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-----Having trouble barrel plating parts that float
Q. Hello, my Name is Rajeeve and I am having trouble with Barrel Plating Polyester Buttons.
If I plate the buttons using the rack method, the results are perfect. But when I try and do the same in barrels or baskets, the results are really bad.
The results are okay until Electroless nickel plating. But once I put these buttons (either in baskets) or Barrels in the acid copper bath, I am in trouble as the buttons turn dull and a very poor coating of copper is deposited.
Am stuck as I cannot plate small buttons individually on a hanger or rack (also this ruins the holes).
Need some serious help as to how to plate bulk buttons either in barrels or baskets.
Thanks
Product Designer - New Delhi, New Delhi, India
2007
A. The buttons are probably so light that they almost float, Rajeeve. The result is they slowly "flutter" down through the solution rather than lying in a mass on the danglers. As an experiment you might try either propping up the barrel, or lowering the solution level, so no solution is above the buttons in the acid copper plating tank and see what happens as they roll rather than float. I think they will plate okay without the need for media. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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2007
Q. What happens when you tin plate less copper component in a big volume of a barrel? I mean a very small load of components and they are so light in weight in such a way that they stick to the barrel. Will the component be plated?
Annah Maileplaters - South Africa
April 12, 2013
A. Hi Annah. If the parts stick to the barrel, you have no chance of successful plating and must get a different style barrel, such as with a dimpled interior surface so there's no capillary action sticking parts to the barrel. But if the problem is just parts that are too light or a load that is too small, you may be able to successfully plate them in a smaller barrel, or with a reduced solution level, or possibly with the addition of conductive media (this is of course wasteful because the media gets plated).
Although it is possible to get 'floating danglers' of one sort or another, they only work if the parts reliably float, just as the conventional danglers only work if the parts reliably sink.
There used to be a weird arrangement where 5 or 6 small barrels were arranged on a large circular framework, like the cars on a ferris wheel. The ferris wheel revolved fast enough to keep the parts plastered against the periphery while the inner barrels rotated slowly to expose the different surfaces to be plated. Thinking about it now, it seems like that would fling solution to the ceiling and everywhere else; I saw them for sale but never saw one in actual operation 🙂
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
April 15, 2013
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