What is Electroplating?
Electroplating is a process in which a metal is deposited onto a metallic substrate. The plated metal is normally of a thickness less than 0.002 in. and in most applications approximately 0.0001-0.0003 in. Metals are plated to afford the substrate properties that it would not otherwise have, such as improved corrosion resistance, aesthetic appeal, greater abrasion resistance, improved surface hardness, changed electrical characteristics, and adjusted dimension to tolerance, as well as imparting other desired properties. The greatest use of plating is probably plating zinc on steel, thereby providing both a corrosion-resistant surface and one that is attractive in appearance. Such articles as nuts, bolts, washers, wire goods, castings, and numerous stampings are processed in this manner. Another extensive use of plating on steel is decorative chrome; this usually comprises a triplate of copper, nickel, and chromium. This finish has found widespread use on automotive and houseware applic
If you’ve ever purchased inexpensive jewelry with a fine coating of precious metal, then you’ve witnessed the end result of electroplating. It’s an electrochemical reaction used to put a fine metallic coating on an object. Aside from making cheap jewelry, electroplating has important uses in the automotive industry for chrome plating, and in the electronics industry for optics and sensors. The process of electroplating (also referred to as electrodeposition) is fairly simple. To start, a negative charge is placed on the object that will be coated. The object is then immersed in a salt solution of the metal that will be used to plate the object. From there, it’s simply a matter of attraction; the metallic ions of the salt are positively charged and are thus attracted to the negatively charged object. Once they connect, the positively charged ions revert back to their metallic form again and you have a newly electroplated object. Controlling the thickness of the electroplated object is g
Electroplating is the process of using electric current to coat or “plate” a layer of metal onto the surface of another material. This technique may be used to add metal that has a desirable quality, such as corrosion protection or abrasion resistance, onto a surface that lacks that property. Electroplating can also be used to make an object appear more valuable, as is often the case with gold and silver plating, or simply to make a surface more attractive.
