Ultrasonic agitation in barrel electroplating: field trial results

Andrew J. Cobley

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

    1 Citation (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Barrel electroplating is an extremely useful method to coat a large number of components. Despite its successful use for many years it does have drawbacks, often stemming from poor electrolyte movement within the barrel. This can result in issues associated with mass transport, i.e. low limiting current, slow electroplating rates and, in the case of alloy electroplating, inconsistent alloy composition. Field trials carried out at an industrial facility, using ultrasonic agitation during the barrel electroplating of a Sn–Pb alloy, are reported. It was found that if electroplating was performed in a low frequency ultrasonic field then the limiting current could be increased, resulting in higher electroplating rates; the incidence of ‘burning’ was also reduced. In addition, the proportion of components having an alloy coating composition within the customer specification was higher, lowering the defect rate and increasing production capacity.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)171-175
    JournalTransactions of the IMF
    Volume93
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jul 2015

    Fingerprint

    ultrasonic agitation
    electroplating
    Electroplating
    Ultrasonics
    Chemical analysis
    specifications
    incidence
    ultrasonics
    Specifications
    coatings
    Coatings
    Defects
    defects

    Bibliographical note

    This paper is not available in the repository.

    Keywords

    • Ultrasound
    • Sonication
    • Electroplating
    • Barrel
    • Sn-Pb alloy
    • Composition

    Cite this

    Ultrasonic agitation in barrel electroplating: field trial results. / Cobley, Andrew J.

    In: Transactions of the IMF, Vol. 93, No. 4, 07.2015, p. 171-175.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

    Cobley, AJ 2015, 'Ultrasonic agitation in barrel electroplating: field trial results' Transactions of the IMF, vol. 93, no. 4, pp. 171-175. https://doi.org/10.1179/0020296715Z.000000000242
    Cobley AJ. Ultrasonic agitation in barrel electroplating: field trial results. Transactions of the IMF. 2015 Jul;93(4):171-175. https://doi.org/10.1179/0020296715Z.000000000242
    Cobley, Andrew J. / Ultrasonic agitation in barrel electroplating: field trial results. In: Transactions of the IMF. 2015 ; Vol. 93, No. 4. pp. 171-175.
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