PRE-METALLIZING WASHING & DECONTAMINATION
Some customers do not have the means to effectively clean plastic housings after molding, and therefore require pre-metallizing washing and decontamination at Deep Coat.
Deep Coat Pre-Metalizing Washing
Mold releases, oils, fingerprints, machining lubricants, or other contaminants may contact part plastic housings in a variety of scenarios. Each of these contaminants is detrimental to the physical vapor deposition process. Vacuum metallization causes metals to evaporate and, atom by atom, transfer from their source locations to the plastic housings. If there are obstacles to the metal reaching the plastic, such as mold releases or lubricants, the metal will stick to those contaminants and not to the plastic.
Deep Coat is capable of identification and decontamination for vacuum metallized parts if a customer, or their designated molder, is not equipped to avoid contaminants in their workplace. Our process uses hot- or cold-water baths (depending upon the glass transition temperature of your chosen plastic) and light detergents to clean the surfaces of your parts as necessary. If your product has lubricated threaded inserts, please make sure to work with your threaded insert supplier to ensure that inserts are washed prior to assembly. While a surface wash is an effective way of cleaning the rest of a product, threaded inserts must be cleaned by the supplier.
Additionally, our team will provide our plastic metallizing pre-washing and decontamination service if your parts require supplemental surface pre-treatment to the plasma pre-treatment process to remove dust or scale that may have resulted from supplemental processes prior to metallizing.
If you would like to learn more about pre-metalizing washing and decontamination, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team here at Deep Coat Industries. We’re always ready to help you with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. Contact us today to discover the answers to all of your decontamination questions.