersion bath process. The chromate conversion coating is a thin film that is applied by immersing the metal in a solution containing Read more
What is bright tin plating? Bright tin plating is a type of electroplated coating that uses tin as its main component. This kind of coating has become very popular because of its high corrosion resistance and excellent wear resistance. Bright tin plating is widely applied in various industries such as Read more