AOTCO Blog

Explore our blog posts and guides covering all aspects of metal finishing. From the latest news to industry insights, we aim to equip you with valuable knowledge and practical tips for achieving exceptional results in your metal finishing projects. Subscribe to the blog to stay informed with updates straight to your inbox.

image of an airplane that uses dip solder for its components

AOTCO Introduces Tin Dip Solder Services: Benefits and Advantages

In industries like aerospace, aviation and electronics – where component reliability is critical – protective finishes such hot solder dip...

a photo of a metal with paint powder coat finishing

AOTCO Offers New MIL-SPEC Paint and Powder Coat Services

Metal surface finishing comes in a variety of techniques and materials to meet a wide range of different needs. Paint and powder coat are...

hardcoat anodizing

The Power of Hardcoat Anodizing: What You Need To Know

When it comes to metal surface finishings, there’s something special about hardcoat anodizing. It dramatically enhances the properties of...

Strategic Surface Preparation in Metal Finishing

The Importance of Strategic Surface Preparation in Metal Finishing

Surface preparation is a critical step in the metal finishing process greatly impacting the quality, durability, and appearance of the...

AOTCO - PowerGen International - Hydrogen Clean Energy Solutions

Join AOTCO at PowerGen International 2024 in New Orleans

Join AOTCO Metal Finishing at PowerGen International in New Orleans, Louisiana. Stop by our booth, #3055, to learn about our Platinum on...

AOTCO Staff Community Service Day

AOTCO Metal Finishing support the local Billerica community during AOTCO's Staff Community Service Day.

Guide to Anodizing Colors for Durability and Aesthetics

Applying surface finishing is one of the final steps in manufacturing, but one that’s critical to both the durability and aesthetics of a...

AOTCO Team

Join AOTCO at D2P Mohegan Sun | Southern New England

Spring has arrived to New England and that means it is time to get ready for fresh lobstah, the Boston Marathon, and fun at the Southern...

Cambridge, MA

AOTCO President Speaks At Harvard Business School Association

During a recent roundtable discussion at the Harvard Business School Association of Boston event, AOTCO's President, Matthew Smith, shared...

Join AOTCO at MRO Americas 2024 | NADCAP Plating & Anodizing

Looking to secure your supply chain's NADCAP plating and anodizing services to drive innovation? Join AOTCO Metal Finishing at MRO Americas...

Silver plating used for satellites.

AOTCO Expands Silver Plating Capacity To Meet Growing Demand From the Aerospace Industry

Precious metal plating is used in everyday items around us, from cell towers to ball-bearing surfaces to circuit boards. In space, though,...

Join AOTCO at SATELLITE 2024 in Washington, D.C.

Looking to secure your supply chain's NADCAP metal finishing services and drive innovation? Join AOTCO Metal Finishing at SATELLITE 2024 in...

AOTCO Receives Patriot Award

AOTCO Metal Finishing Senior Managers Receive Patriot Award

AOTCO Metal Finishing Vice President, John Cote, and Production Director, Rob Capaldo, Honored by Department of Defense for Extraordinary...

AOTCO Metal Finishing Titanium Medical Devices & Medical Implants. ISO 13485:2016

AOTCO Supports Medical Device Industry With ISO 13485:2016

AOTCO Metal Finishing has been awarded ISO 13485:2016 certification. This certification provides AOTCO the opportunity to expand its...

AOTCO Metal Finishing For Advanced Manufacturing. Plating, Anodzing, Passivation.

AOTCO - Manufacturing In Focus Interview

The finishing materials for aircraft components, missiles, spacecraft and satellites are mission-critical in aerospace operations. Without...

ISO 13485:2016 AOTCO ISO Certification Medical Devices

AOTCO Receives ISO 13485:2016 Certification for Medical Devices

BILLERICA, Mass.,July 15, 2020-- NADCAP Accredited AOTCO Metal Finishing, a leading national provider of specialty surface finishing...

Join AOTCO at D2P Mid-Atlantic in Oaks, PA 2023

Cool fall weather has arrived to Philadelphia and that means it is time to get ready for cheesesteaks, hoagies, Philly soft pretzels, and...

Hydrogen Americas Summit AOTCO 2023

Join AOTCO at Hydrogen Americas Summit 2023 in Washington, D.C.

Join AOTCO Metal Finishing at the Hydrogen Americas Summit 2023 in Washington, D.C. Stop by our booth, A02, on October 2-3 to learn about...

AOTCO D2P Marlborough 2023

Join AOTCO at D2P Marlborough 2023

Fall has arrived to New England. That means it is time to get ready for apple cider, donuts and fun at the New England Design-2-Part Show....

Aerospace AOTCO metal finishing

AOTCO Acquires Modern Metal Finishing

AOTCO Metal Finishing, a national leader in specialty finishing services, announced its strategic acquisition of Connecticut-based Modern...

Sumerian for

Archeological Discovery Shows AOTCO’s History of Metal Plating

Cuneiform Tablet Expands Our Understanding of Ancient Sumeria

AOTCO Launches New Type I Chromic Acid Anodizing Line

Serving Our Nation’s Aerospace Firms with the Highest Quality Plating

AOTCO Metal Finishing Adds New Plating on Magnesium Line

AOTCO Metal Finishing, LLC, a leading national provider of specialty finishing services, announced today that it has launched a new...

AOTCO Metal Finishing Acquires Plating for Electronics

AOTCO Metal Finishing has acquired Plating for Electronics, a leading provider of specialty anodizing, electroplating, and laser marking...

AOTCO Awarded ISO 13485 Certification

AOTCO Metal Finishing, a leading national provider of specialty surface finishing services, announced that it has been awarded ISO...

Ventilator Production

Since AOTCO was recognized as a critical manufacturer due to our work in the medical and defense industries, we have been working to...

Hand Sanitizer Donations

It has been a little over a month since AOTCO started our "Buy One, Gift One" hand sanitizer program. Thanks to the generosity of local...

AOTCO is Now Producing WHO Formula Hand Sanitizer

Hand Sanitizer - Limited Quantities Available for Donation or Sale. In early March, AOTCO began producing hand sanitizer at our Billerica,...

AOTCO’s COVID-19 Response Update

AOTCO Metal Finishing is designated as a critical manufacturer both for medical supply chain and defense industrial base. We are currently...

Gold Plating in the Medical Industry

The need for technology and advanced tools in the medical industry grows each day. The world of medical technology and devices is...

Environmental anodizing

Anodizing is the Green Choice

In today’s world, the environmental impact of everything we do is under scrutiny. It can be hard to feel like you can make a difference....

Looking for Reliable Gold Plating?

One of the most tried and true practices is gold plating when it comes to a variety of industrial metal needs. Gold plating is a process...

Why It Is Crucial To Get A Gold Plating Quote

There’s no doubt that gold plating is a beautiful finish for metals. Since there are several types out there, it can sometimes be a bit...

What Does It Mean To Be a Nadcap Certified Gold Plater?

Nadcap - the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program - is a global program. It is designed to set standards for...

Metal Finishing Glossary

When you need polished metal, it can be very confusing to understand what kind of metal finishing in Massachusetts you require, too. Take a...

Best Ways to Keep Metal Parts Clean

You know you need to keep metal components of your machines clean to avoid corrosion. When water or chemicals sit on the surface of the...

Why Choose AOTCO?

It takes plenty to stand out amongst gold plating companies. It’s crucial that the business you choose for gold plating can live up to your...

What Industries Need Metal Finishing?

Do you use metal finishing in your industry? Take a look at who uses metal finishing—you might interact with it more than you realized!

Sulfuric Vs. Hardcoat Anodizing

Anodizing is the process of finishing aluminum to provide a resistant coat on the metal. There are a number of ways for anodizing to occur,...

AOTCO Receives Nadcap Merit Status for Chemical Processing

Nadcap recognizes AOTCO METAL FINISHING CO. for its superior performance and commitment to continual improvement in aerospace quality

Nadcap Accreditation for Aerospace Quality System AC7004 Awarded to AOTCO

On October 26, 2017, AOTCO METAL FINISHING CO. Received Nadcap accreditation after successfully passing a Nadcap audit in Aerospace Quality...

Best Options for Reducing Corrosion

You know that corrosion is a death sentence for your metal parts. How can you avoid corrosion and make your metal last longer? Check out...

A Quick Guide to Metal Finishing

Metal finishing is a major step in manufacturing with metals. The finishing is a way of changing the metal’s surface to improve its...

The World Without Metal Finishing—What Would Happen?

You know metal finishing is necessary, but do you know why? Imagine the world without any metal finishing to realize just how important it...

Why Gold Plating for Aerospace?

Why Gold Plating for the Aerospace Industry? For anyone in the Aerospace industry, gold plating is essential, as it provides...

Benefits of Electroplating for Conductivity

Many clients we work with who utilize our metal finishing in Massachusetts are in need of results that can protect their electrically...

Gold Plating FAQs

Gold Plating Frequently Asked Questions Goldis commonly thought of as a luxurious, expensive, and aesthetically pleasing metal. To the...

What Does Quality Assurance Mean at AOTCO?

With so many industries relying on metal finishing companies, our new clients quickly realize that not all quality control is equal across...

What is Grade D Gold Plating?

Being an industry leader in gold plating in Massachusetts and around the country means being able to educate all new and returning...

Why Use Electroless Nickel Plating?

AOTCO is known as the go-to metal finishing company in MA for using a variety of techniques to complete our plating processes. Working with...

Gold Plating Standards

As a premiere gold plating company in Massachusetts, AOTCO has worked to take every necessary step and ensure the work we are completing...

Our Quality Starts at Our Suppliers

At AOTCO Metal Finishing, we’re proud of the accomplishments we’ve had as the premiere metal finishing company in Massachusetts. We...

Why the Cleaning and Pre-Process Treatment Matters

There is a reason AOTCO is the go-to metal finishing company in Massachusetts. Not only do we stand by our certifications and abide by...

Benefits of Gold Plating

AOTCO works with a variety of metals to create plating that is not only compatible with our commercial customers’ needs, but align with the...

Benefits of Being ISO 9001:2008 & AS9100 Registered

To be prominent in the metal finishing industry, it’s essential to hold national accreditations that solidify the pride and professionalism...

Cu-Mo-Cu | Copper Molybdenum Alloy

Benefits of Cu-Mo-CuCopper Molybdenum Alloy AOTCO has developed expertise in a wide variety of different elements, alloys, and metal...

Copper-Tungsten Metal Finishing

In our series of materials on our materials page is Copper-tungsten alloy. Strictly speaking, CuW is a pseudo-alloy of copper and tungsten....

AOTCO Achieve ITAR Registration for Metal Finishing

AOTCO is proud to announce that it has registered and been approved under ITAR as a Metal Finishing Contractor. What this means for our...

Metal Finishing with Beryllium Oxide

Metal Finishing with Beryllium Oxide

AOTCO uses a large number of materials and substrates to meet the diverse needs of our customers. Our Material/Substrates page has an...

Aluminum Silicone Carbide Metal Finishing

At AOTCO, we offer a wide range of materials and substrates from which to choose. For a full list, please visit our Materials/Substrates...

Metal Finishing with AlBeMet

The Benefits of AlBeMet For Industrial Use What is AlBeMet Used For? AOTCO Metal Finishing works with an extensive list of metals...

Metal finishing with Invar and Alloy 42

Metal Finishing with Invar and Alloy42 What is Invar Alloy? Invar is a nickel-iron alloy that is known for its low coefficient of thermal...

Anodizing

Since 1975, AOTCO has offered a wide variety of high quality, technologically sophisticated, metal working products, not the least of which...

AC7108 in Chemical Processing means Quality Metal Finishing

AOTCO is determined to bring you the highest quality metal finishing in the industry. Our products must function perfectly under stressful...

Materials and Substrates at AOTCO

At AOTCO, we pride ourselves in our ability to produce high quality goods and services for a reasonable price. To that end, we offer a wide...

Electroplating Tips

Electroplating Tips At AOTCO we manage new electroplating jobs daily, each with their own unique specifications. To ensure consistent...

Electroplating with NADCAP certification

What does the Society for Automotive Engineers, established in 1905, have to do with your electroplating and metal finishing needs? In the...

The Three Pillars of Success

AOTCO prides itself on customer service and quality control. We maintain strict adherence to customer requirements in such fields as...

Electroplating Thickness

What is Electroplating Thickness? Electroplating is the process of applying a thin layer of metal or metal alloy on the surface of another...

Metal plating Hard Chrome

The pursuit is ongoing for a coating that is hard, wear and stress resistant, low friction, and anti-corrosive. However, for most...

Electroplating electrolyte, embrittlement, and heating

If you have excellent activation and agitation but you are still having problems, check the electrolyte solution. Keeping the electrolyte...

Electroplating Activation and Agitation

Two areas often overlooked when electroplating are activation and agitation. Both activation and agitation are a key part of the processes...

Metal finishing can be done using various techniques

Metal finishing can be a challenging process and can employ a variety of techniques and materials depending on the finish you might be...