The process of nickel plating has been around for a while and has been in use with many industries. Among the many industries that use nickel as a form of plating, defense, military, aerospace, and the field of medicine for decorative purposes are more common. Many metals are said to use nickel plating including steel, zinc, and stainless steel. At times, it was used for decorative purposes. However, there have been many other uses of this process and they include providing durability and anti-corrosion properties for metals.
Common Advantages
The thickness of the plating determines the purpose of nickel plating in various industries. It can be anywhere between 0.00001 to 0.0020 in thickness depending on the use and the metal that it is coated on. This thickness is often specific to electroless nickel plating.
Some of the salient advantages of nickel plating and they are as follows:
- Improving Hardness of the Metal
- Providing Resistance to Corrosion
- Adding Strength
- Makes Metal Versatile
- Resisting Wear and Tear
- Improving Overall Ductility
A nickel plating company can provide the metals used in your specific industry with these important properties. Moreover, the plating of nickel on metals can be done with precision by these companies depending on the purpose it is done for.
Electroless Nickel Plating
In the earlier days of nickel plating there was electricity that was used to apply nickel on to any metallic surface. However, with electroless plating there is a specific type of chemical used to plate the metals with nickel to attain specific benefits like the ones stated above.
Electrolytic Nickel Plating
The use of direct current to plate a metal with nickel is known as the process of electrolytic nickel painting. However, it is said to have fewer advantages when compared to electroless nickel painting and is also said to be less accurate in terms of application or plating.