Electroless Nickel
ELECTROLESS NICKEL
Electroless nickel (E.N.) plating is suitable for a wide range of metals including titanium, aluminium, alloy steels, stainless steels, beryllium, magnesium, copper and its alloys, nickel and its alloys. It is a versatile process giving reliably excellent results.
E.N. plating works via an auto-catalytic reaction depositing a coating of nickel onto a substrate. Unlike electrolytic nickel, it does not rely on an electric current passing through the solution to form a deposit. Given the right pre-plate catalyst, E.N. can even deposit on non-conductive surfaces
The technique prevents wear and corrosion. The nickel coating is deposited uniformly over the component regardless of geometry, which makes E.N. plating a very accurate method particularly suited to complex shaped items. In addition, by suspending powder in the chemical bath, composite coatings can be created using E.N.
Superior Hardness
E.N. is harder as deposited than electrolytic nickel. For example, a 30 micron deposit on steel is 630-670 HV. We can achieve 500-600 HV (48 to 54 Rockwell) as standard. This can be increased by heat treating to achieve 900-1100 HV (60-70 Rockwell). This extra high level of hardness reduces corrosion resistance though.
Other Features and Benefits Include
- Excellent solderability
- Excellent abrasion, wear and corrosion resistance
- Fully bright mid phosphorus
- Free from lead and cadmium
- More cost effective than stainless steel
- ELV, RoHS and WEEE compliant
- Meets MIL-C-26074E, AMS 2404 & AMS 2405 specifications