Materials PROCESSES & SERVICES

  Top Product

Rapid prototyping

• instant quotes
• multiple parts

This company’s website offers online instant quotes for rapid prototyping via their QuickQuote engine, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Users can upload .STL files and select a manufacturing process. A binding, custom quote is automatically generated by the program. Since many projects have assemblies of parts, entire projects or muiltiple parts can be quoted simultaneously. In fact, quoting additional parts lowers the overall quote. Unlimited “what-if” scenarios are allowed with the Update Changes button. A comment area accommodates special requirements not covered in the available choices. Quotes can be discarded, saved for future use, or used to order online. A project manager will then take over the order and manage the order until completion. Quickparts.com Inc, Atlanta, GA. Free info—Circle 670. 

Prototype materials. This company provides prototype quantities of a broad line of metals and materials, with finishing processes that include ion implantation, electroplating, heat treatment, photo-etching, and vapor deposition. Goodfellow Corp, Berwyn, PA. Free info—Circle 681. 

Coating services. This company’s specialty coatings provide corrosion resistance and lubrication in a reliable thickness. They offer high extreme-pressure properties, good high-temperature performance and minimal clean-up. Parker Rust-Proof of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH. Free info—Circle 682. 

Electrochemical etching. The SM2000 system permanently marks parts for cradle-to-grave traceability. It does not weaken or distort metal parts as the molecular structure of the part is not altered beyond the depth of the mark. Marking Methods Inc, Alhambra, CA. Free info—Circle 688. 

Custom copper components. Custom electrical components are available in copper and copper alloys in large or small order quantities. In-house extruding, casting and forging processing are backed by secondary processing. Electric Metals, North East, PA. Free info—Circle 671. 

Automated welding process. Automated orbital welding is available for manufacturing high-pressure shell and tube heat exchangers to obtain high qualitative and quantitative results. Harris Thermal Transfer Products, Newberg, OR. Free info—Circle 672. 

Hardening & coating. This company provides more than 25 heat treatment processes for various metals and alloys. Types of products processed include castings, forgings, stampings, spinnings, powdered metal, extrusions, fasteners, tubing, weldments, wire forms, wire cloth, springs and investment castings. Tuff-Koat hardfacing combines the hardness of tungsten carbide with the corrosion resistance of stainless steel. Hi-Temp Inc, Northlake, IL. Free info—Circle 683. 

Chip scale packaging. The 3D-CSP process achieves size reductions up to 80% over conventional full-size assemblies. Gold-on-gold flip chip die attachment can have contact pitches as fine as 100µm or less and more than 800 connections per die. Valtronic USA Inc, Solon, OH. Free info—Circle 673. 

Custom plastic components. Custom packaging and process machinery components are precision machined to ±0.001-in., depending upon material and configuration, and can be manufactured up to 60-in. dia. and 20 ft long. Slideways Inc, Shrewsbury, MA. Free info—Circle 674.

Electrocoating. Powerseal XL cathodic epoxy electrocoat is designed to meet the needs of the fastener marketplace. It demonstrates high corrosion resistance, improved torque control properties, reduced cure temperature and lower volatile emissions than comparable finishing processes. It is formulated with HAPs-free solvents and VOC content is less than 0.3 lbs per gallon. PPG Pretreatment & Specialty Products, Euclid, OH. Free info—Circle 684. 

Threaded cast parts. This company has the ability to cast internal and external threads onto parts, thereby eliminating secondary processes. Intricate, near-net-shape parts can be cast, producing strong, light-weight parts. Northern Precision Casting Co, Lake Geneva, WI. Free info—Circle 677. 

Finishing services. This company’s finishing service provide paints, lubricants and custom high-performance finishes in both water and solvent-based media, including dip-spin, dip-drain, flood or spray processing. ND Industries, Clawson, MI. Free info—Circle 678. 

Overmolding. This company’s capabilities include the injection molding and over-molding of thermoplastic materials, including TPE, TPU and TPR. They can overmold onto metal fasteners, stampings and plastic parts. Advanced production systems and high-speed vision inspection technology allows intricate designs and high volume production with high consistency. Prototyping and design analysis are available. Forest City Technologies Inc, Wellington, OH. Free info—Circle 686. 

Plating services. This company has expanded its reel-to-reel plating operations, quadrupling production capability. Precious and non-precious electroplating includes gold, silver, tin, tin/lead, copper and nickel. Oberg Arizona, Chandler, AZ. Free info—Circle 679. 

Seamless forming. This company produces seamless vessels, tubing, liners, cones, skirts and nozzles from refractory and reactive metals, including tantalum, niobium (columbium), molybdenum, zirconium, vanadium and their alloys. Metal Technology Inc, Albany, OR. Free info—Circle 680. 

Testing lab. Testing services include tension, ductility, hardness, hardenability, impact testing, stress rupture and heat treatment (0-2200°F). Fasteners can be tested for mechanical and rotational properties, panel fastening, thread evaluation and dimensional characteristics. Other testing facilities include metallography, corrosion, failure analysis, chemistry, welding, machining and product evaluation. Herron Testin Laboratories, Cleveland, OH. Free info—Circle 687. 

Product development. This company provides full-service concept, design, detailing and analysis services, including FEA and reverse engineering, within reduced cycle times. Contract staffing provides product development flexibility. ACCS, Peoria, IL. Free info—Circle 675. 

Aluminum welding. HY-PAK single-sided projection welding process is suited for sheet aluminum applications with critical surface finish requirements. Protective coatings on welded surfaces are not disturbed. Newcor, Bay City, MI. Free info—Circle 676. 

Molding service. This company provides vertical integration from tooling to delivery, providing mold design, mold construction, injection molding and other services. 3D CAD/CAM systems shorten tooling lead times and facilitate complex part designs and forms. Metal to plastic conversions are possible. All designs are geared toward high efficiency production and cost-effective assembly. Northeast Mold & Plastics Inc, Glastonbury, CT. Free info—Circle 685. 

Application Xtra

Packaging Program for Overseas Shipping

• prevents corrosion
• custom sizes

The relative humidity within a seagoing shipping container can stay pretty close to 100% during transit. With daily temperatures fluctuating as much as 50°F or more, a virtual microclimate is created within a shipping container that may even include rain and fog due to condensation. Steel parts begin to rust at 40% relative humidity, so effective packaging must create a moisture barrier to prevent corrosion on ferrous materials shipped overseas. “We take great pride in the quality of our products. We were disturbed to hear that some of our customers were receiving [our ultrasonic welders] in less-than-perfect condition,” comments Jerry Daniel, manager of manufacturing operations at Sonitek, Milford, MA. Daniel adds that the company had been using a poly-wrap system with enclosed desiccant. “No matter how much desiccant we added, it just wasn’t enough. We simply needed to keep moisture from entering the packaging in the first place.”

New design specifications—including corrosive-resistant plating and coatings and stainless steel fasteners—did not solve the problem. After researching other alternatives, engineers settled upon a protective packaging program from Shield Pack, Inc. This system includes custom, 3D foil laminate barrier bags, which are vacuum-sealed with a pre-measured desiccant and an optional humidity indicator. The bags are said to have the lowest Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate (MVTR) in the packaging trade; the bags typically maintain the interior humidity at less than 5% over the course of several months. 

Three custom designs were selected by Sonitek to accommodate products of different sizes and occasional permutations in product design. Sonitek started packing their presses in the bags back in February, following up with every shipment to overseas customers; not a single complaint about corrosion was noted. Cost savings include reduced packaging time (over-wrapping) and elimination of retail desiccant prices.

This custom program is designed for shipping and storing corrosion sensitive electronics and machinery as well as hygroscopic chemicals.

For more information: Shield Pack Inc, W Monroe, LA. Free info—Circle 689.