Electroplating Profile - pt.2
Reprint from an article in Product Finishing Magazine, July 2002 issue Profile of Professional Plating By Beverly Graves, editor ProPlate® specializes in electroplating small parts and large quantities of small parts as well as customized electroplating and prototype work. The finishes include gold, palladium, rhodium, silver, nickel, copper, tin and tin alloys. Engineers at ProPlate® work with the customers to determine the best finish for their parts. What type of hardness is required? How much ductility is needed? How conductive must the part be? How will the part be used? How thick should the finish be? When electroplating high value metals such as gold or rhodium or silver, control of thickness becomes critical to cost control. Also, the extremely small size of many of these parts and the tight dimensional tolerances of the assemblies into which they are installed requires critical thickness control. These and other questions help the engineers determine the best finish and the best finishing process for each part. |