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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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Hard chrome plating on copper
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Q. Hello everyone. I am Abhishek. I have one query: can I electroplate chromium on copper base or copper plated material? If it is possible please let me know the bath chemistry and current density.
ABHISHEK KALIA- Ludhiana, Punjab, India
February 11, 2022
by Robert K. Guffie
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A. Hi ABHISHEK. When hard chrome is plated onto hardened steel, a rather thin layer can be functional. But when plated onto soft copper it must be very thick to not crack like an eggshell, so it is not a very common procedure but it can certainly be done. In fact it uses the standard bath chemistry and current density. For example, 28 oz/gal chromic acid, 1/100 that much sulfuric acid, at about 200-250 A/sq. ft.
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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
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Q. We have a 1" x 1" x 1" hard-chrome plated copper heater block that is developing blisters when the temperature is held at 130 °C. The plating ranges from 0.0002 to 0.001 inches thick. The blisters eventually fall off (they actually pop off at times), leaving 0.25 to 0.5 diameter unplated copper. The block is heated by a cartridge heater inserted into a hole in the block. Temperature is controlled with a PID controller and a thermocouple inserted into another hole in the block. We call our MIL spec hard chrome, but have a serious problem with the result. We'd greatly appreciate any suggestions as to what is causing the problem so we can help our plater solve the problem.
Thanks
manufacturing - Chicago, Illinois
2005
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A. It's good to want to help advise the plater how to fix it, but probably not realistic to expect that someone can give you a quick tip that you can pass on to fix things. But, to give it a try, please remind your shop that copper must not be reverse etched because this causes copper to dissolve at just the wrong time, and makes the chrome non-adherent. Rather, after cleaning, which could be as simple as pumice ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] scrubbing and rinsing, the copper must enter the chrome tank "live" (cathodic).
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005
Thanks Ted!
manufacturer - Chicago, Illinois [returning]
2005
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