DIY barrel platting

Having done a few zinc plating projects in the past, I don't have the patience to individually plate every fastener on a full restoration, so I'm building a barrel plating setup.

Quick breakdown:
-8" dia x 16" LG 
-Polypropylene sheet from Zoro. This will need some basic heat shaping and a few holes 
-I already have a fixed 12v 50A power supply to go with a PWM driver for the control side. Some quick research said PWM should work for plating... we'll see.  I could also use my tig welder, assuming the required current isnt too low.
-SendCutSend or similar for a few cathode bars/structure
-I have a few 2A DC brushed motors to rotate the barrel, but I'll need to design a quick planetary gear set for additional reduction to 5-15 RPM

I made some good progress on the design tonight....
 

I know a few of you have plated parts in the past, so any thoughts are welcome. One thing I haven't figured out is how to estimate required current for a 10lb bag of fasteners (not gonna calculate surface area there)! I also need to figure out the power transmission through the end plates for the cathodes.

Saablord wrote:

Having done a few zinc plating projects in the past, I don't have the patience to individually plate every fastener on a full restoration, so I'm building a barrel plating setup.

Quick breakdown:
-8" dia x 16" LG 
-Polypropylene sheet from Zoro. This will need some basic heat shaping and a few holes 
-I already have a fixed 12v 50A power supply to go with a PWM driver for the control side. Some quick research said PWM should work for plating... we'll see.  I could also use my tig welder, assuming the required current isnt too low.
-SendCutSend or similar for a few cathode bars/structure
-I have a few 2A DC brushed motors to rotate the barrel, but I'll need to design a quick planetary gear set for additional reduction to 5-15 RPM

I made some good progress on the design tonight....

I know a few of you have plated parts in the past, so any thoughts are welcome. One thing I haven't figured out is how to estimate required current for a 10lb bag of fasteners (not gonna calculate surface area there)! I also need to figure out the power transmission through the end plates for the cathodes.

Love what you are doing, for the power transfer you could possibly use something like a "horn" contact with a sprung contact from a car steering wheel ??

Yeah that was my initial thought.

I might be able to get away with conducting through the ball/needle bearing that the barrel will rotate on... Itd have to be a SS bearing with no shields.

I'll do some more digging to see what commerical products use.

What about an electric motor brushes.

I wouldn't push electricity through rolling element bearings, because sparking will destroy them.  

And since they is your first time doing this, I suggest a batch size smaller than 10 LB.  That's a LOT of hardware.

Oh, and I have a speed control, modified geared wiper motor, intended for craft projects, such as moving yard displays, and a power supply.  Bought these for a lathe lead screw drive project I never executed.

You could also use slip rings and brush box from a car alternator (ref the bearing idea, stainless is a poor conductor)

Nessism wrote:

What about an electric motor brushes.
I like this.

I wouldn't push electricity through rolling element bearings, because sparking will destroy them.  
I was thinking maybe with roller bearings for more surface area and slow speed, but yeah all around bad idea. 

And since they is your first time doing this, I suggest a batch size smaller than 10 LB.  That's a LOT of hardware.
True, just a number. Barrel plating has some minimum though, i'd guess, to prevent burning parts due to sporadic contact.

Oh, and I have a speed control, modified geared wiper motor, intended for craft projects, such as moving yard displays, and a power supply.  Bought these for a lathe lead screw drive project I never executed.

 

Wookie58 post=908929 userid=60568
You could also use slip rings and brush box from a car alternator (ref the bearing idea, stainless is a poor conductor)
Brushes 

Google 'rotary weld positioner'. It would have much of what you require. Most of them withstand quite a lot of amps so the +/- contacts are well made. Also with the ability to swing from a horizontal position to a vertical position you could possibly use a screw-on end cap.

Excellent idea. Slow rotary motion and high current, just like my application.

I'll figure out something workable and simple from various ideas I found online, but I haven't really dug into the design yet though. Soon.