Can Sulfamate nickel on aluminum act like an insulator?

Hello-
Sorry, I'm new to Finishing dot com, so I will phrase my questions the best that I can. We recently had a vendor plate an Aluminum piece with dimensions of 2"x2"x0.1" using Nickel Sulfamate. We expected the piece to be conductive because sulfamate nickel should have a resistivity of approximately 2.1336E-05 ohms-in. However, when we received the plated piece they act like insulators when we take ohms measurement. Could the vendor plated incorrectly? Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks,

Mike,
Are you saying that there is no electrical contact between the nickel and the aluminium? As a rule of thumb, all metals conduct electricity, so in theory the aluminium-nickel system should be conductive. The preparation of aluminium for electroplating involves the "zincate process" which in itself does not create a very good conducting layer, but once the full process has been completed, the final sandwich should be OK. I would suggest you check to make sure the nickel coating is electrically conducting - if it isn't there is something horribly wrong with the nickel, or your meter doesn't work properly!

Seems the aluminum has a weathered oxide. Just punch the meter leads in a little harder and it WILL pass current.

Thank you for all your help, I will try your suggestions.

Thanks,