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The quality cultivation of new car model molds has been completed, and facing the large-scale production increase of car models, in order to avoid the impact of mold fuzzing on production, major automobile manufacturers now carry out chrome plating treatment on the surface of the molds after the quality cultivation of the molds is completed, to maintain the stability of the stamping parts size, reduce the frequency of mold maintenance, and ensure the timely mass production and launch of new car models.   The meaning and function of mold electroplating. The so-called hard chromium electroplating refers to a hardness of HV800 (HRC64 °) or higher and a film thickness of 10 μ or more. Almost all mold materials can be electroplated. However, electroplating lacks unique uniform electroplating properties, and managing film thickness is also very difficult. The precipitation process of electroplating is shown in Figure 1, where a specific voltage and current density are used to carry out an oxidation reaction on the anode, while generating oxygen gas; Inducing a reduction reaction on the cathode, producing hydrogen gas, thereby precipitating chromium. Before leaving the factory, the production workshop needs to build a permanent inventory according to the production plan to meet the 7-day production demand, which is 2 to 3 days longer than the electroplating cycle, in order to avoid abnormal events during the electroplating period. Before electroplating, it is important to conduct the following mold inspections and confirmations: 1 The surface of the mold should be polished and polished, with a roughness of less than Ra0.4. 2. It should be ensured that the quality of the stamped products is stable, and the parts are free of defects such as cracking, wrinkling, and deformation of the surface. The number of stamped pieces should be greater than 10000. 3. Pre plating treatment should be carried out according to the surface contact of the stamped parts to prevent small gaps between the inserts, black surfaces on the flanges, and broken parts. 4. It is necessary to confirm the areas where stamping parts are prone to burrs, scratches, burrs, and cracking. If any of the above situations occur, they should be repaired in a timely manner. 5. In the early stage of electroplating maintenance, it is generally not allowed to have welding parts. In special circumstances where welding needs to be repaired, welding rods with less nickel content should be used for the welding parts and materials, otherwise it may cause poor electroplating or poor bonding with the base material. It is recommended to use the following welding rods: a. TM2000B welding rod for flat position, b. Ea600 welding rod for blade position, c. MH-100S welding rod for drawing position to ensure the quality of electroplating at the welding point. During the maintenance and inspection stage before the mold leaves the factory, personnel from the electroplating manufacturer can be invited to guide and confirm on site to ensure better electroplating quality. Before electroplating, customers should remove the following accessory components:; a. Cylinder and air pipe of the top material plate b. Mold identification plate; c. Balance block and guide plate d. Positioning plate and blocking plate 7. Before electroplating, inform the electroplating manufacturer in advance of the name, size, area, and delivery time of the factory mold to facilitate vehicle arrangement. Mark the vulnerable and defective parts of the mold and notify the electroplating manufacturer; To facilitate early technical communication and exchange. 2. Pre electroplating inspection work This part of the work is carried out by the electroplating factory, which confirms the status of the mold when it enters the factory. This stage of work is the execution of electroplating and is the key to the quality of electroplating. 1. Confirm and take photos of the main parts for archiving, contact the customer for confirmation, and ensure that the mold is repaired and processed in a timely manner. 2. Degreasing and washing to remove oil stains and dust from the surface of the mold. 3. Chromium removal treatment, if the mold is subjected to secondary electroplating, the previous electroplating layer of the mold should be removed before the mold is electroplated again. If it is the first electroplating, the secondary step does not need to be done. 4. Check and repair the key parts of the mold that need to be electroplated for defect inspection and repair, especially evaluate and repair the welding joints and problem points in production engineering. 5. Grinding before electroplating mainly removes rust and oxides on the surface of the mold, increasing the smoothness and adhesion of the coating after electroplating. 6. Anode setting and electroplating: Anode setting is one of the most important steps in whole chrome plating. Based on special processes and advanced technology, professional anodes and auxiliary anodes are developed for mold characteristics to ensure the uniformity and adhesion of the coating on the mold. After electroplating, polish/polish to remove the fine and rough "chromium nodules" and dirt on the surface of the electroplated mold, and improve the surface smoothness of the mold as shown in the figure.

Standing at the juncture of the 2026 era, the global manufacturing industry is undergoing unprecedented profound changes. Driven by the dual carbon goals, explosive growth of new energy vehicles, and deep evolution of Industry 4.0, the metal forming industry, as the cornerstone of modern industry, is accelerating its transition from traditional manufacturing to "smart manufacturing". Lightweight, high-strength, high-precision, flexible, and green low-carbon have become irreversible industry trends. Of particular note is that as the core representative of the new generation of forming equipment, the application of servo presses has significantly increased from 2025 to early 2026. According to the latest research data from our magazine, orders for servo presses from mainstream manufacturers have shown explosive growth from single digits in the past to double or even triple digits. This phenomenon signifies that the demand for high-precision, high flexibility, and low-energy equipment in the metal forming industry has reached a critical point, fully ushering in the era of servo technology. This article will provide a panoramic scan of the fourteen core cutting-edge technologies in the current metal forming field, from flexible moldless forming to high-strength material hot forming, from precision manufacturing in the new energy track to process innovation in traditional components. It will also delve into the challenges and opportunities brought by automation, machine vision, and AI technologies to the industry, providing a detailed roadmap for the development of metal forming intelligent manufacturing in 2026 for practitioners. Flexibility and Mold free Forming - Breaking the shackles of traditional molds. In fields such as aerospace, rail transportation, and medical equipment, products often exhibit characteristics of "small batches, multiple varieties, and complex surfaces". The high mold cost and long development cycle of traditional stamping technology have become bottlenecks restricting innovation. In this context, flexible forming and moldless forming technologies have entered a golden period of development. Multi point forming technology for metal sheets: the "universal mold" for three-dimensional surfaces. Multi point forming technology for metal sheets is known as the "black technology" in the field of sheet metal processing. The core principle is to abandon the traditional integral rigid mold and instead use hundreds or thousands of small punch heads that can freely and accurately adjust their height, forming two "punch arrays" on top and bottom. Through a computer numerical control system, the height and angle of these punches can be freely adjusted to instantly "assemble" a temporary, arbitrarily shaped 3D smooth surface mold, sandwiching the metal sheet in the middle to press out the desired shape. This technology is currently mainly applicable to plates with a thickness between 0.5 millimeters and 6 millimeters (most commonly 1-4 millimeters).

With the increasing global emphasis on environmental protection and energy efficiency, new energy vehicles have become the primary direction for the automotive industry's development. Against this backdrop, lightweight automotive structural component technology, as a key method to enhance the range and performance of new energy vehicles, is receiving growing attention. To advance the development and application of lightweight automotive structural component technology, the journal "Metal Sheet Forming" will host the MFC2026 Forum on New Energy Vehicle and Metal Forming Cutting-Edge Technologies from April 23 (Thursday) to April 24 (Friday), 2026, in Wuhan, the Automotive Capital of China. This conference will be jointly organized with Dongfeng Motor Group, aiming to strengthen the technical exchange between automobile OEMs and stamping parts suppliers, and promote the innovative application of forming equipment in the lightweight technology of new energy vehicle structural components. During the conference, we will organize visits to Lantu Automotive New Energy Factory and Dongfeng Group to gain a deeper understanding of advanced manufacturing processes.   The main content of the forum includes: 1. Collaborative Innovation of the Whole Industry Chain: Inviting representatives from the entire industry chain, including automobile OEMs, first and second tier suppliers, metal forming parts production enterprises, mold manufacturers, automation and software suppliers, process design experts, etc., to participate and promote technical exchanges and business cooperation. 2、 Accurate docking service: The R&D, procurement, and manufacturing departments of Dongfeng Motor Group and its subsidiaries (including Lantu Automobile, Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle, etc.) will conduct one-on-one technical docking and business negotiations with participating enterprises on site to assist in efficient matching between supply and demand. Sincerely invite you to attend the conference and join hands to promote the development of lightweight technology for new energy vehicle structural components!

Aluminum veneer refers to building decorative materials that have been treated with chrome and then processed using fluorocarbon spraying technology. Fluorocarbon coating mainly refers to polyvinylidene fluoride resin (KANAR500), which is divided into three types: primer, topcoat, and varnish. The spraying process is generally divided into two coatings, three coatings, or four coatings. Fluorocarbon coating has excellent corrosion resistance and weather resistance, can resist acid rain, salt spray, and various air pollutants, has excellent heat and cold resistance, can resist strong ultraviolet radiation, can maintain long-term color fastness and non powdering, and has a long service life. The appearance quality of aluminum veneer has the characteristics of light weight and strong weather resistance, which enables aluminum veneer products to better extend their service life. When processing and manufacturing aluminum veneer materials, aluminum veneer manufacturers use multi-layer spraying technology for their appearance, which better utilizes the function of aluminum veneer materials. At present, there are three main spraying processes commonly used by aluminum veneer manufacturers: electrostatic powder spraying, polyester paint spraying, and fluorocarbon paint spraying. The prices of the three spraying techniques also differ. Below are the characteristics of these three spraying techniques: (1) Electrostatic powder spraying, which mainly consists of polyurethane, epoxy resin, etc. Its characteristics are simple spraying construction, impact resistance, friction resistance, and good corrosion resistance. Its biggest weakness is that it is afraid of exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Aluminum veneers will naturally fade when exposed to sunlight for a long time, resulting in serious color differences. Generally, after three to five years of use, significant color differences will appear. (2) Polyester paint spraying, also known as unsaturated polyester paint, is a thick paint made mainly of polyester resin as the film-forming material. The advantages of polyester paint are high solid content, good hardness, beautiful color, and strong corrosion resistance. The disadvantage is that the weather resistance is not so good, and the resistance to sunlight and ultraviolet rays is also relatively weak. (3) Fluorocarbon paint spraying, the main component of fluorocarbon paint is polyvinylidene fluoride resin nCH2CF2 baked (CH2CF2) n (PVDF) as the aggregate, and the chemical structure fluorine in the fluorocarbon base material combines with carbonization. In addition to its strong wear resistance and impact resistance, fluorocarbon paint also has the characteristics of anti fading and strong UV resistance in harsh weather environments, making aluminum veneer used on exterior walls less prone to serious discoloration. Therefore, it is commonly used in outdoor curtain walls. From the perspective of the production process of aluminum veneer, the main steps of multi-layer spraying technology are: first, apply a primer coating to the aluminum veneer, then apply a topcoat coating, and finally apply a topcoat coating to achieve the desired curing effect on the appearance of the aluminum veneer material. The first step in spraying aluminum veneer is to apply a primer coating. Primer coating is a decorative primer that seals the aluminum veneer substrate. This layer serves as an intrinsic decorative technique, mainly to enhance the coating's resistance to penetration during further coating. Provide first layer protection to aluminum veneer material through bottom layer painting. This can stabilize the surface effect of the material, ensure good uniformity of the coating effect, and improve the adhesion between the topcoat material and the metal plate. The thickness of the general primer is controlled at around 5-10 microns. The second step of aluminum veneer spraying is the topcoat coating. Topcoat coating is a crucial step in decorating aluminum veneers by spraying corresponding colors onto the surface. The topcoat coating is directly applied to the surface of the aluminum veneer material, and is operated according to the design requirements. The topcoat coating can not only add decorative effects to the appearance, but also beautify the aluminum veneer material, making it more suitable for the needs of building decoration. At the same time, it can also avoid direct contact of aluminum veneer materials with external air, preventing them from being affected by acid rain, pollutants, etc., and delaying the aging rate of the material. The thickness requirement for general topcoats is controlled at around 20-30 microns. The third step of aluminum veneer spraying is the treatment of topcoat coating. The topcoat coating is also commonly referred to as a clear coat coating. The main reason for doing varnish treatment is to increase the coating's resistance to external environmental invasion, better protect the integrity of the topcoat coating, enhance its surface gloss effect, and maintain the bright luster of the color. The thickness of the varnish coating is generally required to be around 5-10 microns. The next step of aluminum veneer spraying is the solidification treatment as a reinforcement effect. Further consolidating the three-layer coating to achieve a better decorative effect. This step requires keeping the aluminum alloy material in a curing furnace for high-temperature consolidation, with a temperature controlled between 180 and 250 degrees Celsius. Of course, different aluminum veneer manufacturers will control the temperature and duration according to the different materials and conditions of their production. The above is the spraying process of aluminum veneer, which basically completes the multi-layer coating production of aluminum veneer material.