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Should chrome be plated constant voltage or constant current? [Singapore] 

August 4, 2007

I have two shifts of platers who do hard chrome plating. One of them uses constant voltage to do the plating and the other uses constant current and the surface area was given in ASF. What is the difference between using constant voltage and constant current?
I was taught to use constant current and the former place where I worked used constant current,too.

William Tess
Plating shop employee - Singapore

In an ideal world they would be similar. CC does not work as well IF you have a great deal of treeing as it is a massive increase in area and will lower the overall current density.
In a terrible case, it could drop the voltage out of the ideal voltage range for your temperature and anode - cathode distance.

James Watts
- FL