SURTECH Tokyo

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

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Industry trends

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Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Surface treatment

Any controlled process that changes the outer layer of a part - plating, coating, chemical conversion, thermal spray, or mechanical finishing - to improve corrosion resistance, wear life, electrical behaviour, or appearance. At a show like Surtech the term usually covers both the process chemistry and the equipment that applies it.

2

Surface modification

Processes that alter the metallurgy or chemistry of the near-surface layer rather than adding a distinct layer: nitriding, carburising, induction hardening, laser hardening, ion implantation, and shot peening fall here. Buyers compare hardness depth, distortion, and post-treatment machining needs.

3

Electroplating

Depositing a metal layer from a solution using an electric current. Zinc, nickel, chrome, copper, tin, and alloy plating are the workhorses of connector, fastener, and electronics manufacturing; discussions at the show usually turn on throwing power, deposit uniformity, and waste treatment cost.

4

Electroless plating

Autocatalytic metal deposition without applied current, most often electroless nickel-phosphorus. Valued for uniform thickness on complex geometry and for plating non-conductive substrates after catalysation; EN bath lifetime and phosphorus content control are recurring supplier talking points.

5

Anodising

Anodic oxidation of aluminium (and some other metals) to grow a controlled oxide layer. Type II sulphuric anodising, Type III hard anodising, and colouring or sealing steps are usually presented together with rack design and rectifier sizing.

6

PVD (physical vapour deposition)

Vacuum-based deposition of thin films by evaporation or sputtering. Used for hard coatings on tools and decorative or functional films on parts; evaluation criteria include adhesion, film thickness uniformity, deposition rate, and target utilisation.

7

CVD (chemical vapour deposition)

Film growth from gas-phase precursors reacting at a heated substrate. Common for wear-resistant coatings and semiconductor-related films; process temperature and precursor handling drive the equipment specification.

8

Thermal spraying

Family of processes (flame, arc, plasma, HVOF, cold spray) that propel molten or softened material onto a surface to build a functional coating. Judged on porosity, bond strength, and oxide content; often used for wear and corrosion protection on large parts.

9

Shot peening

Mechanical surface treatment that bombards the part with controlled media to induce compressive residual stress and improve fatigue life. Coverage, intensity (Almen), and media control are the specification parameters.

10

Nitriding and carburising

Thermochemical case-hardening treatments that diffuse nitrogen or carbon into steel. Nitriding runs at lower temperature with less distortion, while carburising achieves deeper cases; both are compared on case depth, hardness profile, and dimensional change.

11

Passivation

Chemical removal of free iron from stainless steel surfaces to restore the chromium oxide layer and improve corrosion resistance. Typically specified with citric or nitric acid routes and verified by salt spray or copper sulphate testing.

12

Conversion coating

A chemical treatment that converts the base metal surface into a thin protective layer, historically chromate and now increasingly zirconium or titanium based. Driven by hexavalent chromium restrictions and paint adhesion requirements.

13

DLC coating

Diamond-like carbon, an amorphous carbon film with high hardness and low friction. Used on tooling, sliding parts, and automotive components; hydrogen content and doping determine friction and wear behaviour.

14

Trivalent chromium

Chromium plating or passivation based on Cr(III) rather than Cr(VI). The shift is driven by REACH and RoHS restrictions on hexavalent chromium; colour matching and thickness control versus conventional processes are common evaluation points.

15

Coating thickness measurement

Verification of deposit thickness by X-ray fluorescence, eddy current, magnetic induction, or coulometric methods. Thickness distribution across a rack, not just the average, is what production engineers look for.

16

Salt spray test

Accelerated corrosion test in a salt fog chamber, widely specified in Japan against JIS Z 2371 and internationally against ASTM B117 or ISO 9227. Hours to red rust are quoted as a comparative performance figure, not a lifetime prediction.

17

Adhesion testing

Cross-cut, tape pull, or indentation tests used to check how well a coating bonds to the substrate, often after thermal cycling. Buyers usually ask for the test standard, the substrate condition, and the pre-treatment sequence at the same time.

18

Surface roughness (Ra, Rz)

Profile parameters describing micro-geometry before coating or after finishing. Pre-treatment roughness strongly influences adhesion and gloss, so polishing and blasting specifications are quoted together with the coating spec.

19

Barrel and rack plating

Two loading methods: barrel plating tumbles small parts for volume throughput, rack plating fixtures parts individually for controlled deposit placement. The choice changes minimum thickness, contact marks, and per-part cost.

20

Job shop (plating and coating service)

A contract processor that treats customer parts rather than selling equipment or chemistry. At Surtech these exhibitors compete on turnaround, lot size flexibility, and specification compliance.