Electroless Nickel
ELECTROLESS NICKEL
Electroless nickel (E.N.) plating is achieved via an auto-catalytic reaction which deposits a coating of nickel onto a substrate. Unlike electroplating, it does not rely on forming a deposit by passing an electric current through the solution.
The Electroless Nickel plating technique prevents corrosion and wear. It deposits the nickel coating uniformly over the component and is a very accurate method especially suited to more complex shaped items.
Electroless nickel plating has advantages over electroplating. Independent of flux-density and power supply issues, it provides an even deposit regardless of the geometry, and given the right pre-plate catalyst, can even deposit on non-conductive surfaces.
The plating technique can also be used to create composite coatings by suspending powder in the chemical bath.
Materials
E.N. is suitable for a range of metals including stainless steels, aluminium, alloy steels, copper and its alloys, magnesium, nickel and its alloys, beryllium and titanium. This is a versatile process which gives consistently excellent results.
Features of Electroless Nickel
- N. is harder as deposited than electrolytic nickel
Example of hardness, a 30 micron deposit on steel is 630-670 HV
- N. can also be heat treated to give an even harder finish
- N. is fully bright mid phosphorus which is ELV, RoHS & WEEE compliant, lead and cadmium free
- N. meets MIL-C-26074E, AMS 2404 & AMS 2405 specifications