Electro Deposition

Electroplating is an electrochemical process that uses direct current to deposit a thin, coherent layer of metal onto a component. It is widely used to enhance surface performance – improving wear and abrasion resistance, corrosion protection, lubricity and appearance – and can also restore thickness to undersized parts.

In electrodeposition, the component to be coated acts as the cathode. The anode is typically made from the metal being deposited. Both are immersed in an electrolyte solution containing dissolved metal salts and conductive ions.

When current is applied, the anode oxidises and releases metal ions into the solution. These ions are then reduced at the cathode surface, forming a uniform metal coating. The rate of anode dissolution matches the rate of deposition at the cathode, ensuring the electrolyte remains continuously replenished and the process remains stable and efficient.

Cadmium
Copper
Hard Chrome
Nickel
Silver
Tin
Zinc

CADMIUM

SPL is the region’s leader in Cadmium plating. Cadmium plating gives a silvery white metallic appearance with excellent corrosion resistance. The metal is also reasonably hard and very ductile therefore making it useful as a coating for work that requires flexibility.

We offer the following finishes for Cadmium:

Chromate Passivate
Passivate with SocaSurf (non-Chromated)
Olive Drab

COPPER

Copper plating is the process in which a layer of copper is deposited on the item to be plated by using an electric current. At SPL, we offer a cyanide process. Copper is used as an undercoat or as a mask, prior to nitriding.

HARD CHROME

Hard chrome is used to reduce friction, improve durability through abrasion tolerance and wear resistance in general. We offer the following different Chrome.

Processes:

Hard Chrome
Nickel/Flash Hard Chrome

NICKEL

Nickel electroplating is a process of depositing nickel on a metal part. Parts to be plated must be clean and free of dirt, corrosion, and defects before plating can begin. To clean and protect the part during the plating process, a combination of heat treating, cleaning, masking, pickling, and etching may be used.

We offer Dull Nickel as a nickel-plating process.

SILVER

Silver has excellent lubrication and anti-galling properties. The even white matt coating produced is used extensively in high performance applications to prevent assemblies of similar materials from welding’ together thus allowing easy disassembly for servicing. Silver is particularly effective where threaded stainless steel components are assembled in high temperature applications.

We offer the following different silver processes:

Silver
Heat Treatment (450°C Max)

TIN

The tin-plating process is used extensively to protect both ferrous and nonferrous surfaces. Tin is a useful metal for the food processing industry since it is non-toxic, ductile and corrosion resistant. The excellent ductility of tin allows a tin coated base metal sheet to be formed into a variety of shapes without damage to the surface tin layer. It provides sacrificial protection for copper, nickel, and other non-ferrous metals, but not for steel. Tin is also widely used in the electronics industry because of its ability to protect the base metal from oxidation thus preserving its solderability.

ZINC

Zinc coatings prevent oxidation of the protected metal by forming a barrier and by acting as a sacrificial anode if this barrier is damaged. Zinc oxide is a Fine white dust that (in contrast to iron oxide) does not cause a breakdown of the substrate’s surface integrity as it is formed. Indeed, zinc oxide, if undisturbed, can act as a barrier to further oxidation, in a way similar to the protection afforded to aluminium and stainless steels by their oxide layers. The majority of hardware parts are zinc plated, rather than cadmium plated.