Piston rods are an integral part of any engine used for connecting the crankshaft of the engine. Their function involves conversion of reciprocating piston motion to the rotation motion of the crankshaft. It acts as a connecting rod or a lever arm transmitting tensile and compressive force from the piston through rotation at both ends.
Importance of Hard Chrome plated Piston rods
As understood by the function of the piston rods, it can be easily deciphered that they bear extreme mechanical loads. Thus. It is important for it to be sturdy enough to bear that continuous strain over a long period without any breakdowns. In order to ensure the same, only those piston rods need to be chosen which are made of sturdy metals in addition to being processed in a way that gives them some extra strength. In maximum of the cases, casting metals and alloy steels are used for making these rods. To further increase their strength, hard chrome plating is then given. This is done through electroplating, which is the most effective way of surface coating. This increases the hardness of the piston rod, thus minimizing the wear and tear caused due to the continuous metal friction within the piston.
Advantages of using Hard Chrome plated piston rods
There are several advantages of using hard chrome plated piston rods as compared to their other counterparts. These are:
- The carbon steel balances the hardness, durability and wear resistance through durability, weldability and formability.
- Hard Chrome plating provides resistance against corrosion along with an extreme reflective look.
- The plating increases the high precision tolerances. This helps in ensuring that when they are used for making hydraulic piston rods, they can fit the cylinder precisely.
- Hard chrome plating provides good hardness to the rod. They help the surface hardness to attain a minimum of HV850 that not only helps in improving the wear resistance but also extends their life span. This helps the consumer in saving several costs.
- The performance and strength of the piston rod also increases with hard chrome plating. Their yield strength can go upto 75000 psi to 100000 psi.
- If the operational temperature is maintained around 50- 65 degrees Celsius, hard chrome plating ensures that there is no mechanical or physical damage caused to the piston rod base metal.
- Another advantage of hard chrome plated piston rods is that they can be used on differed base metals. It not only makes the rods tough and sturdy but gives it a smooth shine and a corrosion resistant look that makes it one of the most preferred choice.
The many advantages of hard chrome plated piston rods make it one of the most commonly used equipment in many industries such as aerospace sector, earth moving equipment sector and others. This is because they provide lighter weights with a higher strength and lower cost. It is these excellent characteristics that make it one of the most widely used piston rods category in the hydraulic cylinders.
