The continuous TripleHard® line in Kuopio seen from the front along its full length, the hall darkened around it

The continuous line

Hard chrome in one continuous pass.

The world's first continuous production line for TripleHard®: hydraulic cylinder rods enter at one end and leave coated at the other, with no manual transfer between baths.

Four stages

From bare steel to
TripleHard®, without stopping.

  1. 1Surface preparation

    Cleaned and activated, ready for the layers.

  2. 2Etching

    A controlled etch opens the steel surface for the anchor layer.

  3. 3Nickel deposition

    The nickel anchor layer goes on first. It bonds to the activated steel, gives TripleHard® its adhesion and carries much of its corrosion protection.

  4. 4TripleHard® Cr(III) layers

    Trivalent chromium is built up over the nickel to hard-chrome-level hardness, without heat treatment. The flow along the rod keeps the layer even.

Schematic, not to scale. A rinse follows every stage.

How it differs

Traditional plating stops between every step. This line does not.

Conventional Cr(VI) hard chrome plating is a batch process: open tanks, an overhead crane, and an operator between every bath. The continuous line replaces the sequence with a single automated pass.

4 baths1 pass
Surface preparation, etching, nickel and Cr(III) in one uninterrupted run
OperatorNo contact
No part is lifted between baths by hand, and the baths are enclosed
Traditional platingThe continuous line
Separate work stagesOne uninterrupted process
Open tanksFully enclosed system
Crane transfer between bathsAutomated conveying
Fume extraction over open tanksVapours contained in the line
An operator in ear defenders and gloves feeds a hydraulic cylinder rod onto the entry rail of the enclosed TripleHard® line in Kuopio

Safe by design

Chemicals stay inside the machine.

The enclosed design keeps chemicals, mist and emissions inside the line. Dosing and handling are automated, so operators are kept away from both.

  • Operator safe.

    Minimal contact with chemicals and moving parts

  • Fully enclosed.

    Splash, mist and emissions contained

  • Lower footprint.

    Less chemical use, less waste, no scrubbers

  • Automated handling.

    Consistent dosing, consistent quality

Control and data

Smarter process. Stronger results.

Trivalent chromium is sensitive to its process conditions, so the line is built around control. Process-control software is being developed for the continuous production line, with real-time process monitoring, alarms and part-level traceability, designed to be included with each line licence.

  • Monitor. Process parameters in real time
  • Alarm. Deviations flagged as they happen
  • Trace. Process data for every part
An operator works the control cabinet of the TripleHard® line in Kuopio, the coating cells running in the background
Gas fraction map between the rod and the anode at the baseline pump flow: a dark band of gas along the second half of the cell Baseline flow
The same map at more than three times the pump flow: the gas band is thinner and lighter More than 3× the flow
Where hydrogen and oxygen collect between the rod and the anode, from the flow model: the same cell at two pump flows, dark is more gas. Every cell is modelled before it is built; how the modelling works: Engineering.

From pilot to industrial scale

Built from a 3D-printed pilot in under a year.

The self-built 3D-printed pilot line seen from the side: a row of black printed cells on a rail, on a concrete floor
The 3D-printed pilot line, 2025, seen from the side. More than 50 versions ran on it.

  1. The continuous process is developed on a self-built, 3D-printed pilot line. More than 50 versions were tested over months of near-daily experiments.

  2. The industrial-scale line arrives in Kuopio.

  3. ILMAR completes the installation. First test runs.

  4. First coatings produced. Results reported excellent.

  5. An inlet ring for the plating cell is chosen from five variants in the flow model, 3D-printed and fitted to the line.

  6. Version 1 complete: the first-round run parameters are locked and optimisation continues.

  7. Target: production ramp-up with a rod manufacturer.

  8. Plan: mass production on the continuous line.

Wireframe render of a lattice anode cage from the pilot line's 3D model
An anode cage from the 3D model the pilot line was printed from

Where we are now

An industrial-scale prototype, running in Kuopio.

The line in Kuopio is not a line for sale. It is the industrial-scale prototype, built by ILMAR, whose job is to lock the parameters and produce the data for the lines built for customers. Version 1 is complete: the first-round run parameters are locked, and optimisation continues. By the end of 2026 Savroc will know exactly what a customer's line must be, with the playbook for replicating it; each customer line is then configured and sized for that customer in simulation. The customer does not get a copy of the Kuopio line.

Two steps follow. Target: production ramp-up with a rod manufacturer in H1 2027. Plan: mass production on the continuous line in 2027. If moving off hexavalent chromium is in your plans, this is the year to come and see it.

Who does what

Savroc designs the process. Our partner builds the line.

  • Engineering company and licensor

    Savroc

    Leads the project with you: simulation, the process and line design, commissioning in your plant and process support in production. Licenses TripleHard® and supplies the chemistry.

  • Built the Kuopio line

    ILMAR

    The industrial-scale line in Kuopio was built by ILMAR in Italy: equipment engineering, automation and manufacturing, to Savroc's process design.

    ilmar.eu

  • Built for your plant

    Your line

    A customer line is built and delivered by an industrial equipment partner to Savroc's process design. You order the line from them; Savroc commissions the process in your plant.

The continuous TripleHard® line in Kuopio seen from the side in the darkened hall, with a bundle of rods waiting in the foreground

See it for yourself

The line runs in Kuopio. Come and watch it coat a rod.

Bring your drawings or your parts. Jussi Räisä shows you the line, the test data and what a project in your plant would look like. No sales deck, no commitment.

Book a visit

Jussi Räisä, CEO jussi.raisa@savroc.com +358 44 307 1409