Plating, an important term in metalworking, describes a versatile process in which a less precious material is coated with one or more layers of a more precious material through mechanical or chemical processes. This procedure enables the targeted improvement of material properties and areas of application. Examples include applying copper to steel or coating brass with precious metals such as silver or gold (often referred to as doublé). This is done for various reasons, such as protection against corrosion, increasing surface hardness, optimizing sliding properties, or enhancing the external appearance.
In practice, different plating techniques are used. These include rolling on wafer-thin metal foils, casting, in which the plating material is applied by heat or chemical processes, welding on plating material, or the use of electroplating processes. A widely used process is roll welding cladding. In this process, the cladding and base materials are embedded in thin button sheets, heated, and then joined together by rolling. The button sheets are later removed by pickling. Alternatively, a substrate can be wrapped with cladding material, heated, and subjected to high rolling pressure.
Plating is used for a wide range of material combinations. It is often used to plate aluminum alloys with pure aluminum or steel with stainless steel, nickel, aluminum, or copper. Even sheet metal can be successfully plated, offering an economical solution for applications that require a relatively thin plating layer despite thick-walled components. These sheets are often made of carbon steel, which has the necessary strength. They are usually manufactured by blasting and/or hot rolling to ensure uniform and resilient plating.