
plating, anodizing, & finishing Q&As since 1989
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Current carrying capacity of nickel plated plastic?
December 10, 2008
will nickel plating on plastics like abs carry current? and is there a way, maybe by thickness of plating to tell how many amps or resistance?
Dave Andersonbuyer - Fergus Falls, MN, USA
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December 13, 2008 Electroplated nickel has a specific resistance of about
8-9 micro-ohm-cm. electroless nickel phosphorous ranges from
30 to 90, Tin-lead solder is 13-16, gold is about plated gold is about 3-4 ![]() Don Baudrand Consultant - Poulsbo, Washington (Don is co-author of "Plating on Plastics" [affil link to the book on: Amazon or AbeBooks ]) December 14, 2008 Nickel is a metal so it will conduct electricity. However, very thin layers of electroless nickel are poor conductors because they often include a lot of oxide and are discontinuous. It is very common to put down a couple of microns of nickel and then thicken the metal layer electrolytically, but it is important that the metal layer is adequately conducting, otherwise you will burn the layer and create a high resistance area. ![]() Trevor Crichton R&D practical scientist Chesham, Bucks, UK |
December 15, 2008
1-Yes. 2-Yes.
Nickel on top of anything will conduct electricity. Its conductivity is well known.
G. Marrufo-Mexico
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
