HydroJet^® Ultrahigh efficiency plating of flat rolled sheet metal
HydroJet technology is “the” world-class electroplating technology of our times for plating flat rolled sheet metal, in coil form.

HydroJet is a combination hydromechanical and hydrodynamic process, which permits very close proximity electroplating. In fact, commercial HydroJet plating cells have been designed, built and installed for daily operation with anode-to-cathode distance of only 1/8" (3mm). The HydroJet process utilizes certain principles of fluid mechanics to accomplish the replenishment of fresh electrolyte. Fluid mechanics also is used in the process to strip away the "barrier" layer associated with all electrochemical processes. HydroJet utilizes a "liquid film" in combination with specifically designed polymeric hardware to prevent the coated strip from making inadvertent contact with the anodes and/or other hardware in the plating cell.  This “dual” method of isolating the cathode strip from the anodes provides a full-proof method of preventing inadvertent contact between the cathode and anode thereby preventing “arcing” altogether.

The initial HydroJet work conducted by ETL was on a pilot line setup for zinc plating in the 1998-1999 period. Research and refinement work has continued to date on this breakthrough technology. The R&D work and the results obtained to date have led ETL to file patent applications. The first HydroJet patent to issue by the USPTO is US Patent No. 6,322,673, issued on November 27, 2001. The second HydroJet patent (US Patent No 6,780,302 B2) issued on August 24, 2004.

Low Cost Process
HydroJet technology is the lowest cost Ultrahigh Speed plating process for sheet metal. The cost of implementation is a very small fraction of other commercial high speed processes: including but not limited to the Gravitel® process, the Carousel® process and the Liquid Cushion® process.  These processes each cost at least a 100 times the cost of HydroJet to implement and do not attain the level of efficiency of HydroJet.

The Carbon Footprint of HydroJet® is extremely low as compared to other plating processes
One of the key benefits of HydroJet technology is the ability to contain undesirable effluent by-product generation and thereby reduce the “carbon footprint” in any plating shop using this remarkable technology. The reason is clear. Since the anode-to-cathode distance is minimal, and the voltage is low while the current density is high, most of the electrical energy is directed to the electroplating process itself.  Generation of undesirable effluent by-products is extremely low.  With “Cap & Trade” becoming a global certainty, those companies implementing HydroJet may be in a position to “sell” or “trade” their excess carbon credits to lower efficient industrial plants.