What is the precipitated bake operation and how does it increase the hardness of the ENHP coating even more?
In some applications, after coating, the parts are exposed to a precipitation hardening process. This process precipitates nickel phosphide throughout the structure of the coating to increase the hardness and thus the wear resistance. For maximum hardness, this is done at 400 degrees C for one hour. A post plating bake not involving precipitation hardening can also be done at 250 – 270 degrees C for 5 to 8 hours to offer improved hardness and adhesion while maintaining a structure conducive to corrosion resistance.
