Electroplating Clips Group: 11 Members: Trevor Nyeholt, Steven Tarske, Jake Vandekieft, & Kyle van Veen 1 of 7

Background Lacks uses an electroplating process that makes chrome plating plastic possible Most common use for chrome plated plastic parts is in the automotive environment Lacks Enterprises 2 of 7

Electroless Process Yuken Industry Co. 3 of 7 -So essentially they deposit a thin layer of metal on the product and then they electroplate that layer of metal! -After this electroless process then normal electroplating of chrome can occur -Electroplating is a process that uses electric current to reduce dissolved metal cations so that they form a thin coherent metal coating on an electrode Yuken Industry Co. 3 of 7

Industry Standards & Current Solutions -vigerous arration -plastisol coating 4 of 7 Lacks Enterprises

The Problem Clip fatigue Surface Area of the Clip Withstand chrome plating buildup Clip fatigue -once the clip becomes too fatigued from continuous bending, the parts become loose and fall, resulting in scrap Surface Area of the Clip -maximum surface area is needed for the current to flow through the stainless steel clip and plastic part 5 of 7

Requirements Multiple Points of Contact Can’t be on visible surface Clips can not shade significant area of part Clips must remain in same position after repeated loading Clips must be easy for operator to load and unload Must be enough contact area for adequate current The contact points required for plastic parts are a lot greater than those required for metal parts Points of contact need to be rounded to avoid skip-plating from poor rinsing Clips cant be placed on high-quality surfaces due to possibility of discoloration Must be able to withstand the stripping of buildup Chromic acid or sulfuric acid etch normally used Otherwise electroless nickel, and an nitric acid dip are used Buildup needs to be removed for most efficient flow of electric current to occur 6 of 7

Project Goals Increase clip grip strength Significantly prolong clip lifetime Reduce scrap rate Improve ergonomics -lower overall cost by increasing the lifetime of the part and decreasing the scrap rate, even if overall complexity of the clip increases -current scrap rate -Stewards of the Environment =) 7 of 7