Re: Supplier's First Run had Plating Problems - Can they Strip, Re-Plate and PPAP the
Our supplier called and said his first run parts came back from the plater and the platting was soo thick it made the diameter oversized. He has unplatted parts that are fine.
Can he use these parts to PPAP, if he sends them to have them stripped and replatted?
What if this was the only run scheduled for a long time (PPAP due middle of April). What should I suggest so he can PPAP?
Having been in the high tech contract machining business, I know a lot about the possible problems with plating of all types and a lot about fixing those problems or avoiding them in the first place.
Jim is correct that the plating is your supplier's problem (to cure now and avoid in the future.)
Depending on the plating and the tolerances involved on the product, it is unlikely the overall thickness of the plating on every surface of the product was too thick. If it was electroplating, there is an effect called "dog boning" which can occur on sharp edges and points of products which can result in a much thicker deposition of plate, skewing the dimensions of the product.
Another problem which might have occurred is that the product was dimensioned too large prior to plating and normal variance could have skewed results.
If I were you, I wouldn't settle for less than a complete root cause investigation (with participation by both your supplier and his plater) to determine precisely what went wrong and how it will be successfully avoided in the future.
Let me hasten to say, "Don't be too quick to allow all the blame to settle on the plater until the root cause investigation is complete."
Just out of curiosity: What was the plating and the thickness specification? Did the plating company also run test pieces of "coupons" for destructive testing to confirm the plating thickness met spec?
I was obsessive about plating and vetted my platers as closely as I vetted the guys who married my daughters! In over ten years, I never had the same plating problem occur twice and never failed to resolve the problems I did encounter.