The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Gold Plating equivalent

2005

Hi,
Here I am thinking for changing the gold plating to another cheaper plating for contact pins, The new material should have almost the same material properties,

could you please suggest for the same

Thanks,

Sridevi
- Hyderabad, India

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Hello Sridevi. I'm sure you realize that each material is distinguished from every other material by the difference in their properties. Thus there is nothing that has all of the properties of gold -- there simply is no universal substitute. Rather your need is for a material that has those properties that you need -- which means that the way forward is to figure out exactly what properties you need. Palladium is widely used as a gold substitute in many contact applications, and is about 1/3 the price, so that may bear looking into. Electroless nickel is not a precious metal, so it will tarnish to a degree and is not an acceptable substitute for some applications but is fine for others. Good luck!

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005

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Hello Sridevi;

Miralloy is being done by us and our customers use it for replacement for Silver plating. Dare Say it may work for your gold application as well.

Please send us samples for your trials.

best regards

Khozem Vahaanwala
Saify Ind

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

2005

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2005

Hello Sridevi,
Plating electronic components with white bronze achieves a higher electrical coductivity than pure silver, allowing technical applications in the connector field.The deposit is an alloy of copper,Tin and Zinc(64:30:6) which is bright and white like Rhodium and has high wear and corrosion resistance.Deposit has about 500Hv hardness.

Ted is suggesting palladium and this one is cheaper than palladium.
Miralloy suggested by Vahanwalla is yellow bronze.
Regards

T.K. Mohan
plating process supplier - Mumbai, India

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If cost is the criteria Ú Try tin plating

Tin plating is the most economical one and is widely used for connector applications. However, tin plated contacts are not recommended for high temperature applications since the formation of tin oxides and Cu-Sn based intermetallic compounds, namely Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn will affect the reliability of the connectors.

If high reliability is the criteria

Pd-Co alloy plating is a useful alternative.

T.S.N. Sankara Narayanan
- Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
(ed.note: The good doctor offers a fascinating blog, "Advancement in Science" )
2005