"Electroplating"
Electroplating is the most common process used for the deposition of one metal upon another. The process applies electrical energy to disassociate metal ions and deposit them on the part to be plated. The advantage of this process is that it allows control of the thickness of deposit, good adhesion, adjustable brightness and fast rates of deposition.
"Electroless plating (Auto Catalytic)"
Electroless plating is a term that describes the deposition of a metal on top of another surface without the use of electric current. Generally this is a chemical substitution process in which a molecule of metal is substituted for a molecule of substrate.
The basic process is called immersion plating because it limits the amount of deposit to one molecule of thickness.
The advantage of the immersion process is that it provides good coverage and very thin deposits. The disadvantage is the inability to deposit the heavier thinknesses that are needed for corrosion resistance.
A more advanced technique is the use of auto catalytic solutions wherein the first molecule deposited and each subsequent molecule acts as a catalyst to the solution to continue the process of deposition.
The autocatalytic method allows heavier deposits, good coverage and uniform thickness. In general, the electroless deposit is more complex in both composition and application than electroplated.
Our staff will be happy to discuss the application with you.
"Underplating"
A Square Systems offers copper migration control, whisker control, and additional corrosion protection by under plating various compatible metals in conjunction with the final finish. THis allows smaller precious metal deposits. Under plating is also used in conjunction with selective plating. Our engineers are prepared to offer recommendations in this area.
"Selective and Significant Surface Plating"
Selective and/or significant surface plating are special A Square Systems techniques particularly in precious metal plating. Total masking is generally very expensive and lends itself only to high volume production. Significant surface and/or selective plating deposit the required thickness on the necessary areas and minimize the amount of plating thickness on the remaining surfaces.
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