Upscale of barrel plating effiency

Huber + Suhner have been treating mass-produced components for radio frequency connectors in their own plating facilities in the Swiss town of Herisau near St. Gallen since 1980. The company uses GALVAINOX barrel plating devices from Richard Tscherwitschke GmbH.

Endeavours to optimise equipment – ensuring maximum quality, reducing operational and quality costs, and improving processes – are based on a close cooperation between the two companies, and a number of joint projects in order to identify which technical measures bring economical and environmental  benefits.

Research as to how chemicals can be used more efficiently, how to achieve a better rinsing ratio and how to improve the stability of the electrolyte concentration in the barrel, has resulted in testing an electrolyte injection process. The use of electrolyte injection lends itself to incorporating an internal rinsing device: After plating, the workpieces are rinsed with water or cleaned with compressed air in a separate medium circuit.

This post-treatment process enables to recover up to 50 % of invasive treatment media to its original concentration, and the consumption of rinsing water is reduced by 50 % when compared to conventional immersion baths.

The drive system of the GALVAINOX barrel device was also examined. An excellent alternative to the existing spur gear drive was an innovative drive shaft concept from Richard Tscherwitschke GmbH: a so-called bevel gear drive with a vertical drive shaft that prevents the vertical transport of liquids. This system also provides maximum sealing and thus protection of the motor housing against chemical attack resulting from vapours or moisture.

This contributes to a noticeably increased service life for the drive, reduced servicing requirements and lower maintenance costs – saving time and resources.