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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Nickel coating layer thickness control
I am a project engineer and thinking about What is the relation or equation can I use to control the thickness of nickel coat layer by Electroplating? And also what is the Cathode material and Shape used for the above process ?
Thank you,
Ahmed FahmyConstruction engineer - Helwan, Cairo, Egypt
2004
The subject of nickel electroplating fills entire books, Mr. Fahmy, so it's hard to answer your question in a paragraph without leaving out hundreds of critical issues. But Faraday's Law is the relationship you are looking for to control thickness. The cathode is the item you are plating, so you need to tell us its shape, not vice-versa. But you may actually be asking about the anode material, which may be electrolytic nickel or sulfur depolarized nickel, and is available in various shape chunks as well as in cast anodes.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004
For most electroplating chemistries, nickel plates at around 95% efficiency. The theoretical weight of nickel deposited by 1 Ampere in 1 hour is 1.095 grams (this is known as the electrochemical equivalent). Each metal has its own EE and each bath its own efficiency. In english units, roughly 20 A-Hr give a 0.001" thick nickel coverage over an area of 1 square foot. Of course, thickness will vary a lot depending on plated metal, type of bath, shape and position. This is known as "throwing power" and is peculiar of every bath arrangement.
Guillermo MarrufoMonterrey, NL, Mexico
2004
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