Letter 38016

Surface roughness of gold [California] 

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I am electrochemically plating a cobalt-based medical implant with gold after using a gold strike (Technic ACR 96). There is some concern with the roughness of the part after plating. It has been suggested to "bake" the gold at 350F for 30 minutes. Does this sound reasonable or are higher temps better?

Dave Lowe
Medical Device Engineer - San Francisco, CA, USA

More information would be helpful. How much thickness are you applying? Do you filter the gold solution? At what current density (Amperes per sq. ft.) are you plating? What alloy are you depositing?

Daryl P. Spindler, Sr., CEF
- Greenbrier, TN

I am vacillating between 5 and 9 microns, but leaning towards the 5 microns. The actual plating is being outsourced and the filtration scheme and current density have been not been disclosed. The alloy is a type III soft-gold per ASTM B488 [link is to info about spec at TechStreet]
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It has been suggested to sinter the parts as opposed to a low temp, long dwell heat treat.

Dave Lowe
Medical Device Mfg. - San Francisco, CA, USA

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