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Composite diamond electroplating



Q. We are interested in plating a composite electroless nickel diamond particle coating. Can someone give me an idea of how such a system is set up and where one can get the diamond particulate?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Joel Mitchell
- Greenbelt, Maryland
2000


A. I know that at one time General Electric was offering these diamond particulates already nickel plated for easier occlusion but I'm not sure if they still do. This is a field which is quite highly developed and where numerous patents are in place. You might want to start with Surface Technology [Trenton, NJ] as they have specialized in this for decades.

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2000


A. I just read an article by this Surface Technology folks in the Jan. 2000 issue of Metal Finishing magazine. References also mention several patents.

Mandar Sunthankar
- Fort Collins, Colorado
2000



? Hi Joel,

Are you looking to actually plate the diamond particles with EN for use in making abrasive tools such as grinding wheels, which as Ted points is a product that GE specializes in, or are you looking to coat a substrate with an EN/diamond composite?

Rick Richardson, MSF
Dayton, Ohio
2000




Multiple threads were merged: please forgive repetition, chronology errors, or disrespect towards other postings [they weren't on the same page] :-)



Q. I would like to know is composite diamond coating made by electroless nickel mix with fine diamond powder?

Warjaya Kurniawan
- Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
2002


A. Yes. The diamonds can be imbedded in either electroless nickel or electrolytic nickel. One approach would be to contact one of the patent holders like Surface Technology for a license.

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2002


A. Composite diamond is small diamond particles co-deposited with either electroless or electrolytic nickel, or any other suitable metal "binder". Electrolytic nickel is often preferred because of its control, but electroless can give better thickness distribution. The trick to getting a uniform distribution is to have sufficient agitation in the electrolyte to allow the diamond particles to slowly settle out onto the workpiece at a consistent rate.

trevor crichton
Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2002



A. To supplement Ted Mooney's response, the diamonds can also be embedded into nickel formed by the Nickel Vapour Deposition process. The technique we have used before, is to grow nickel on top of a graphite substrate (with diamond coating). Then that substrate is coated (by the vapour deposition process) to whatever thickness of nickel is needed.

The graphite can then be destroyed (e.g. by sand-blasting) to leave the diamonds embedded in the surface of the nickel.

Our process will grow thick nickel, with diamonds on the surface, to a depth of up to 2cm. In the CVD process, nickel will grow at the rate of 1mm thick in 4 hours.

We hope this helps.

mick omeara
Mick O'Meara
- Toronto, Canada
2002


A. The most common application of diamonds in nickel deposits is by nickel sulfamate solution.

sara michaeli
sara michaeli signature
Sara Michaeli
Tel-Aviv-Yafo, Israel
2002




Multiple threads were merged: please forgive repetition, chronology errors, or disrespect towards other postings [they weren't on the same page] :-)



Q. Dear sir,

I want to know the process of electroplating or electrodeposition of diamond on tools for stone cutting and dental tools. I do not have any experience on this subject.

Kindly help me out.

Nishant R [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Bangalore , India
2003


A. Hello Nishant.

Basically, the diamond particles are embedded into nickel plating as the plating is conducted. The diamonds are suspended in the nickel plating solution and, as the nickel deposits, the diamonds are occluded.

Sometimes the diamond particles that you buy are already nickel plated. You need an agitation system (a fluidized bed) to hold the particles in suspension, probably a surfactant to properly "wet" the diamonds, and perhaps sometimes a thixiotropic agent is added to the solution to help maintain the suspension.

But most of the information is carefully guarded trade secret rather than generic information. You can obtain a license from Surface Technology in Trenton, New Jersey or another licensor of technology for nickel-diamond composite plating and they will tell you everything you need to know to do it. Your question, in a specialty that is very closely protected, is unfortunately a bit difficult to publicly discuss in very much detail.

Good luck!

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2003


Q. Dear sir,

I had earlier inquired about electrodeposition of diamond process. I received response from your side and thank you for it. Anyway you suggested me to contact Surface Technology for further information. I mailed them and they don't seem to be interested in my query as they are not responding. So please suggest me someone if available in India or any Asian country; it would be very helpful if yourself explain the process to me. The gesture would be very appreciated.

Thanking you regards,

Nishant R [returning]
- Bangalore, Karnataka, INDIA
2003

Ed. note: Sorry, this RFQ is old & outdated, so contact info is no longer available. However, if you feel that something technical should be said in reply, please post it; no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?)




A. Sorry that my advice did not work out for you, Nishant :-(
It's usually not a good idea to publicly comment on private contact with a third party -- because fairness demands that the readers hear the other side after they've been given the impression that the other party lacked the courtesy to respond :-)

You misspelled your e-mail address -- a common mistake, but it made an e-mail response from them impossible. Even had you not mistyped it, you offered no contact info except a free e-mail at rediffmail.com -- a well-known spam site; it could be that they found it impossible to receive mail from you or send an e-mail response. Two of my ISPs filter out all e-mail to & from rediffmail. Free e-mail addresses are often an impediment to conducting business.

Your letter to them didn't say anything about your interest in licensing the technology as I suggested it should do, nor did you offer any info about your need; it just said you knew nothing about this technology and wanted to know about it. I'm 99+ percent confident that you'll get a response if you fax them a letter that says "We manufacture xxxx number of xxxxx per month of xxxxxx, and we are interested in plating them with diamond particles. We understand that you've developed processes for this and we would like to know more about it and the terms under which we could license this technology".

There is not much I personally know about the technology. Diamond particles are suspended in a slurry of electrolytic or electroless nickel so that when the nickel deposits on the substrate, the diamond particles are occluded into the matrix as a composite coating. But what wetting agents are needed for the diamonds, and what thickening agents (if any) are used, and what sort of agitation system or fluidized bed keeps the particles in suspension, and what adjustments (if any) to plating concentrations, temperatures, voltages, and amperages are required, are closely held trade secrets. Good luck!

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2003


A. Nishant R,
Here's a little tip coming from a 21 year old then, been electroplating since I've been 14.

Knock down current "AMPs" before removing your plated item to reduce burning on the TIP's of your subject. If this is not done the carbon build up will cause the diamond and nickel bond to flake off after prolonged use.

Nishant R, that's one trade secret for ya.

David Tausch
- OHIO USA
February 1, 2011


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Ed. note: Thanks David!



Q. Sir,
I need details of how to make electrodiamond coatings; which chemicals and how much percentage.
Sir, am interested in the work, so help me.

R .Thiyagarajan
diamond tools - Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
January 3, 2013


A. Hi Thiyagarajan. What is your starting point? Do you know whether you want to use electroplating vs. electroless plating (very different chemicals). Are you already experienced in nickel electroplating or electroless nickel plating, and have the equipment and the diamond particles? Your quickest path, although maybe not the only path, is to obtain a license for this technology. Thanks!

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 1, 2013



June 25, 2018
20662ext1

A. Here is a link to a study done in India for electroless plating of nickel and diamond. It provides ingredients, some methods and results.

John Pemberton
- S.L.C. Utah USA


----
Ed. note: Thanks John!



Q. Is there anyone who can help me to give process detail for electroplating diamond coating process, or is there anyone which can set up our diamond coating process?

Sanjeev sharma
- Baddi himachal india
November 28, 2020

Ed. note: Sorry, this RFQ is old & outdated, so contact info is no longer available. However, if you feel that something technical should be said in reply, please post it; no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?)



A. Not really sure what you mean here - do you want to electrodeposit diamond onto a substrate? if so - it can't be done unless you use a diamond suspension and co-deposit it with a metal such as copper or nickel. If you want to coat an article with a diamond layer, you will need to use vacuum technologies. This is well documented by the razor blade industry, where virtually all good razer blades are now coated in a diamond like layer (DLC - Diamond Like Carbon). The trick here is to get sp3 deposits as opposed to sp2, which is graphite and much softer. The separation of sp3 and sp2 is usually done with a magnetron.

trevor crichton
Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
November 30, 2020




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