How much does it cost · hard chrome plating
Hard chrome is priced by time in the tank, and that time follows thickness: RFQdecoder counts a deposition rate of 25 µm per hour at 30 A/dm², as published by PrecisionFab, then divides the load time by the number of parts on the rack. Hardened steel above 38 HRC adds a hydrogen embrittlement relief bake of 3 to 4 hours at 190 to 230 °C (PrecisionFab, June 2026). Since 4 October 2026, an order below €80 is raised to that amount, the bottom of the €80 to €250 per order range published by QuoteBuddy. The same publisher puts a standard 100 to 250 µm layer at €8 to €18 per dm² (QuoteBuddy, September 2026).
Hard chrome deposits metallic chromium by electrolysis of a chromic acid solution, with the part to be plated acting as the cathode (source: Le Chrome Dur SN, April 2023). Parts are hung on a rack as one load and go through the bath together.
Tank time follows from the thickness required. RFQdecoder uses the deposition rate published by PrecisionFab: 25 µm per hour at a current density of 30 A/dm² (source: PrecisionFab, June 2026). A 50 µm layer therefore needs 2 hours in the tank.
That time belongs to the whole load. The tool divides it by the number of parts in the load to get the time charged to each part, and does the same for the bake when one is required. The fuller the load, the smaller each part’s share.
At a constant deposition rate, tank time is proportional to thickness. At 25 µm per hour (source: PrecisionFab, June 2026), 25 µm takes 1 hour in the tank, 100 µm 4 hours and 250 µm 10 hours.
When the drawing gives no thickness, the tool uses the light-duty layer of a cylinder rod, 25 to 50 µm (source: PrecisionFab, June 2026), and the quote states that this layer was assumed.
Published price benchmarks for 2026, European job-shop work sent to a commercial plater (source: QuoteBuddy, September 2026):
QuoteBuddy presents these ranges as calibration points, not prices to copy: chemistry, energy costs and the plater’s order book move them (source: QuoteBuddy, September 2026).
For scale, Le Chrome Dur SN quotes from a few microns up to 20 microns for protective hard chrome and up to 1 mm for thick hard chrome, depending on the surface (source: Le Chrome Dur SN, April 2023); TEM gives a coating thickness of 3 to 1,000 µm (source: TEM, December 2025).
High-strength steels and case-hardened parts are at risk of hydrogen embrittlement from plating; the bake drives the absorbed hydrogen out before it causes delayed brittle failure (source: PrecisionFab, June 2026). RFQdecoder applies PrecisionFab’s values: 3 to 4 hours at 190 to 230 °C, mandatory for hardened steel above 38 HRC (source: PrecisionFab, June 2026). As with the bath, the oven time of the load is divided by the number of parts.
Almost every plater enforces a minimum of €80 to €250 per order: setting up a rack, checking the chemistry, running the rectifier and handling paperwork cost the same for one part as for a full rack (source: QuoteBuddy, September 2026). Since 4 October 2026, RFQdecoder applies this floor. If the plating amount for the order is below €80, the bottom of the range, it is raised to €80 and the quote shows it on a separate line, “subcontractor order minimum”.
To get past it, QuoteBuddy advises consolidating parts into one order or riding along on the plater’s existing runs of the same process (source: QuoteBuddy, September 2026).
Assumptions (chosen for illustration, not taken from a source): cylinder rod in hardened steel at 45 HRC, Ø30 mm, plated length 400 mm; no thickness on the drawing; 20 rods per load; tank cost €160 per load hour; oven cost €30 per load hour; within the published ranges, the example takes a 50 µm thickness and a 4-hour bake.
Published values used: deposition of 25 µm per hour, light-duty layer of 25 to 50 µm, bake of 3 to 4 hours above 38 HRC (source: PrecisionFab, June 2026); minimum of €80 to €250 per order (source: QuoteBuddy, September 2026).
Effect of thickness (same assumptions, tank only, per rod): 25 µm, 1 hour per load, 1 × 160 / 20 = €8.00; 100 µm, 4 hours, €32.00; 250 µm, 10 hours, €80.00.
Without a bake (unhardened steel, below 38 HRC): €16.00 per rod. An order of 4 rods (€64.00) is raised to €80.00, i.e. €16.00 on the minimum line; from 5 rods (5 × 16.00 = €80.00), the minimum no longer applies.
With these assumptions, the tank alone comes to about €4.24 per dm² (16.00 / 3.77), to be compared with the published range of €4 to €9 per dm² for a thin layer (source: QuoteBuddy, September 2026). The result depends mainly on the load hourly cost: that is the value to check against the plater’s price list.
Two items stay outside the calculation, and the quote says so:
Both operations must be added to the plating price when the drawing calls for them.
QuoteBuddy publishes for 2026: €4 to €9 per dm² for a thin 25 to 50 µm layer, €8 to €18 for a standard 100 to 250 µm layer and €20 to €45 for a heavy salvage build. These are calibration ranges that chemistry, energy and the plater’s workload move.
PrecisionFab publishes 25 µm per hour at 30 A/dm², the value RFQdecoder uses: 50 µm takes 2 hours in the tank, 250 µm takes 10 hours. That time belongs to the load; the tool divides it by the number of parts on the rack.
According to PrecisionFab, above 38 HRC, with 3 to 4 hours at 190 to 230 °C; this is the rule the tool applies. QuoteBuddy cites specifications (ISO 9587, ASTM B850) that require it from about 31 HRC: the specification on the drawing prevails.
Setting up a rack, checking the bath and handling paperwork cost the same for one part as for a full rack. QuoteBuddy puts this minimum at €80 to €250 per order; RFQdecoder raises any lower order to €80, on a separate line of the quote.
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