Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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High conductivity plating on beryllium copper or not?
2006
Q. Hi,
I understand that beryllium copper can be plated with gold over nickel or
silver, what is the most common? I need it in strip form, about 2-3 mm wide
and 0.2 mm thick or less, in roll or strips of 150 mm length or a multiple.
Or would it be fine without plating? It is for low voltage(5v), low current (10mA)
contacts, but the pressure of the contact will be light, hence the desire for
a plating that does not oxidise much; however, I am not a metal or plating
expert :-(
We wanted beryllium copper because we wanted the thin strip to be lightly springy.
electronics design - Slough, Berkshire, UK
A. Hello Shabaz,
What I have seen in the field is the use of sulfamate Ni with a final coat of hard gold. Sulfamate Ni has good corrosion resistance, high ductility and strength, good thermal and electrical conductivity. It is considered as one of the most common of barrier metals (protecting the substrate from corrosion and migration into the final plated layer). The advantage of plating a micron of hard gold over the sulfamate Ni is very low contact resistance, along with great tarnish and corrosion resistance. You could do a search on this website for cleaners, activators, nickel, gold and equipment suppliers for your project. The problem with Cu or BeCu as a surface contact is that oxidation and corrosion occurs, which in turn increases contact resistance and lowers electrical conductivity over time. I hope this helps you.
process engineer - Malone, New York
2006
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the excellent and valuable advice.
- Slough, Berkshire, UK
2006
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