For more than 70 years, R & S Plating has been providing our clients with top-notch Indiana Sulfamate Nickel Plating. We’re proud to offer a broad range of metal finishing solutions, including hard chrome plating, zinc plating, copper plating, passivation, nital etching, and cadmium plating.
We also offer sulfamate nickel plating, a popular finish in the automotive, electronics, and engineering industries. Indiana Sulfamate Nickel Plating is prized for its ability to increase an item’s hardness, friction resistance, magnetic attributes, and lubricity. Unlike some metal overlays, sulfamate nickel can be used either by itself or as an under-plate for other metals.
If you’d like to inquire about our Indianapolis sulfamate nickel plating or any other service we offer, we invite you to contact us. We can be reached by phone at 317-925-2396 or through the contact form on this site.
About the Sulfamate Nickel Plating Process
Covering an object with sulfamate nickel is a fairly complex process involving a series of steps that must be completed meticulously to ensure a positive outcome. The primary method for placing a nickel overlay onto an item is through electroplating.
Electroplating technology was first developed more than two hundred years ago. Obviously, plating techniques have been refined since then, but the science behind them has basically remained unchanged.
For the electroplating process, you need a cathode and an anode. The cathode is the item that will be covered while the anode is the sacrificial metal that will end up coating the object.
Both the cathode and the anode are placed into an electrolyte bath. An electrical current is introduced, generating a chemical reaction that causes electrons to transfer from the anode to the cathode. This produces the desired metal overlay.
The process, in theory, sounds simple but there are many considerations to keep in mind, such as:
1 Preparing the Surface of the Cathode Prior to Immersion
You can’t simply grab an item, place it into an electrolyte bath, and expect a high-quality result. The surface of the cathode needs to be cleaned thoroughly in preparation for plating. If there are any contaminants present on the surface of the item, they could interfere with bonding.
Preparing an object for plating generally involves three steps: cleaning, treatment, and rinsing. To clean the item, technicians usually use solvents to break down layers of oil that have built up on the surface and remove debris.
Once the cathode has been cleaned, it will then be subjected to treatments that will further improve overlay adhesion. After the item has been cleaned and received any necessary treatments, it will be rinsed and readied for immersion into the electrolyte bath.
2 Selecting the Correct Chemical Composition for Your Electrolyte Bath
There are a wide variety of metals that can be used in electroplating. And for each metal, there’s a different electrolyte formula.
Plating would certainly be a lot easier if you could use one electrolyte formula for every application, but the truth is electroplating is much more complex than that. In order to maximize your metal plating results, you need to know the exact chemical composition of your electrolyte bath.
That’s why it’s important to use a professional metal finishing service. If you attempt to plate your own items or take them to an amateur, odds are you’ll end up with a substandard product.
3 How Long Should the Item be Immersed and at What Temperature?
The temperature of the electrolyte bath and the amount of time an item is immersed both have a significant effect on the electroplating results. If the temperature of your solution is off, you’ll end up with an item that hasn’t been coated very well.
The same goes for how long you keep the object immersed with the electrical current running through the solution. The thickness of the overlay is determined by the amount of time the item spends in the tank. If you pull the item out too soon, you end up with coverage that’s patchy or too thin.
An expert in electroplating will understand how to optimize these factors. They’ll know exactly how long an item should remain in the electrolyte bath and at what temperature in order to meet the specs set by the customer.
For Expert Indiana Sulfamate Nickel Plating, Call R & S
At R & S Plating, we have expertise on our side. If you’re looking for the very best Indiana Sulfamate Nickel Plating, then just give us a call at 317-925-2396. We’d love to talk to you about your next metal plating project and how we can best serve you.