NICKEL PLATING SERVICES PER QQ-N-290, ASTM B689, AMS 2403
Advanced Plating Technologies (APT), a Milwaukee, Wisconsin company, provides functional nickel plating services to QQ-N-290, ASTM B689 and AMS 2403 including both Watts and sulfamate nickel bath formulations. APT’s expertise in providing exacting barrel, rack and vibratory nickel electroplating services is currently employed in numerous industries including the medical, telecommunications, power distribution, petrochemical and electronics industries.
APT offers a wide range of nickel plating services including both Type I “unbrightened” and Type 2 “brightened” deposits. APT has the ability to underplate with copper plating if required or specified to enhance adhesion and corrosion resistance of the final deposit. For applications that demand the highest in ductility, our company offers a proprietary process called Ducta-bright 7a® nickel. This nickel system was developed by APT’s engineering group specifically for application within the ammunition industry. It is unmatched in ductility and adhesion for demanding applications that require a nickel deposit to be crimped, bent or formed post-plate.
Nickel Plating Services – Nickel as an Underplate
Nickel electroplating is commonly used as an underplate for tin plating, silver plating or gold plating for several design reasons. For parts made from copper or copper alloys such as brass, a nickel underplate provides a barrier to intermetallic diffusion between the base material and the topcoat of tin, silver or gold. This is especially important for applications that will operate at elevated temperatures (e.g., 300F) since the higher temperatures increase the rate of diffusion of the base metal into the plated layers. Nickel also forms an excellent foundation or structure to softer metals such as tin and gold for applications that require repeated cycling such as in fuse stabs or contacts in switches. Finally, a nickel underplate provides improved corrosion resistance of the overall plated layers by helping form a more effective barrier between the environment and substrate than just a single layer of gold, silver or tin.
ISO 13485:2016
ITAR Compliant
ISO 9001:2015
Federal Firearms License
ISO 13485:2016
ITAR Compliant
ISO 9001:2015
Federal Firearms License
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What Type of Nickel?
Tin vs Nickel Plating
Prevent Darkening of Nickel
Deposit Thickness
|
Nickel |
NICCOLUM |
| Atomic Number – Qty Protons: | 28 | Thermal Conductivity – W/(cm*K): | 0.91 |
| Atomic Weight – g/mole: | 58.69 | Electrical Resistivity – nOhm*m: | 69.3 |
| Density – g/cm3: | 8.9 | Hardness – Hv, Hb: | 638 Hv |
| Melting Point – C°: | 1455 | Specific Heat Capacity – J/(g*K): | 0.44 |
Nickel is a silvery-white metal with a slight golden or yellow hue. Nickel is a hard transition metal with limited ductility; its ductility is reduced further when electroplated in a brightened condition. Nickel is a fairly reactive element forming compounds with both oxygen and sulfur. However, nickel electrodeposits are slow to react in standard atmospheric environments due to the formation of a thin, protective oxide film which affords good corrosion performance on most products. Nickel has an extremely high melting point of 1455C (2651F) making it an excellent coating for high-temp applications.
Most nickel in the earth’s crust exists as nickel oxide or nickel sulfide and not as pure nickel due to nickel’s reactivity. Meteoric nickel has been found as an alloy of iron and nickel and its use has been found to date back as far as 3500 BCE. Nickel is one of four elements including iron, cobalt and gadolinium that are ferromagnetic at room temperature. For this reason, nickel is commercially used with iron in the production of magnets. The greatest use of nickel in industry is in the production of stainless steel with over two thirds of the world’s nickel production being used for this purpose.
|
Nickel |
NICCOLUM |
| Atomic Number – Qty Protons: | 28 | Thermal Conductivity – W/(cm*K): | 0.91 |
| Atomic Weight – g/mole: | 58.69 | Electrical Resistivity – nOhm*m: | 69.3 |
| Density – g/cm3: | 8.9 | Hardness – Hv, Hb: | 638 Hv |
| Melting Point – C°: | 1455 | Specific Heat Capacity – J/(g*K): | 0.44 |
Nickel
NICCOLUM
| Atomic Number – Qty Protons: | 28 |
| Thermal Conductivity – W/(cm*K): | 0.91 |
| Atomic Weight – g/mole: | 58.69 |
| Electrical Resistivity – nOhm*m: | 69.3 |
| Density – g/cm3: | 8.9 |
| Hardness – Hv: | 638 |
| Melting Point – C°: | 1455 |
| Specific Heat Capacity – J/(g*K): | 0.44 |
Nickel Plating Services – Nickel Deposit Properties
Nickel is a silvery-white metal with a slight golden or yellow hue. As-deposited electrolytic nickel can have a very bright reflective shine, a satin appearance, or a full-dull matte luster. Nickel is one of the four ferromagnetic materials at room temperature and is a fairly reactive element. However, nickel deposits are slow to react in standard atmospheric environments due to the formation of a protective, oxide surface, providing excellent corrosion performance on most products. Nickel has an extremely high melting point of 1455C (2651F) making it an excellent nickel coating for high-temp applications.
For applications requiring a bright or lustrous appearance, bright watts nickel plating should be utilized. Bright nickel systems have organic additives that refine the grain structure of the nickel and deposit with a self-leveling effect to enhance luster. However, these additives can impair the solderability or brazing of the nickel and also result in a more highly tensile stressed deposit with reduced ductility. APT’s proprietary Ducta-bright 7a Nickel is an anomaly in the subset of bright watts nickel systems as it couples a bright nickel appearance with an excellent ductility.
For joining applications involving soldering, brazing or laser welding, sulfamate nickel plating is recommended. Sulfamate nickel produces a highly pure nickel deposit free of organic additives, resulting in a 99.9% pure nickel deposit with a satin to dull appearance. Unlike traditional brightened watts nickel systems, sulfamate nickel produces a compressively stressed deposit making is an excellent choice for crimping or flexing applications and as an underplate to gold plating applications including lead frames and interconnect pins.
As a general rule, un-brightened nickel deposits such as sulfamate nickel provide the best corrosion resistance as co-deposited inorganic compounds degrade corrosion performance. Minimal corrosion protection is provided in thicknesses less than 0.0003 inches, whereas good corrosion performance generally occurs between 0.0005-0.001 inches of nickel plating. More information regarding corrosion protection of nickel deposits can be found within the Plating Topics section of our online Technical Library.
Nickel Plating Services – Watts Nickel vs Sulfamate Nickel
For applications requiring a bright or lustrous appearance, bright Watts nickel plating should be specified. Bright nickel systems have organic additives that refine the grain structure of the nickel and deposit with a self-leveling effect to enhance luster. However, these additives can impair the solderability or brazing of the nickel and also result in a more highly tensile stressed deposit with reduced ductility. APT’s proprietary Ducta-bright 7a® Nickel is an anomaly in the subset of bright watts nickel systems as it couples a bright nickel appearance with an excellent ductility.
For joining applications involving soldering, brazing or laser welding, sulfamate nickel plating is recommended. Sulfamate nickel produces a highly pure nickel deposit free of organic additives, resulting in a 99.9% pure nickel deposit with a semibright appearance. Unlike traditional brightened watts nickel systems, sulfamate nickel produces a low tensile or compressively stressed deposit making is an excellent choice for crimping or flexing applications and as an underplate to gold plating and silver plating applications including lead frames and interconnect pins.
As a general rule, un-brightened nickel deposits such as sulfamate nickel provide the best corrosion resistance as co-deposited inorganic compounds degrade corrosion performance of nickel plating. Unlike sacrificial coatings such as zinc, nickel plating provides barrier corrosion protection by providing a barrier between the environment and the base material. An effective pore-free barrier is only formed at higher deposit thicknesses. Minimal corrosion protection is provided in thicknesses less than 0.0003 inches, whereas good corrosion performance occurs between 0.0005-0.001 inches of nickel plating. A true pore-free barrier occurs at thicknesses greater than 0.001 inches. A copper underplate is highly effective at enhancing corrosion resistance as it helps create a pore-free layer at lower total deposit thicknesses. More information regarding corrosion protection of nickel deposits can be found within the Plating Topics section of our online Technical Library.
Nickel Plating Services – Advanced Plating Technologies’ Capabilities
Specifications
QQ-N-290, Class 1 & 2
ASTM B689
AMS 2403
ISO 1458
Most Company Specifications
Finish Type
Bright Nickel
Semi-Bright (Satin)
Dull or Matte
Sulfamate Nickel
Watts Bright and Unbrightened Nickel
Woods Nickel Strike
Part Size Limitations
32 Inches x 30 Inches x 12 Inche
Substrates Plated On
Ferrous: All Ferrous Alloys Including Mild Steel, Stainless Steels, Hardened Steels & Tool Steels
Cuprous: All Cuprous Alloys Including Pure Copper, Copper Alloys Including Tellurium & Beryllium, Brass, Nickel-Silver
Aluminum: All Aluminum Alloys Including Wrought, Cast and Proprietary Alloys (MIC-6)
Exotics: Inconel, Pure Nickel (Nickel 200), Cobalt-Chrome (MP35N), Kovar, Monel, Hastalloy, Monel, Lead
Underplates Provided
Copper
Electroless Nickel (Aluminum Alloys)
Heat Treatments
Hydrogen Embrittlement Bakes
Stress Relieving Bakes
High Temperature Bakes up to 750F
Methods
Barrel
Rack
Wire
Vibratory
Selective Loose Piece Plating
Sheet Product (Chemically Milled/Etched Sheets)
Segmented Strips (Frets)
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Nickel Plating Services – Nickel Plating Specifications
The two most common nickel-plating services certified by Advanced Plating Technologies are QQ-N-290 & ASTM B689. APT can also certify nickel plating services to ISO 1458, AMS 2423 and AMS 2403 well as most company-specific nickel specifications. A summary of the nickel-plating types per the ASTM and MIL specs is as follows:
Nickel Plating Services to QQ-N-290
Class 1 – Corrosion Protective Plating
Class 2 – Engineering Plating
Table 1 Lists the Following Minimum Thicknesses:
Grade A – 0.0016 Min Thickness Plating
Grade B – 0.0012 Min Thickness Plating
Grade C – 0.0010 Min Thickness Plating
Grade D – 0.0008 Min Thickness Plating
Grade E – 0.0006 Min Thickness Plating
Grade F – 0.0004 Min Thickness Plating
Grade G – 0.0002 Min Thickness Plating
QQ-N-290 Class 1 Categories:
SB – Single Layer Bright Nickel Deposits
SD – Single Layer Dull or Semi-Bright (Satin) Deposits
M – Multilayer Nickel Deposits
3.2.5 Underplating: When specified in the contract, purchase order or applicable drawing, Class 1 plating shall be applied over a plating of copper on steels, copper and copper-based alloys. Class 1 plating shall be applied over an underplating of copper or yellow brass on zinc and zinc-based alloys. In no case shall the copper underplate be substituted for any part of the specified nickel thickness.
3.3.1 Thickness of Plating
3.3.1.1 Class 1 – Unless otherwise specified, the minimum thickness of Class 1 nickel plating shall be as specified in Table 1 on any visible surfaces, which can be touched by a ball 0.75 inch in diameter.
3.3.1.1.1 Unless otherwise specified, the minimum nickel plating for ferrous materials or for zinc-based alloys shall be Grade C. Unless otherwise specified, the minimum nickel plating copper and copper alloys shall be Grade D. If the maximum thickness for Grade A is not specified in the contract, order or applicable drawing, the thickness shall not exceed 0.002 inch on all visible surfaces which can be touched by the 0.75-inch diameter ball.
Nickel Plating Services to ASTM B689
Type 1 – Nickel Deposits Plated from Solutions Free of Brighteners Hardeners or Stress Control Additives
Type 2 – Nickel Deposits Plated from Solutions Containing Sulfur or Other Co-deposited Additives
Type 3 – Nickel Deposits Containing Dispersed Submicron Particles such as Silicon Carbide, Tungsten Carbide or Aluminum Oxide to Increase Hardness or Wear Resistance
Classes – Class indicates minimum deposit thickness in microns (µm). e.g. Class 5 is a deposit of 5µm minimum thickness.
