Summary for lcp plating issues Discussion
LCP plating issues are the focus of this thread, where SP Liu asks for help with electroless copper and electroless nickel on LCP parts used in electronic components after seeing bubbles, peeling, and yellow stains. The only reply comes from an unnamed contributor who says they do not have direct LCP plating experience, but notes that good electroless adhesion depends on proper substrate etching and asks what etching method is being used and whether the LCP is conductive or otherwise metallized first. The responder also points out that electroless nickel can tarnish and turn yellow, so an anti-tarnish post-treatment may be needed. No one reports a confirmed root cause or final fix, so the discussion remains a troubleshooting exchange centered on surface preparation and post-treatment.
Q. Dear Community Members,
We are currently engaged in electroless copper and electroless nickel plating on LCP materials used in electronic components. However, we have encountered several challenges after the EN process.
Bubble, Peeling Off and Yellow Stains
We kindly request insights and solutions from experts in the field. If you have experience with LCP plating or have successfully resolved similar issues, please share your expertise.
Your valuable input will greatly assist us in enhancing our plating processes. Thank you in advance for your assistance!
SP Liu
Employee – Malaysia Johor
May 30, 2024
A. Hi Liu,
I have no experience in plating of Liquid Crystalline Polymers, but good adhesion of electroless plating requires etching of the substrate. What are you doing for etching? Is your LCP conductive, or what are you doing to metallize the surface?
Electroless nickel can tend to tarnish (turn yellow), so anti-tarnish post treatments are sometimes applied.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
A. Dear Sir,
LCP is mainly Aromatic polyester so it’s not like ABS; so I think etching, which is the key for ABS plating, will not be so successful. Maybe filler will help, or plating with direct plating (semiconductors method) is therefore better.
Raafat
Raafat Albendary
PARTNER – Riyadh saudi arabia
July 31, 2024
⇩ Similar, related, Q&As — oldest first ⇩
COC = cyclic olefin copolymer
LCP = liquid crystal polymer
RFQ: I am designing a part that requires a Ni (or Cr) plating on a plastic substrate. I am currently considering either a COC or LCP plastic (will consider others but have stringent requirements) The application requires a reflective surface — 1 µm is more than enough, also need the vapor barrier so thicker is desirable. The parts need to stand up to standard rel testing 85%RH 85 °C thermal cycling -40 °C to 85 °C. These are very small parts (about 10 mm x 6 mm x 4 mm) right now I need to make a couple of hundreds, we hope to get up to thousands per month when we go to production with the part.
I’m looking for a job shop experienced with these or similar materials.
Michael Martin
OEM Laser Diode Produces – Madison, Wisconsin, USA
November 15, 2009
Ed. note: This RFQ is outdated, but technical replies are welcome, and readers are encouraged to post their own RFQs. But no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?).