Papers by Keyword: Electroplating

Abstract: Fasteners are commonly used in construction industry for parts joining purpose. There are many types of construction fasteners such as stud, bolt, anchor, nut, screw, and washer. The major problem of the fastener made by carbon steel is the poor resistance to corrosion. Electroplating is a simple yet low-cost tool to give a strong corrosion protection coating layer on the carbon steel. This study was performed to investigate the effect of current and deposition time on the iron triad (cobalt-nickel-iron) electroplating on the fastener washer. The experiment was conducted at 50 °C, pH 1-3 and at different electroplating time (30 minutes to 90 minutes) and current (0.2 A to 0.5 A). Burnt-out surface coating was observed on the fastener washer when the current was more than 0.4 A. A field test was carried out for 60 days to observe the corrosion behavior and performance of the products. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed that a thin protection layer with 5.64 µm was formed at 60 minutes of electroplating time and 0.4 A of current. The surface roughness of the fastener washer was increased by increasing the electroplating time and current. The hardness was also improved with higher current and electroplating time if compared to the original fastener washer. The result of this study confirmed that a strong adhesive corrosion resistant layer to the fastener washer was using the current of 0.4 A (77 mA/cm²) and the electroplating time of 60 minutes.

Abstract: Weight reduction in automotive and aerospace components can improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and increase performance. The adoption of light metals such as aluminium, magnesium and titanium alloys, is essential to these performance improvements; however, these alloys require protective surface coatings to prevent corrosion and resulting mechanical failures during service life. Traditional protective coatings for light-weight materials can be costly in terms of energy, raw materials, and environmental sustainability. New durable coating approaches are required to allow light-weight materials to be fully exploited in high performance applications. Novel Cirrus HybridTM coatings, a recent innovation in surface finishing, can protect a wide range of light metal alloy components using a sustainable, non-toxic process. Cirrus HybridTM coating technology deposits a thin-film, inorganic coating that bonds tightly to the light-metal alloy substrate. The process is energy efficient, does not rely on hazardous chemicals, and is up to 5 times thinner than traditional coatings for light metals. A Cirrus HybridTM coating provides excellent anti-corrosion, scratch, and wear properties, along with superior tribological, electrical, and optical performance. This paper updates the art of these innovative new coating technologies for reducing weight in industrial components without compromising functionality or performance.

Abstract: The Cu/Ni thin film as low-temperature sensor was produced by electroplating on the various deposition times assisted with a 200G magnetic field in the transverse direction to the surface of Cu. The deposition time was varied from 0 to 45s. The liquid nitrogen (LN2) 0°C to -200°C was used as a tested low-temperature medium. The characterization was done on the voltage range and sensitivity. Cu/Ni sensor from deposition within 25s has the largest voltage range that is 128.48 mV and has the sensitivity (S) that has a linear relationship with temperature (T) according to S(T) = 0.287 - 0.002T.

Abstract: The surface treatment conditions of a plastic surface are related to the quality of finished products. Usually, more than 20 causes dominate the success of electroplating for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Thus, the quality control is very complicated and challenging. Even nowadays, most of the production quality still relies on the operator's experience and intuition. This research takes a company of water hardware in Taiwan as the research object. We propose a revolutionary concept of quality management, combining artificial intelligence and surface treatment process altogether. We set up a parameter monitoring system during production to predict the quality of ABS metallization using neural network models such as artificial intelligence forms the basis of the intelligent manufacturing system. It can be used as a quality control tool to improve quality yield and industrial competitiveness. Totally 13 operational parameters (causes) and one quality parameter (consequence) of the electroplating tanks were collected from time to time to build the NN models. Interestingly, we finally find the fuzzy NN model performs better than the precise NN model. We conclude this is resulting from the limitation and vagueness of data.

Abstract: In the current technological evolution, additive manufacturing is taking a lead role in manufacturing of components for both prototyping as well as finished products. Metallization of the polymer parts has high potential to add value in-terms of metallic luster, improved strength, long shelf-life and better radiation resistance. Standard acid copper plating process has been adopted for deposition of copper on polymer parts manufactured by fused deposition modelling (FDM) technique. The parameters namely the etching time, voltage and the surface finish of the manufactured FDM parts are studied for their influence on the surface quality. Experiments have been designed using design of experiments strategy. Experiments have been conducted and surface roughness has been measured. Influence of each of the three parameters has been discussed in detail. For the reported process the optimal value of etching time of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) has been found in the range of 30 to 60 minutes along with applied voltage in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 Volts for copper electroplating.

Abstract: This work is part of a publicly funded project called ReffiMaL (resource efficient material solutions for power electronics), which aims to substitute electroplated Nickel (Ni) as contact material in power electronic modules. The baseplates of these power electronic modules are based on the metal matrix composite material AlSiC, which needs to be coated to become solderable. Today, it is state-of-the-art technology to coat the baseplate with electroplated Ni to form an adhesive layer to the system solder. In this paper we present a performance comparison of physical vapor deposited (PVD) Ni and electroplated Ni. The main advantage of PVD Ni is a significant reduction of layer thickness compared to the electroplating process. Second advantage of PVD Ni is the limitation of the deposition to areas that get soldered, in contrast to a non-selective electroplated coating. When deposited by PVD at room temperature, Ni exhibits columnar growth patterns, whereas electroplated Ni tends to form a laminar layer. The columnar growth leads to an increase in interface area affecting phase formation behavior. To compare both adhesion layers, we investigate the phase formation after soldering with a Sn based soft solder-copper composite material. The baseplates are reflow-soldered at different temperatures and process times. Temperature varied between 270°C and 400°C. The corresponding process time ranged from 10 to 40 minutes. We inspect the samples optically to determine the phase formation. Intermetallic phase (IMP) composition is evaluated using energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). ReffiMaL is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Abstract: For more environmental friendly study, commonly undesired natural process which is corrosion will present. Thus, in this century there is a serious effort in ongoing analysis in order to prevent this phenomenon occurring. The challenge of corrosion in manufacturing and domestic sector is enormous. Thus, corrosion can be defined as the deterioration and destruction of a material because of reaction with the environment. Replacing a corroded pipeline can cost about $643,000 per kilometer. The application of the traffic sign or a road sign that embedded in soil usually can withstand for two to three years until it will corrode and then fracture. The main objectives of this study is to increase the protection on the surface of the materials towards corrosion and to improve the appearance of the product or serves as an effective undercoat for paints which can reduce the cost of using expensive material by using the other method; electroplating process. The samples were plated with zinc at 2, 4 and 6 A/dm² for 20 minutes for every sample. Then, the samples were immersed in the artificial soil solution for 30 days, then the testing to measure the corrosion rate, phase analysis, morphological analysis and hardness test were conducted. From all the tests, sample with 6 A/dm² got the best results with 5.2059 mpy and 80.6 HV hardness strength. It is because by increasing the current density, the thickness will then increase the zinc plating will not easily peel off and attack by corrosive agent.

Abstract: Mechanical engineering is the leading business unit, capable of giving impetus to innovation development of all industry sectors virtually, so restructuring and development of innovative production in engineering industry is an objective and urgent problem of modern times.

Abstract: In order to improve wear resistance surface on 0Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel, Cu coating on the 0Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel substrate was deposited by electroplating technology. The friction and wear properties of 0Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel substrate and Cu coating were investigated contrastively. The morphologies of the wear scars were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and scanning probe microscope (SPM), and the wear mechanism was discussed. The results showed that the wear resistance of Cu coatings was significantly improved as compared to that of 0Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel substrate. The wear scar of 0Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel substrate showed flaking pit, and its wear mechanism were delamination and abrasive wear. In case of Cu coating, the wear scars showed morphology of plastic deformation caused by adherent copper debris being pressed, and its wear mechanism were delamination and fatigue wear.

Abstract: Surface metallization of continuous carbon fibers (CFs) can improve the properties of the interface between the CFs and the metal matrix of the metal based composites. In this study, copper was coated on the surface of continuous CFs by electroplating in acidified copper sulfate electrolyte system. The effects of electroplating parameters such as current density, plating time, plating temperature and the pH value of electrolyte solution on the electroplating of the copper thin films on CFs were studied. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to determine the microstructure of the copper coatings, and its composition and crystal structure. The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to study the thermal stability of the CFs after electroplating. The results showed that high quality copper-coated CFs can be obtained under the optimized plating parameters as follows: the current density 3~4mA/cm², electroplating time 10~20min, the temperature and the pH value of electrolyte solution 3.0~4.0, 20~30°C respectively. The coatings were uniform and smooth, which were adhered to CFs. XRD patterns indicated that the copper coatings were mainly composed of pure copper. And TGA results identified an increase in thermal stability of the copper coated CFs.