Team Trident Tested tackle cost-effective part refurbishing

BAE Systems’ apprentices outline thee challenge and their solution for restoring obsolete parts to working operation, mirroring a real-world need in industry

When completing restoration projects it is common to find rusted parts; especially those which are usually kept in outdoor environments.

For some parts, exact replacements can be found online. However, for some projects involving older systems, the parts used are no longer in production, and so exact replacements can be costly and difficult to source. One solution to this is re-plating the current parts.

Electroplating is completed to restore corroded parts, to provide a layer of protection, or for decorative purposes. Plating businesses have large, automated machines which can plate a large number of parts at one time. For smaller businesses and hobbyists, who may only need to plate one part, this is too costly, which means resorting to manual plating. We are aiming to improve this time-consuming process through automation.

In order to solve the issue we faced with re-plating parts, we decided to design a machine that could complete every step of the process without any external aid. This would allow the user to place their part to be re-plated in the machine, and return to the machine after the process is complete to obtain a re-plated part. The machine would have different timings for different parts, and also for the different solutions involved within the process.

Taking inspiration from a common 3D-printer design, rods are used with stepper motors and lead screws in order to move the part within a 2D area. Where a 3D-printer would lower the hot end onto the print bed, our machine lowers the part into baths of solutions. This was decided on since we thought it would work, and stepper motors allow for good speed control, precise positioning, and repeatability of movement. Control and ease of movement within the 2D plane and being able to lower and raise the part easily are crucial to ensuring that the machine uses the chemicals involved safely.