The second meeting of the DGO working group on decorative Cr(III) processes took place at BIA Kunststoff- und Galvanotechnik GmbH in Solingen in mid-December 2023. A total of 20 participants from science and practice documented the continued high relevance of current topics in connection with trivalent deposited Cr coatings.
Coulometry, X-ray fluorescence and cross-sectioning
The main topic of the meeting was the preliminary final results from the round robin test carried out to measure the coating thickness of trivalently deposited bright chrome coatings. The aim was to record and neutrally evaluate various inaccuracies in coating thickness measurement using established methods (coulometry, X-ray fluorescence analysis, measurement on the cross-section) across the industry. Two parallel rounds of measurements were carried out on chrome-plated plastic and brass substrates. Measured values were determined using spherical ground joints and FIB as a reference.
Scattering too large
An important finding from the results is that the XRF measurement results in particular are subject to greater scatter and are only comparable between the companies to a limited extent. As a result, it was agreed to carry out the round robin test again with a clearly defined, standardized measurement task.
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