Ken Poucket says there are three main components to producing quality parts in barrel plating operations.
Poucket, a metal finishing consultant and cofounder of the Proplate software and a veteran of the finishing industry, says that if a shop fails to meet any of the three, it might not deliver the quality parts a customer needs.
“The first is that management gives the production team a good load size to fill their barrel and load their equipment,” Poucket says. “And another is the lab has to have all their chemistries up to par. Then, the operator has to run his line efficiently. You will produce a quality part if you can do all three of those.”
Manage Components to Finish a Quality Part
Ken PoucketOf course, that is all easier said than done, which is why many plating operations need software to help manage all three components to finish a quality part. That’s where ProPlate has excelled in helping shops manage those functions.
“ProPlate takes the approach where we give you a good process line, and management says, “This line has so many barrels in it, here's a cycle time, and here's the current capabilities that you have for those barrels,” Poucket says. “We can determine the proper load size and calculate the surface area per pound based on that line profile.”
Poucket says cycle time is a good measure of productivity. Some shops may run two-tenths coatings one day and five-tenths the next; changing cycle times based on thickness requirements is a common issue at most shops.
Fixing the Struggle of Uneven Coating Thickness
Traditional barrel plating often struggles with uneven coating thickness, leading to product rejections and increased costs. Poucket says ProPlate helps shops measure their effectiveness in barrel plating by organizing the cycles and reviewing the ensuing data.
”Now we have good measurable data if we’re on a 6-minute overall cycle, then I should be getting 10 barrels per hour,” he says. “Management can see this and know if they are running productively or not productively.”
ProPlate’s Barrel Plating module has several key features:
- Uniform Coating Distribution: Achieve consistent finishes, reducing waste and improving product reliability.
- High-Speed Processing: Boost productivity with faster processing times, ideal for large-scale operations.
- Compatibility with Various Materials: The software accommodates a wide range of materials, from stainless steel to aluminum, ensuring versatility.
The benefits for surface finishers include improved product quality through enhanced precision and uniformity, which leads to superior end products, and cost-effectiveness through reduced waste and faster processing times, translating to significant cost savings.
Making Sure a Shop Meets Its Goals
Alkesh Patel A shop can visualize quickly if they are not hitting their goals.
“We give them a tracker that shows how many barrels they're pulling per hour,” Poucket says. “It gives management a good tool to see they only had eight barrels versus 10, which is 12 minutes of downtime. When you log those kinds of data, people try to achieve those targets.”
The data also gives shop owners and managers insight into how they can improve productivity in their barrel plating operations.
“They may say, ‘I used to run this job at 200 pounds, and I put 500 amps into the barrel, and they come out perfect,’” Pocket says. “But they didn't realize they could have run them at 400 pounds and 1,000 amps and got the same results. That is where we are seeing huge productivity increases in the shops that use the software.”
Alkesh Patel, owner of ProPlate, says one goal of the software is to eliminate guesswork for shop managers.
”The way we have designed the system is — whether you have a barrel plating or rack plating — we look at capacity style and how much maximum a barrel can handle from the surface area and the weight,” Patel says. “Similarly, how much is the maximum rack capacity, the number of parts, and all those things.”
Understanding Factors for Finishing a Quality Part
Many factors can determine those numbers, including surface area, the chemistry used, and the cycle time.
“It goes to a typical algorithm and provides the information,” Patel says. “It gives the shop the ability to be repeatable. They will have quality parts one after other, but there is no guesswork.”
Poucket says that ProPlate gives finishing shops the best opportunity to run parts successfully for the first time.
“You might adjust based on geometries, plating types, and distributions,” he says. “But at least you will have all the data to make a good decision and see that you ran those parts efficiently and achieved the right amp hours based on where that customer wants us to check thickness. They can increase that by 5% or lower by 10% wherever we want to hone in. And that's the key since it gives you a good first-time attempt, you look at the statistics, and that's when it comes down to every job taking care of itself.”
Barrel plating operations require precision, consistency, and efficiency to produce high-quality parts. Poucket says achieving this balance depends on three key factors:
- Optimal Load Size: Management must ensure the production team is given the correct load size to maximize efficiency.
- Chemistry Control: The lab must maintain precise chemical compositions for plating success.
- Operational Efficiency: Operators must run their lines effectively to maintain consistency.
“If you get all three of these factors right, you will consistently produce high-quality parts,” says Poucket. However, managing these elements manually can be complex—which is where ProPlate software steps in to streamline the process.
Optimizing the Barrel Plating Process with Software
ProPlate is designed to integrate with plating operations, helping shops optimize load sizes, manage cycle times, and improve coating uniformity.
“ProPlate establishes a structured approach,” explains Poucket. “It defines the process line, accounts for barrel capacity, determines cycle times, and calculates surface area per pound. This allows operators to execute plating jobs with precision and repeatability.”
A major challenge in barrel plating is uneven coating thickness, leading to rejected parts and increased costs. ProPlate eliminates guesswork by analyzing cycles and providing measurable data to track performance.
“Now, management can see real-time cycle times,” Poucket says. “If the overall cycle is 6 minutes, then a shop should be processing 10 barrels per hour. With this visibility, they know instantly whether they are running efficiently.”
Key Benefits of ProPlate for Barrel Plating
- Uniform Coating Distribution – Ensures consistency, reduces material waste, and improves product reliability.
- High-Speed Processing – Accelerates cycle times for increased productivity.
- Material Versatility – Supports a variety of metals, including stainless steel and aluminum.
For plating shops, the impact is immediate—improved product quality, reduced rework, and cost savings through optimized efficiency.
Turning Data into Productivity Gains
ProPlate’s built-in tracking system enables shops to monitor performance in real-time.
“We provide a tracker that shows the number of barrels pulled per hour,” says Poucket. “If a shop is only running 8 barrels instead of 10, that means 12 minutes of downtime. When teams can see this data, they work toward hitting their targets.”
In addition, the software helps operators fine-tune plating parameters for optimal efficiency.
“A shop might be plating at 200 pounds with 500 amps, thinking that’s ideal,” Poucket explains. “But with ProPlate, they may realize they could plate at 400 pounds with 1,000 amps—doubling productivity while maintaining quality.”
Eliminating Guesswork with Data-Driven Decisions
Patel emphasizes that the software removes uncertainty from barrel plating.
“We’ve designed the system to automate capacity calculations for both barrel and rack plating,” Patel explains. “It factors in surface area, part weight, and chemistry requirements to determine the ideal load size and cycle time.”
By providing repeatable, data-driven insights, ProPlate ensures that every batch meets quality standards without guesswork.
Pocket adds, “With the right data, operators can adjust plating parameters with precision—whether it’s modifying amp hours, adjusting coating thickness by 5-10%, or optimizing for part geometries.”
By leveraging software-driven plating strategies, shops can achieve first-time quality success, reduce waste, and unlock higher efficiency levels than ever before.
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