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Pulsed Current vs Continuous Current Plating

Q. What are the Pros and Cons of pulsed current plating and of continuous current plating? Our process is strip to strip plating, plating Copper substrates with Nickel.

Mike R. Lim

2006

This question has been asked and answered many times on these pages, so patient application of the search engine may be rewarding towards second opinions and deeper insights, but in one sentence the cons are that it is yet another variable to tame in an equation that may already be too complicated, depending on where you are in the learning curve. The pros are that the higher voltages and current densities can result in a deposit that has different properties, and the pulsing of the current constitutes an agitation applied to the boundary layer, which is otherwise very difficult to agitate. There have been seminars and technical articles on the subject, and even a book, Theory and Practice of Pulse Plating [adv. this book on eBay, Amazon, or AbeBooks affil links] by Lehman and Puippe.

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

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Pulse Plating:
Advantages: Less high current density burning, uniform thickness distribution, less porosity of metal deposited, better current density range, finer grain size

Teresita Lazo-Molina

2006