Once upon a time, “Made in China” was the pride of the Chinese people. Whether you were wearing New Balance, the so-called “king of jogging shoes”, or holding an Apple phone that could “change the world”, or even picking up a small commodity, the place of origin on it would definitely be written: “Made in China”. A large number of labor forces and low prices were once a major advantage of China, but as the demographic dividend gradually disappears, “Made in China” is facing an unprecedented crisis.
So how can Made in China turn “danger” into “opportunity” at present and even in the future? The key is to move from “manufacturing” to “intelligent manufacturing”. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee pointed out that building a new industrial system, accelerating the construction of a manufacturing power, and implementing “Made in China 2025” will focus on the deep integration of informatization and industrialization, promote intelligent manufacturing and green manufacturing, and use brand channels to show the world the new image of “Made in China”.
The implementation of the “Made in China 2025” strategy marks the beginning of the prelude to the transformation of my country’s manufacturing industry from big to strong. High quality is one of the important signs of a strong manufacturing industry. In the past, my country’s quality reliability in some key materials, components and core systems was not high, and it relied on exports for a long time. To change the current situation of low-level and low-value-added manufacturing, we must start with quality. As a basic industry of the manufacturing industry, the electroplating industry will play a fundamental role in whether China can become a manufacturing power.
In the ten key areas of the “Made in China 2025” strategy: the new generation of information technology industry, high-end CNC machine tools and robots, aerospace, marine engineering equipment and high-tech ships, advanced rail transportation equipment, energy-saving and new energy vehicles, power equipment, agricultural machinery equipment, new materials, biomedicine and high-performance medical devices are all highly dependent on electroplating technology, and electroplating technology is needed to ensure or improve their performance quality.
Let’s take a look at the application of electroplating technology in the ten key areas of “Made in China 2025”.
(1) New generation of information technology industry
The new generation of information technology industry is highly dependent on basic equipment such as integrated circuits and special equipment, information and communication equipment, and electronic computers, and electroplating technology is needed to ensure the stability of the equipment. Among them, high-phosphorus chemical nickel plating is widely used in the electronics industry due to its unique corrosion resistance and wear resistance, stable non-magnetic properties, high resistivity and heat resistance.
(2) High-end CNC machine tools and robots
At present, most CNC machine tools and robots are made of metal parts and need to withstand high-intensity repetitive movements and high-temperature and high-pressure working environments. Electroplating technology helps to improve their mechanical strength, ensure reliability and precision, and maximize their corrosion resistance, conductivity, lubricity, heat resistance and surface aesthetics.
(3) Aerospace
The entire aerospace equipment industry chain is a high-end equipment and new material field, with high performance requirements for parts and components. It is necessary to ensure that their performance stability, quality reliability, environmental adaptability, service life and other indicators meet the corresponding standards. For example, the system integration chassis of an aircraft is made of special aviation metal materials. It is not necessary to say that it is pressure-resistant and corrosion-resistant. The embedded circuits and plugs are all aviation-specific products. Ensure that they are firm and must not be loose, let alone short-circuited.
(4) Marine engineering equipment and high-tech ships
Seawater is a highly corrosive medium in nature. With the development of the economy, pollution in offshore areas has continued to increase, making the seawater environment more complicated and the corrosion of metals in the seawater environment more prominent. Since marine engineering equipment and structural parts are in service in harsh corrosive environments, their underwater structures are subject to long-term erosion by seawater and the action of microorganisms, which puts higher requirements on their corrosion resistance and requires electroplating technology to improve their corrosion resistance.
(5) Advanced rail transit equipment
The rails of high-speed railways need to withstand extreme climate tests, especially in plateau areas, where plateau permafrost technical problems need to be overcome. Therefore, some metal surface treatment technologies need to be used on the rails to withstand these extreme tests. Metal surface treatment can greatly improve the performance of rails or high-speed trains, such as corrosion resistance, rust prevention, wear prevention, conductivity, lubricity, strength, heat resistance, weather resistance and other characteristics.
(6) Energy-saving and new energy vehicles
The core components of energy-saving and new energy vehicles, such as drive motors, high-efficiency internal combustion engines, advanced transmissions, and lightweight materials, require electroplating technology to support them. Complex-shaped automotive parts, such as gears, radiators, and fuel injectors, also require chemical nickel plating to protect them.
(7) Power equipment
Power equipment needs to break through the manufacturing technology of key components and materials such as high-power power electronic devices and high-temperature superconducting materials, and promote new energy and renewable energy equipment, advanced energy storage devices, and smart grid power transmission and transformation and user-end equipment. All of this requires electroplating technology to provide hardware support.
(8) Agricultural machinery equipment
Many agricultural machinery equipment needs to be used in hot sun or humid environments. Their surfaces are often in contact with soil and sewage, which is prone to corrosion and rust. Therefore, their parts and surfaces need to be electroplated to ensure their protective performance.
(9) New materials
With special metal functional materials, high-performance structural materials, functional polymer materials, special inorganic non-metallic materials, and advanced composite materials as the development focus, electroplating technology is of great significance to the research in these fields.
(10) Biomedicine and high-performance medical devices
Medical devices have direct or indirect contact with the body and may even be implanted in the body for a long time, so their safety requirements are very high. Many parts of medical devices are made of metal. Metal will produce tiny burrs and corrosion resistance during processing, and needs to be processed through metal electroplating.
Under the current environmental trend, “Made in China” will disappear in a few years, and the future will usher in the era of “Smart Manufacturing in China”. The connotation of the future “Smart Manufacturing in China” is more reflected in quality, brand and innovation. Innovative products, quality assurance and brand building will be the necessary tasks of “Smart Manufacturing in China”. At the same time, the electroplating industry will lay a solid foundation for the future of “Smart Manufacturing in China”. Jiechang Electroplating Factory, which focuses on high-precision and high-difficulty metal surface treatment, will also play its own technical advantages and contribute to “Smart Manufacturing in China”.