Plating & Electroforming

Electroplating was one of the early applications of nickel and it remains an important use today.  It provides corrosion and wear resistance to the underlying substrate.  In addition, it can also provide a smooth basis for a top coating of another decorative material, e.g. chromium and gold.

The properties of the coating depend on the composition of the plating bath and the deposition conditions.  Further information is contained in the publications.

Electoplating of nickel can also be used to build up a coating on a removable former (or mandrel).  Called electroforming, this process is capable of reproducing extremely fine detail which can be used in plastic moulding operations e.g. for DVD pressing.  Actual components can also be produced, e.g. rotary printing screens.

Alloy plating is also possible and there is growing use of nickel-zinc coatings to replace cadmium coatings in the aerospace industry.

Nickel can also be deposited from solution by chemical reduction.  Depending on the chemical composition of the solution, the deposit contains controlled amounts of phosphorus and can be heat treated to achieve different hardnesses and magnetic permeabilities.  These electroless nickel plated items are utilised for wear and corrosion resistance as well as in computer hard disc drives.

  • 10036  Study of Corrosion-Resistant Zinc-Nickel Electroplating
  • 10047  Nickel Electroplating Solutions
  • 10048  Organic Addition Agents for Nickel Electroplating Solutions
  • 10049  Anodes for Electrodeposition of Nickel
  • 10050  Applications of Decorative Nickel Plating
  • 10051  Applications of Engineering Nickel Plating
  • 10052  Nickel Sulphamate Solutions
  • 10053  Additions to Sulphamate Nickel Solutions
  • 10055  Electroless Nickel Coatings
  • 10078  Electroplating on Plastics
  • 10081  Properties and Applications of Electroless Nickel
  • 10084  Electroforming - A Unique Metal Fabrication Process
  • 10088  Plating and Electroforming - Essential Industries for Today and the Future
  • 14002  Why Zinc-Nickel Coated Steels
  • 14005  Modern Electroforming
  • 14009  Electroless Nickel Coatings
  • 14012  Electroforming Technology
  • 14022  Electrodeposited Coatings of Zinc-Nickel
  • 14024  A Review of Recent Trends in Electroplating Technology in North America and Europe
  • 14031  Nickel Alloy Plating

Related Information

Publications