Electroplating - Plant Tour pt.9
Inspection (Dry) Lab
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| Apparatus for conducting solderability testing | |
All of our products make one or more trips through the inspection lab during the electroplating process. We are observing for several quality attributes. Among them: electrodeposit thickness, dimensional conformity to print, visual blemishes such as dullness, and poor adhesion of the electrodeposit to the underlying part. We employ several tools and techniques in inspection. The most sophisticated tool is the x-ray fluorescence spectrophotometer (XRF). This machine directs an x-ray beam at the part and measures the backscatter of the reflected energy to determine electrodeposit thickness. XRF's are a non-contact, non-destructive testing device. That means that we are able to test large quantities of customer product and maintain accurate surveillance of thickness. Metal thickness is a critical measure for us, given that we are electroplating relatively expensive metals like gold, palladium, rhodium and silver. The XRF is capable of distinguishing between different metals. This means that we can test a completed, multi-layer electrodeposit and measure the individual thickness of each layer. These machines are accurate to about +-5 millionths of an inch of thickness. ProPlate® operates 2 XRF's in order to guarantee 100% availability of testing. |
Electroplating plant tour continued >> | 
