Letter 29023

Electroless Nickel  

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I am making a heatsink from Copper C110 . The heatsink is plated with electroless nickel for costmetic reasons . Does nickel of 0.005mm reduces the thermal performance of the parent copper.

James Lee
Engineering - Singapore

The thermal conductivity of EN Is about 100 times less than copper. However, because of the very thin layer used, its effect on the performance of the heat sink will not be significant. In fact, over time, it may improve its performance by preventing corrosion of the copper.

Ron Duncan Palm International, Inc. - LaVergne, TN

Ed. note: It is our sad duty to alert the readers to the passing of Ron Duncan on Dec. 15, 2006. For those who would like to know more about him, a brief obituary opened Update No. 13 of our Metal Finishing Industry Update Podcast.

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