Electroplating is a process that uses electric current to reduce disolved metal cations so they form a coherent metal coating on an electrode.
Electroplating is primarily used to change the surface properties of an object (e.g. abbrasion and wear resistance, corrosion protection, aestetic qualities, etc.), but may also be used to build up thickness on undersized parts.
Electroplating is a general name for processes that create a metal coating on a solid substrate through the reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct electric current. The part to be coated acts as the cathode(negative electrode) of an electrolytic cell; the electrolyte is a solution of a salt of the metal to be coated; and the anode (positive electrode) is usually either a block of that metal, or of some inert conductive material. The current is provided by an external power supply.
Electroplating is widely used in industry and decorative arts to improve the surface qualities of objects—such as resistance to abrasion and corrosion, lubricity, reflectivity, electrical conductivity, or appearance. It may also be used to build up thickness on undersized or worn-out parts, or to manufacture metal plates with complex shape, a process called electroforming. It is also used to purify metals such as copper.
Barrel Plating technique of electroplating is one of the most common used in the industry for large numbers of small objects. The objects are placed in a barrel-shaped non-conductive cage, and then immersed in the chemical bath containing suspended atoms of the metal that is to be plated onto them. The barrel is then rotated, and electrical currents are run through the various pieces in the barrel which complete circuits as they touch one another. The result is a very uniform and efficient plating process, though the finish on the end products will likely suffer from abrasion during the plating process. It is unsuitable for highly ornamental or precisely engineered items.
Electroless plating, also known as chemical plating or autocatalytic plating, is a class of industrial chemical processes that create metal coatings on various materials by autocatalytic chemical reduction of metal cations in a liquid bath. This class is contrasted with electroplating processes, such as galvanization, where the reduction is achieved by an externally generated electric current.
The main technical advantage of electroless plating is that it creates an even layer of metal regardless of the geometry of the surface—in contrast to electroplating, which suffers from uneven current density due to the effect of substrate shape on the electrical resistance of the bath. Moreover, electroless plating can be applied to non-conductive surfaces and parts of the object that cannot be connected to the current source.
Electroless plating has many industrial applications, from merely decorative to the prevention of corrosion and wear. It can even be used to coat individual grains of powdered materials, with arbitrarily small size.[3] It can also be used to create composite coatings, by suspending suitable powders in the bath.
Here are some other electrolytic and electroless processes we currently offer: