Cfg srl strongly desired its own lab: we began purchasing necessary instruments to equip the lab in 2016 and then assigned three dedicated employees. Actual research and development began in 2018.
In line with the company’s strategies aimed at monitoring and anticipating its client’s needs in order to stay one step ahead of the competition, Research and Development becomes a necessary tool in directing the company’s choices. Our first objective has been to increase Cfg products’ (chromed bars and tubes) actual resistance to corrosion to satisfy market demands and develop a higher-quality product offering us a competitive edge.
The R&D division first collected and examined results the company had previously collected, conducting tests in the lab’s salt mist chamber. The analysis considered both product (type of steel, diameter, etc.) and production process characteristics to define standard average performance and schedule the following tests.
The tests focussed on every aspect of the production cycle that was broken down into stages—pre-grinding, chrome plating, final grinding and polishing—to detect key variables for each and act on parameters that can guarantee better corrosion resistance.
The R&D department’s philosophy is to meet an effective and tangible objective that can be applied to production, without making any assumptions and by concretely testing the hypotheses. This is why we began working with new suppliers, tested various products and changed our standard production cycle.
In addition to recording all data for the modified variables for the processing of the products tested in the salt mist chamber and comparing their ratings, we also visually inspected every sample and measured its geometrical characteristics (tolerance, roughness and chrome thickness). In this way, we consistently monitored sample parameters that could influence test results to ensure replicability. Moreover, for some particularly interesting tests, we used the lab’s digital microdurometer to observe magnifications of the chromium facing during the various processing phases.
At the end of the first round of tests—approximately 60 tests—we defined a new chroming production cycle that, when associated with other processing phases like polishing, granted a corrosion resistance rating one to two points higher than the initial standard. Moreover, the months of tests allowed us to examine in greater depth various aspects of the production phases and their reciprocal influences on corrosion resistance values, leading us to purchase new chroming and grinding machinery and equipment, that will form the basis for the next round of testing.
The results achieved up to this point represent a “sprint”, but not yet the entire race. We will continue our testing, analysis and research in 2019, and will stop only once we achieve a standard corrosion resistance that is truly higher than the market average. At that point, we will take up a new challenge.