Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive
(Hard Chrome Plating)

by Randy Taylor, Advanced Tooling Corporation
February, 2007

Prolonging Blade Life with Hard Chrome Plating

Q.Will hard chrome plating eradicate the pick-up of aluminium on shear blades/dies, and what effect would it have on the cutting edges?

A. Hard chrome can prolong blade life. Flash hard chrome is commonly used to extend the life of drill bits, punches and other tools as well. By thin, I'm referring to 0.00015 to 0.00025 thick. Much more than that and a burr or build up begins to form on sharp or leading edges. Aside from high hardness and good wear resistance, hard chromium has a low coefficient of friction, hence it releases well when coming into contact with other materials.