Cadmium plating for defense and aerospace prints that still specify it, at our Rowlett plant about 20 miles northeast of downtown Dallas. AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 registered, ITAR registered, DFARS compliant — and one of a shrinking number of shops in Texas that still runs it.
Cadmium is being engineered out of new designs, but a great deal of legacy defense and aerospace hardware still specifies it, and those parts still need a source. We run it, we run the alternatives, and we will tell you honestly which one your print actually needs.
If the drawing specifies cadmium and the approval path is built around it, substituting is not a decision a finisher gets to make. We plate to the print.
Cadmium plating on high-strength steel makes the ASTM B850 bake non-negotiable. Identify the requirement, the material condition and the governing specification on the purchase order.
Where you have the authority to substitute, zinc-nickel to AMS 2417 is the most common replacement. We run both in the same building, which means the comparison comes from someone with no reason to push you either way.
Cadmium work usually arrives with defense paperwork. We are registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and handle controlled data under access control.
Roughly 25 to 35 minutes up I-30 from downtown, outside rush hour. Cadmium work generally travels with documentation attached, and where technical data is export controlled we need to know in writing at the time of order.
If you are evaluating whether to move a print off cadmium, that is a conversation worth having with a shop that runs both processes. We have no commercial reason to steer you — and the answer genuinely is not the same for every part.
Yes. It is a shrinking capability across the industry, which is precisely why legacy defense and aerospace prints that still specify it have trouble finding a source.
Sometimes. Zinc-nickel to AMS 2417 is the usual alternative and it performs well, but whether the substitution is appropriate depends on the requirement, the galvanic environment, lubricity, and whether your approval path allows it. Send the print and we will tell you what we think.
On high-strength steel, yes — ASTM B850 sets the threshold around 145 ksi or 31 HRC and scales the duration with strength. It must begin promptly after plating, so it has to be on the purchase order rather than added later.
Yes, under access control. Identify the control status in writing at the time of order. We do not publish our registrant code; it goes directly to customers who require it for their records.
AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015, ITAR registered, DFARS compliant. The current certificate is downloadable from our certifications page.
This page covers sourcing cadmium plating in Dallas. If you are maintaining a legacy print or evaluating a replacement, these go deeper.
Send the print with the specification, class and type, the material condition, and any bake requirement. If you are considering an alternative, say so and we will give you a straight comparison.
Precision metal finishing since 1979. Plating, anodizing, coatings and passivation from two Texas plants.
Our paint, powder & Cerakote division: Gleco Paint & Powder Coating
Gleco Rowlett
2220 Grisham Drive
Rowlett, TX 75088
972-475-4300
Gleco McAllen
3800 W. Ursula Ave
McAllen, TX 78503
956-800-4069
