BY A.J. SCHENK INTERCON
Picking the right electrical
contact system is important
for proper plating line
optimization.
Making Contact
with Your Plating Line
ABOVE: Flight bar cleaning saddles at the
rinse tank allow greater contact and current
flow for the flight bar when it engages the
contact saddle during the next plating cycles.
24
SEPTEMBER 2017 — PFonline.com
Choosing the right electrical contact system can be one
of the most important decisions for a plating operation.
Plating shops use high-current rectifiers and are large energy
consumers. Poor power distribution and inefficient contacts
are often the key factors driving large electrical losses, quality
problems and costly plant shutdowns.
Not only are contacts exposed to high electrical currents,
but they also are subject to mechanical and aggressive
chemical abuse. A new and clean electrical contact system
may perform well, but after a year or so of use, it will perform
much differently. It's essential that the contact area transmit
the current with minimal electrical loss on its way to the
rack and, more specifically, to the components that are being
plated or anodized in the tanks.
Contact saddles often are specified with a simple bronze-
casting V-block design, but this critical contact junction
sometimes does not have a large enough surface area or elec-
trical cross section to meet the high current requirements of
the rectifier.
PLATING