Grinding

 Grinding is the most common form of abrasive machining. It is a material

cutting process which engages an abrasive tool whose cutting elements
are grains of abrasive material known as grit. These grits are
characterized by sharp cutting points, high hot hardness, chemical
stability and wear resistance.
 The grits are held together by a suitable bonding material to give shape
of an abrasive tool.

Fig. illustrates the cutting action of abrasive grits of disc type grinding wheel
similar to cutting action of teeth of the cutter in slab milling.
 Major advantages and applications of
grinding
Advantages
 A grinding wheel requires two types of specification
 Dimensional accuracy
 Good surface finish
 Good form and locational accuracy applicable to both hardened and unhardened material
Applications
 Surface finishing
 Slitting and parting
 De-scaling , De-burring
 Stock removal (abrasive milling) finishing of flat as well as cylindrical surface
 Grinding of tools and cutters and re-sharpening of the same.
 Grinding Machines

 Grinding Machines are also regarded as machine tools. A distinguishing feature of grinding machines is
the rotating abrasive tool.
 Grinding machine is employed to obtain high accuracy along with very high class of surface finish on the
work piece. However, advent of new generation of grinding wheels and grinding machines, characterized
by their rigidity, power and speed enables one to go for high efficiency deep grinding (often called as
abrasive milling) of not only hardened material but also ductile materials.
 Conventional grinding machines can be broadly classified as:
 Surface grinding machine
 Cylindrical grinding machine
 Center less grinding
 Surface grinding

 In surface grinding, the spindle position is either horizontal or vertical, and the
relative motion of the work piece is achieved either by reciprocating the work
piece past the wheel or by rotating it. The possible combinations of spindle
orientations and work piece motions yield four types of surface grinding
processes illustrated in the figure
 Surface Grinding Machine

Schematic illustration surface grinding Machine

 Surface Grinding Machine

 This machine may be similar to a milling machine used mainly to grind flat
surface. However, some types of surface grinders are also capable of producing
contour surface with formed grinding wheel.

Horizontal Grinding Machine Vertical Grinding Machine

A: rotation of grinding wheel B: reciprocation of worktable C: transverse feed D: down feed
 Cylindrical grinding

 In this operation, the external or internal cylindrical surface of a work piece are ground.
In external cylindrical grinding (also center-type grinding) the work piece rotates and
reciprocates along its axis, although for large and long work parts the grinding wheel
reciprocates.
 In internal cylindrical grinding, a small wheel grinds the inside diameter of the part. The
work piece is held in a rotating chuck in the headstock and the wheel rotates at very
high rotational speed. In this operation, the work piece rotates and the grinding wheel
reciprocates.
 Cylindrical grinding machine

 This machine is used to produce external cylindrical surface. The

surfaces may be straight, tapered, steps or profiled.

A: rotation of grinding wheel B: work table rotation C: reciprocation of worktable D: infeed

 Internal grinding machine

 This machine is used to produce internal cylindrical surface. The surface

may be straight, tapered, grooved or profiled.
 Center less grinding

 Center less grinding is a process for continuously grinding cylindrical

surfaces in which the work piece is supported not by centers or chucks
but by a rest blade. The work piece is ground between two wheels. The
larger grinding wheel does grinding, while the smaller regulating wheel,
which is tilted at an angle i, regulates the velocity Vf of the axial
movement of the work piece.
 Center less grinding can also be external or internal, traverse feed or
plunge grinding. The most common type of center less grinding is the
external traverse feed grinding.
Center less grinding
 Grinding wheel

 Grinding wheel consists of hard abrasive grains called grits, which perform the cutting or
material removal, held in the weak bonding matrix. A grinding wheel commonly identified by
the type of the abrasive material used. The conventional wheels include aluminium oxide and
silicon carbide wheels while diamond and CBN (cubic boron nitride) wheels fall in the category
of super abrasive wheel.
Specification of grinding wheel
 A grinding wheel requires two types of specification
 Geometrical specification

 Compositional specification
 Geometrical specification

 This is decided by the type of grinding machine and the grinding operation to be performed in the
workpiece. This specification mainly includes wheel diameter, width and depth of rim and the
bore diameter.
Compositional specifications
 Specification of a grinding wheel ordinarily means compositional specification. Conventional
abrasive grinding wheels are specified encompassing the following parameters.
 The type of grit material
 The grit size
 The bond strength of the wheel, commonly known as wheel hardness
 The structure of the wheel denoting the porosity i.e. the amount of inter grit spacing
 The type of bond material
 other than these parameters, the wheel manufacturer may add their own identification code
prefixing or suffixing (or both) the standard code.
Types
 Conventional abrasive grinding wheels
 Super abrasive grinding wheels

The bonding materials for the super abrasives are (a), (d), and (e) resinoid, metal, or vitrified, (b) metal, (c) vitrified, and
(f) resinoid.
 Examples of Bonded Abrasives

 Conventional abrasives

 Al2O3

 SiC

 Super abrasives

 Cubic boron nitride (CBN)

 Diamond
 Selection of Cutting speed and Working
speed is based on

 Material to be ground and its hardness.

 Amount of stock removal and finish required.

 Whether the grinding is done wet or dry.

 Wheel speed.

 Area of grinding contact.

 Severity of the grinding operation.

 Truing and dressing of grinding wheel

Truing

 Truing is the act of regenerating the required geometry on the grinding wheel,
whether the geometry is a special form or flat profile. Therefore, truing produces the
macro-geometry of the grinding wheel.

 Truing is also required on a new conventional wheel to ensure concentricity with

specific mounting system. In practice the effective macro-geometry of a grinding
wheel is of vital importance and accuracy of the finished work piece is directly
related to effective wheel geometry.
 Dressing

 Dressing is the conditioning of the wheel surface which ensures that grit cutting edges are
exposed from the bond and thus able to penetrate into the work piece material. Also, in dressing
attempts are made to splinter the abrasive grains to make them sharp and free cutting and also to
remove any residue left by material being ground.
 Dressing therefore produces micro-geometry. The structure of micro-geometry of grinding
wheel determine its cutting ability with a wheel of given composition. Dressing can substantially
influence the condition of the grinding tool.
 Truing and dressing are commonly combined into one operation for conventional abrasive
grinding wheels, but are usually two distinctly separate operation for super abrasive wheel.
 Finishing Operation

 To ensure reliable performance and prolonged service life of modern machinery, its components
require to be manufactured not only with high dimensional and geometrical accuracy but also
with high surface finish.
 The surface finish has a vital role in influencing functional characteristics like wear resistance,
fatigue strength, corrosion resistance and power loss due to friction.
 The finishing operations are assigned as the last operations in the single part production cycle
usually after the conventional or abrasive machining operations, but also after net shape
processes such as powder metallurgy, cold flash less forging, etc.
 Surface Finishing Operations

 Lapping

 Buffing

 Honing

 Super finishing

 Polishing

 Buffing

 Electroplating,

 Galvanizing,

 Metal spraying
 Lapping

 Lapping is a mainly room-bound process with geometrically undefined

cutting edges.
 It is a production and finishing process, defined as chipping with loose
grains distributed in a fluid or paste (lapping slurry).
 which are guided with a usually shape-transferring counterpart (lapping
tool) featuring ideally undirected cutting paths of the individual grains
[DIN78a].

©2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing 5/e
 The ultra-precision machining method of lapping is followed, according
to the desired surface quality, by the polishing process.
 In polishing, the components are pre-lapped in order to achieve high
material removal while maintaining a good surface quality and dimension
and form tolerance [KOEN90].
 Polishing is then performed in order to create highest surface qualities,
including a mirror finish.
 Lapped surfaces exhibit, almost exclusively, undirected processing
traces, a semi-gloss appearance and, when under strain, are
distinguished by little wear.
 The following materials can be processed by lapping: metals, ceramics,
glasses, natural materials like marble, granite, basalt, any kind of gem,
plastics, materials used in semiconductor technology, as well as carbon,
graphite and even diamond.
 Lapping distinguishes itself from other machining methods through the
following characteristics:
 Advantages of lapping process

 Most workpieces can be processed without being clamped or fixed.

 Allowances of 0.2 to 0.5 mm (analogue to grinding) are economically
machinable today.
 Precision and ultra-precision machining can be executed in one
operational step.
 Changeover times are very short.
 Components of less than 0.1 mm thickness can be machined.
 The highest surface and roughness requirements can be met.
 The minimal heating effect prevents undesired thermal distortions and
structural changes in the workpiece.
 A consistent machining quality is guaranteed for composite materials.
 Lapped surfaces rarely exhibit tensile distortion or burr formation.
 It is possible to machine multiple workpieces in one operational step.
 Fundamental of Lapping process

 In lapping, the work surface rubs against the workpiece surface to be

processed.
 Machining is achieved by means of the insertion of a lapping slurry
(lapping grains and fluid) into the working gap between the machining
disc (the tool) and the work piece.
 In the process, loose grains (cutting edges) are added either continually
or intermittently.
 The existent dependencies and interdependencies, respectively, are
complex [WAGE94].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfC5H4dA-ds&ab_channel=StahliLappingTechnologyLtd-Switzerland
 The depth of insertion depends on the surface strain and the material,
usually between 5 to 10 % of the average grain diameter.
 Through the repeated penetration of the grains into the workpiece
surface, ductile materials are reshaped until fatigue, and then
successively removed.
 In the case of hard and brittle materials, however, microcracks are
induced on the surface of the workpiece, the interconnection of which
leads to the breakaway of particles [SIMP88].
Lapped workpiece surface
Lapping Techniques
 Planar Lapping

 Planar lapping is used to create flat surfaces with high surface qualities.
 Two method variations are distinguished.
 In the first case, the workpieces are freely movable and are guided over
the lapping disc;
 In the second case they are placed in so-called carriers with restricted
guidance in order to avoid reciprocal damages.
 The workpieces are generally placed in dressing rings on a lapping disc
– also called a lapping plate or a machining disc.
 The workpiece shape accuracy which is achievable though lapping is
determined to a great extent by the flatness of the lapping disc [KLIN86].
 Coplanar Lapping

 In coplanar lapping, at least three workpieces must be in one dressing

ring and carrier at the same time.
 These are first placed on the lapping disc with the first planar surface,
while on the opposing side an elastic covering (rubber, plastic, felt,
or the like) is fitted and loaded with a pressure plate.
 After facing the first workpiece surface, the workpieces are fitted with the
second surface to be processed.
 At this point, the loading is now carried out without an elastic covering
directly over the plane pressure plate. Machining is continued until all the
workpieces are coplanar.
Principle of coplanar lapping with restricted
guidance
 Double-Disc Coplanar Lapping

 In this method, the workpieces are inserted in geared carriers (rotating

discs). These are held by pin rings or gear rings.
 Then they are driven, they rotate about both their own axis and the
central axis. The workpieces describe an epicycloid or hypocycloid orbit
between the machining discs.
The lapping slurry is added
through the upper machining disc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtu-zpO6M1Q&ab_channel=Supfina
 Another advantage of the double-disc system is the dimensional control,
which affords dimensional accuracies of ± 2 μm.
 Both soft and very hard workpiece materials, e.g. plastic or sapphire, can
be machined using this method.
 Depending on the machine size, level workpieces of 0.1 to 100 mm
thickness or round workpieces of 5 to 500 mm diameter can be lapped.
 Peripheral cylindrical lapping

 A particular feature of the double-disc principle is peripheral cylindrical

lapping. In this method, the workpieces are held radially in a large carrier
at a slight angle to the disc axis.
 This method removes material due to the angled position of the
workpieces (lateral slipping during rotation).
 Accuracies of up to 0.2 μm of roundness and straightness, respectively,
can be achieved.
 The removal rate is 10 to 20 μm in 10 minutes.
 Profile Lapping

 Lapping ball surfaces or spherical surfaces is still possible through

appropriate tool design.
 The tool to be implemented has the corresponding negative form of the
component to be produced (Fig. 8-4d).
 The desired shape is achieved under constant change in the direction of
movement. The goal of machining is achieving very high accuracy in the
final dimensions, which is made possible by the oscillating movements of
the tool.
 Ultrasonic lapping

 Ultrasonic lapping is cutting with loose grains which, evenly distributed in

a fluid or paste, receive impulses through a shaped piece vibrating in the
ultrasonic range. These impulses give the grains their cutting ability (Fig.
8-4e).
 We must differentiate between ultrasonic lapping (also referred to as
ultrasonic polishing), which is used merely to make surface
improvements, and the ultrasonic machining of hard and brittle materials,
with which method three dimensional shapes can be inserted, for
example, into engineering ceramics or glass.
 Whereas in the first case material is removed as in conventional
lapping, i.e. through the rolling of the grains in the lapping slurry.
 In the latter case the abrasive grains are propelled onto the workpiece
surface, thus effecting material removal.
 Because of its functional similarity to other methods involving material
removal, this process, which has become more and more important in
recent times because of the increased use of ceramic components,
Influence of Output Variables in Lapping
 Kinematics partially determine the disc shape and evenness and the disc
material. It also determines how lapping slurry is distributed and how the
grain is used and dictates the required machine design.
 Kinematics is also closely interdependent with workpiece geometry.
Similarly far-reaching interconnections can be demonstrated for the
other marginal conditions, as well.
 Lapping pressure and lapping speed can be seen as the main variables
in the lapping process.
 Since lapping is a force-bound process, the workpiece feed rate
and the removal rate cannot be adjusted directly.
 Lapping pressure plays a large role in the material removal rate. With
increasing lapping grain diameter, the material removal rate also
increases [MATS66,MART73].
 The material removal rate also decreases with an increasing lapping disc
rotational speed, but there is a limit to how much this variable can be
increased.

 Honing

 Honing is a cutting process with bonded grain and is used to improve the
form, dimensional precision and surface quality of a workpiece under
constant surface contact with the tool.
 In general, honing is applied after precision machining (e.g. grinding).
 Honing procedures are divided into three main groups:
 longitudinal stroke honing, frequently referred to as honing,
 Short stroke honing, frequently designated as fine honing or superfinishing,
 gear honing.
Method Variation in Horning
 Working Principles

 The principles of the honing process will be explained using the example
of shortstroke honing. The movement between tool and workpiece can
be divided into three orthogonal speed components.
 two components parallel to the workpiece surface (axial feed rate vfa,
tangential feed rate vft).
 one component perpendicular to the workpiece surface (feed rate vfn).
 The Honing machine is used to make internal combustion engines, air-
bearing spindles, finishing of cylinders and gears.
 There are several types of hones, but all include one or more abrasive
stones that are under pressure against the surface they are working on.
Special honing attachments are fixed for honing.
 A flexible electrical drilling machine and a honing stone are used. Honing
stone is made of aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or diamond dust,
which are selected according to the metal of the job.
 The honing stones are of different sizes and shapes such as round,
square, or triangular.
 Types of Honing Processes

 Honing Process are described below

1- Manual Honing
In such type of honing, the hone revolves continuously and the workpiece
is moved manually back and forth. This process is rarely used in industries.
 Conti..

 2- Machine Honing
In such a type of honing process, the hone combined rotary and
reciprocating motion and reduced manual interaction called machine
honing. This process can be classified into two types according to the type
of machine.
 PROCESS PARAMETERS

 The accuracy and surface finish of the hole mainly depends on various
process parameter which are described below.
 1. RPM of tool:
 If the tool speed increases, it increases the metal removal rate and
decreases surface roughness.
 2. Honing time:
 If we increase honing time it will decrease surface roughness at some
extent and then starts increases it. It is so selected which gives minimum
surface roughness with maximum metal removal rate.
 3. Honing stick pressure:
 The change in metal removal rate and surface roughness with the
change in unit pressure is shown in the graph. The honing stick pressure
is so selected as to get minimum roughness with the highest metal
removal rate.
 4. Stroke Length:
 The stroke length should be as enough which can cover the whole
working length.
 Types of Honing Machine

 Two types of honing machine:

1- Horizontal Honing
 In the horizontal honing machine, the longer size jobs are easily
machined. These machines carry a horizontal axis with a honing tool. On
some machines, the workpiece is placed on the table and it rotates back
and forth.
 The hone rotates about its axis and also oscillates slightly. This
oscillation movement is controlled either mechanically or hydraulically. In
some cases the honing tool is fixed on a travel head is rotated and
moved simultaneously.
 2- Vertical Honing

 In this type of machining, the tool, as well as the workpiece, are placed
vertically. These machines are available in more spindle types.
 The workpiece is stationary and the tool rotates. Fixtures are in place to
put the workpiece in the exact position. Hydraulic drives exist in modern
types of machinery to control tools and workpieces.
 The vertical honing machines are generally preferred for small jobs.
These machines are mostly used compared to horizontal honing
machines.
 Hone and Honing Tools

 Flexible hones
 Sharpening stones
 Honing sticks
 Hand hones
 Flexible hones

 These are hairbrushes used as honing tools. These include abrasive

beads joined to the bristle ends.
 They are used to smooth the surface or to refine both the internal and
external surfaces of the metal.
 This type of honing tool is also known as flex turning tools.
 Sharpening Stones

 The sharpening stone is a common abrasive stone used to sharpen the

edges or surface of a metal.
Honing Sticks
 It is used to give a finishing touch to the inner bores. In this type of tool,
the diameter of the wheels used for abrading on the metal surface is
shorter.
 It is mostly used in such cases
for grinding or finishing of an inner
surface of a metals inner diameter.
 Hand Hones

 The hand hones are also known as diamond hones. These honing tools
are created to hone the edges of ground cutting tools. This is an off-hand
technique used in the honing process.
 Types of Honing Abrasive

 Rough hone stone

 Medium hone stone
 Fine hone stone
Features of Honing Tool
 The abrasive grain type and grit size are necessary considerations when
selecting hones and tools.
 Options for abrasive grains include:
 Aluminum oxide
 Ceramic
 Boron carbide
 Silicon carbide
 Emery or Crocus
 Synthetic diamond
 Cubic boron nitride (CBM)
 Zirconia
 Tungsten carbide
 Why Use Honing Process?

 It is most cost effective process

 Honing process is used to remove stocks as it is a fast process.
 Used for bore tolerance and bore polishing.
 Honing is used for finishing bores on almost any type of material such as
sprayed coatings, CGI, and Ceramics, etc.
 Advantages of Honing Process

 There is no friction in the job.

 It makes the job rotate easily.
 The surface becomes plain, which is not possible by any other operation.
 It can keep the original bore centerline.
 Any type of metal can be finished regardless of its hardness.
 High accuracy can be achieved.
 Difference Between Honing and Lapping

Honing Lapping
1. The size of the job is set right after removing 1. By lapping surface of the job is made smooth
the marks of machining through honing. like that of glass or polished surface.
2. It is certain that there is a difference in the
2. There is not much difference in the size of the
size of the job after the honing operation is
job after lapping.
carried.
3. For honing operation, honing attachment and 3. Lapping can be done through the medium of
flexible drill machine is essential. hands.
4. For the honing operation, both adequate
4. For lapping, oil mixed in the paste is enough.
coolant and lubricant are needed.
5. In the honing operation, honing attachment is
5. In the lapping operation, the gap is moved at
to be revolved on the job speedily in one
slow speed or rubbed.
direction alone.
6. The paste made with abrasive and oil is used
6. Honing stone is used for honing.
for lapping.
 Polishing

 Polishing is a finishing operation to improve the surface finish by means

of a polishing wheel made of fabrics or leather and rotating at high
speed. The abrasive grains are glued to the outside periphery of the
polishing wheel. Polishing operations are often accomplished manually.
 A polishing slurry is inserted between them which is composed of an
abrasive and a generally water-based fluid.
Polishing Mechanism
 Polishing Method

 Polishing methods are divided into area polishing and zonal polishing
 When polishing with flat tools, the desired shape is transferred into the
tool basin and transferred to the workpiece during subsequent
processing.
 The tool is larger than the component being polished. This technology is
used especially for finishing spheres and planar surfaces.
 For polishing aspherical geometries and freeform surfaces – and also for
a targeted correction of spheres – zonal methods are necessary.
 In this method Polishing tool is significantly smaller than the workpiece.
 The advantage of polishing with flat tools is that removal over a large
area is possible, which facilitates higher removal rates.
 Area Polishing

 Area polishing methods are of great economic importance. In industry,

not only swivelling and horizontal lever machines, but also CNC-
controlled machines are used for area polishing purposes.
 Zonal Polishing Methods

 Three components are necessary for zonal polishing

 The use of a suitable measurement technique is necessary to measure
the respective surface topography.
 The measured fault profile is integrated into a removal model on the
basis of which the path data and the residence time of the subsequent
polishing step are calculated. The more accurate the removal model, the
fewer iterative steps needed.
 The third component in this control system is the polishing machine. The
machine must be able to execute the calculated track data as precisely
as possible. In this process, the tool design is of decisive importance.
 Abrasives

 The abrasives in table 8-2 have proved effective for the polishing of
metallic and hard brittle materials.
 Polishing Fluid

 The polishing fluid must fulfil comprises supporting possible chemical

reactions, regulating heat, reducing the adhesion of the active partners
involved in the process, and finally the distribution and transport of the
abrasive.
 Chemical-mechanical polishing processes are strongly dependent of the
pH value of the polishing fluid.
 When polishing copper, for example, the removal rate can be varied
considerably with changes to the pH value. The highest rate is
achieved in highly acidic solutions [STEI97].
 By using appropriate additives to the water, which forms the basis of
many polishing fluids, the fluid can be made more acidic (pH < 7) or
more basic (pH > 7).
 Buffing

 Buffing is a finishing operation similar to polishing, in which abrasive

grains are not glued to the wheel but are contained in a buffing
compound that is pressed into the outside surface of the buffing wheel
while it rotates. As in polishing, the abrasive particles must be
periodically replenished.
 As in polishing, buffing is usually done manually, although machines
have been designed to perform the process automatically.
 Buffing wheels are made of discs of linen, cotton, broad cloth and
canvas
Buffing
 Super Finishing

 Super finishing is a micro finishing process that produces a controlled

surface condition on parts which is not obtainable by any other method.
The operation which is also called ‘micro stoning’ consist of scrubbing a
stone against a surface to produce a fine quality metal finish.
 The process consists of removing chatter marks and fragmented or
smear metal from the surface of dimensionally finished parts. As much
as 0.03 to 0.05 mm of stock can be efficiently removed with some
production applications, the process becomes most economical if the
metal removal is limited to 0.005 mm
 super finishing

Figure Schematic illustrations of the super finishing process for a cylindrical part. (a) Cylindrical mircohoning, (b)
Centerless microhoning.
 Electroplating

 Electroplating is the process of depositing one metal onto another metal.

 Electrons travel from the negative end of the battery through the cathode
(penny), through the solution, up through the anode (zinc), and into
the positive end of the battery.
 The positively charged zinc ions from the solution are attracted to the
negatively charged cathode.
 These ions attach themselves to the cathode.
 More positively charged zinc ions are pulled off
the anode to replace the ones now on the cathode.
 A regular unplated penny

 A similar penny plated in nickel.

 Another penny plated in gold

 Electroplating Application

 Increase Hardness and Durability

- Steel parts like camshafts and crankshafts
are chrome plated
 Increase Conductivity
- Electric train rails are nickel plated
- Contacts in electrical circuits are gold plated
 Increase Corrosion Resistance
- Iron and galvanized steel are zinc plated
 Enhance
- Jewelry is silver and gold plated
 Galvanization

 Galvanization (or galvanizing as it is most commonly called in that

industry) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or
iron, to prevent rusting.
 The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which parts are
submerged in a bath of molten zinc.
 Protective Action

Galvanising protects the base metal in three ways

 It forms a coating of zinc which, when intact, prevents corrosive
substances from reaching the underlying steel or iron.
 The zinc serves as a sacrificial anode so that even if the coating
is scratched, the exposed steel will still be protected by the remaining
zinc.
 The zinc protects its base metal by corroding before iron. For better
results, application of chromates over zinc is also seen as an industrial
trend.
 Methods

 Hot-dip galvanizing deposits a thick, robust layer of zinc iron alloys on

the surface of a steel item. In the case of automobile bodies, where
additional decorative coatings of paint will be applied, a thinner form of
galvanizing is applied by electro galvanizing.
 The hot-dip process generally does not reduce strength on a measurable
scale, with the exception of high-strength steels where hydrogen
embrittlement can become a problem.
 This deficiency is a consideration affecting the manufacture of wire
rope and other highly-stressed products.
 The protection provided by hot-dip galvanizing is insufficient for products
that will be constantly exposed to corrosive materials such as acids,
including acid rain in outdoor uses.
 For these applications, more expensive stainless steel is preferred.
Some nails made today are galvanized.
 Nonetheless, electroplating is used on its own for many outdoor
applications because it is cheaper than hot-dip zinc coating and looks
good when new.
 Another reason not to use hot-dip zinc coating is that
for bolts and nuts of size M10 (US 3/8") or smaller, the thick hot-dipped
coating fills in too much of the threads, which reduces strength (because
the dimension of the steel prior to coating must be reduced for the
fasteners to fit together).
 This means that for cars, bicycles, and many other light mechanical
products, the practical alternative to electroplating bolts and nuts is not
hot-dip zinc coating, but making the fasteners from stainless steel.