Finishing off a component requires attention to detail. It means listening to the demands of the client and to what they require. To ensure the finishing process meets certain performance requirements, finishing companies utilize specific standards. These specifications provide clear instructions on the production of various metals. Among the most stringent are those of the military. Military specifications such as Mil C 2607, set the standard bar high.
What Are Military Specifications?
Military specifications are a means of setting specific standards or requirements for certain finishing services including electro and electroless plating. They originate among government agencies and anyone who wants to obtain a contract with the government has to meet or exceed these standards. Online documents provide a complete listing of the requirements necessary to meet the specifications in one of many classifications. The exact list of requirements is listed the Department of Defense Index of Specifications and Standards (DODISS) and supplements. Some manufacturers specifically request military specs, believing them to be the “gold standard.”
Military Spec Electroless Plating
Military specs apply not only to electroplating but to electroless plating as well. MIL-C-26074 for example provides the specifications for electroless nickel-plating services. While cancelled, these specifications are still in wide and accepted use. Classes covered by the specifications include:
- Class 1: Plated but without any subsequent heat treatment
- Class 2: Heat-treated to achieve the requisite hardness
- Class 3: This contains non-heat treatable aluminum alloys as well as beryllium alloys
- Class 4: This class contains heat-treatable aluminum alloys
All classes are based on whether the nickel coating falls into heat or non-heat treatable following the plating process.
The specifications for Mil C 20674 also provide the required grades of nickel, dividing them into Grades A, B and C based on coating thickness. Detailed information provides finishing companies with exact expectations for plating nickel including such aspects as:
- Coating adhesion
- Hardness
- Heating schedule
- Quality assurance
- Inspection – classification, methods and conditions
- Packaging
The specifications even mention using recycled material indicating its thoroughness and extent.
Mil C 20674
Electroless nickel plating is subject to ASTM, AMS and MIL specifications. These dictate the conditions, methods and all specifics a finishing company is to employ to achieve the optimal results. A company’s expertise in providing the best methods, including barrel, rack and vibratory electroless nickel-plating services has one aim. Reputable c0ompanies work with their clients to provide them with a product that will meet the stringent specifications that comprise Mil C 20674 and, therefore, the expectations severe demands of the physical world.