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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 171-175 |
Journal | Transactions of the IMF |
Volume | 93 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 31 Jul 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Bibliographical note
This paper is not available in the repository.Keywords
- Ultrasound
- Sonication
- Electroplating
- Barrel
- Sn-Pb alloy
- Composition
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Andrew Cobley
- Centre for Manufacturing and Materials - Professor of Electrochemical Deposition
Person: Teaching and Research