F.M. Callahan & Son, located in Malden, Massachusetts, has been plating parts since 1910 and is a NADCAP- and ISO 9000-certified electroplater, as well as ITAR-registered. They are a full-service company with over 40,000 square feet of a state-of-the-art facility and have 100-plus years of family ownership.
The company plates precious metals such as silver and gold, electroless nickel, sulfamate nickel, zinc, copper, tin, and tin-lead. Surface treatments they put in place include black oxide, pickling, passivating, conversion coating, and chromating.
This is an organization of specialists skilled in all phases of industrial plating. The company has combined ability, service, and quality to produce plating on sizes from microscopic pinpoint to gigantic two-ton pieces.
Certifications
F.M. Callahan & Son has been NADCAP certified for approximately twenty years. This important standard indicates that accredited shops follow documented guidelines on how the parts are processed. The result is a consistently plated part.
Company President Eric Jacklin is well positioned to compare the two quality certification programs. He notes:
“NADCAP tends to be more specific and a lot more intense than ISO,” he says. “For NADCAP, the auditors that come in are trained in metal finishing. They may have particular expertise in one area, such as anodizing, but they have also worked in the finishing industry and in the labs. Thus, they have a very specific checklist.
“We have ISO 9000 as well, and it is looking at specific quality things. But it is more general than the NADCAP. It deals with what you are actually doing; whether it is welding or chemical processing or something else.”
Jacklin believes the NADCAP certification is worth the intense auditing process.
“If you are NADCAP certified, you are probably also GE certified or Rolls-Royce certified,” he said. “The Boeing’s of the world really trusts the NADCAP system. They are leaning more on the NADCAP auditors and doing a lot fewer specific prime audits themselves.”
State-of-the-Art Testing: The F.M.Callahan Analytical Lab
F.M. Callahan & Son has once again moved forward with recent renovations and equipment upgrades to its state-of-the-art Analytical Lab, which is a key component in ensuring maximum quality control in in-process chemicals and final inspections of the plated finish, giving their customers the very best in industrial plating.
The analytical laboratory is responsible for maintaining precise tolerances of the various process solutions used in the plating and anodizing lines at F.M. Callahan. Chemical testing includes volumetric and atomic absorption analysis on the process solutions, Hull Cell testing, Salts Spray testing, Coating Weight testing, Hydrogen Embrittlement testing, and various Hardness and metal purity testing.
This is combined with Quality Control Improvements already made this year,, which included state-of-the-art thickness-testing equipment, microscopes, and mechanical inspection equipment. Also added were new real-time video equipment that will allow F.M. Callahan to forward real-time video inspections of crucial aerospace parts that can be forwarded to their customers. All of these renovations will enable F.M. Callahan to move into the future and grow while meeting the demands of its customers.
The X-Ray machines are used for checking the thickness of the electroplated coatings, while the Eddy Current Testing Machine is used for checking the thickness of anodized and hardcoat anodized coatings.
Both X-Ray and Eddy Current are used in the Quality Control Department.
The Atomic absorption machine is used exclusively by the lab. Its main purpose is for testing our wastewater effluent discharge assuring the various metals have been removed, and assuring that we meet the environmental requirements set forth by various agencies.
It is also used for testing the concentration of metals in various plating solutions.
Mr. Jacklin noted recently the important role the company has in the Aircraft and Aerospace industries throughout the USA and abroad.
“Our continued commitment to working directly with the prime aerospace and defense contractors is one of the keys to our growth and success. Meeting the critical demands in today’s aerospace & defense market allows F.M. Callahan to provide its customers with the latest, most up-to-date critical process requirements in today’s metal finishing market.
“F.M. Callahan is not only committed to providing excellence for the aerospace & defense markets; we also provide demanding metal finishing process requirements for the automotive, electronic, semiconductor, railroad, and biomedical industries.
“F.M. Callahan will continue to grow into the future, providing the domestic and global markets we serve with the level of excellence that is required in today’s very challenging and competitive marketplace.”
“Our continued presence at the SAE meetings allows F.M. Callahan to work with all of the prime aerospace contractors in working out the needs and requirements in today’s demanding aerospace and defense metal finishing market. This allows F.M. Callahan to better provide their customers with the latest and most up-to-date process requirements required in today’s market.”
F.M. Callahan & Son, Inc. also has proven excellence in partnering with medical, R.F. Communications, automotive, and general commercial companies.
For more information about F.M. Callahan & Son, Inc., please call them at 781-324-5101 or visit the company website at www.fmcallahan.com.
