Re: Electroplating?

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2009/3/27 12:26:57

I spent many years doing R&D on printed circuit boards and thus have some familiarity with electroplating, mostly copper, nickel, gold and solder. There is A LOT of art in electroplating, for most metals and applications it's not as simple as might appear. One item to contend with are the proprietary (generally trade secret) additives in the electrolyte that control leveling, brightness, etc. And also the matter of varying current densities in various locations. For example, consider a simple rectangle of steel. The electron densities at the corners will be relatively very high and attract the highest number of metal ions, reducing them to the base metal, but the high density can lead to rough, dull plating and often "trees" of growth rather than a layer. In the center of your panel where the electron density is very low, you'll get very little plating deposit. In addition to chemical additives to minimize that, platers often also use "thieves" which poach some of the current density to eliminate poor plating at locations of high electron densitie.

By all means, try it yourself, you'll no doubt have some fun and learn something in the process. But don't expect results like someone who makes a living at it. See if you can pick up a copy of a book, probably out of print, called "The Electroplater's Handbook". Very useful.