Toyota Develops Environmentally Efficient Plating Technology
With efforts to make their manufacturing process more environmentally efficient, Toyota have now developed new plating technology that reduces the impact of the operation used in the production of electronic parts.
In the new system, metal ions pass through a polymer membrane (solid electrolyte membrane) to apply plating like a stamp, exclusively to those areas which require plating.
The technology is used in the plating process for forming copper, nickel, and other metal coatings on substrates.
Toyota is working with Mikado Technos and Kanematsu Corporation to manufacture and sell new plating machines based on this new technology, to encourage its uptake. These new machines will be available from this week onwards.
The new stamping-type plating machine eliminates the dipping process currently required in the most common plating techniques, where parts have to be immersed in multiple baths of plating solution.
This dramatically reduces the waste solution to about one-thirtieth and CO2 emissions to about one-third of previous levels!
As well as this significant reduction in environmental impact, the technology also reduces plating time.
The environmental benefits helped prompt Toyota to launch the new stamping-type plating machine and expand its use beyond its automotive manufacturing partners to many other companies in a range of industries.
Specifically, Toyota is supporting vacuum press manufacturer Mikado Technos with patents and expertise. This company has incorporated its own technologies to develop and manufacture a stamping-type plating machine for sale through Kanematsu.
Over the next two to three years, Toyota hopes to market the new equipment for use as a test machine for verification and evaluation purposes. Beyond that time, it will expand its sales to encourage its more widespread use as a full production machine.
The Plant Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge is part of the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, an initiative to contribute to the creation of a sustainable society.
This is one of the United Nations’ SDG international goals. The Toyota Group will work together to fulfil this challenge, adopting stamped plating machines within its businesses and steadily reducing the amount of CO2 it emits during its production processes.
In addition to taking innovative steps in manufacturing to ensure greater eco-efficiency across the production line, Toyota are consistently adapting their hybrid technology to offer vehicles that share this ambition.
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