What is Selective nickel plating?

Selective Nickel Plating is an electrochemical process used to deposit nickel on almost any conductive material and virtually any type of surface without immersing the part in a plating bath. It offers several significant advantages over conventional plating processes, the most important of which is the ability to deposit metal precisely onto the area where it is required, and in varying and closely controlled uniform thicknesses. The deposits have excellent adhesion, are dense fine grained, low in porosity and are deposited without generating any damaging heat. The process can be used on single parts or high volume production runs.

The theory of selective plating is simple.  The D.C. power pack (rectifier) supplies a negative current to the work piece and a positive current to a hand held, or in some cases, a fixtured electrode (anode).  The anode is covered with an absorbent material (ex. Scotch Brite, Cotton Dacron Sleeving) which holds the plating solution.  The anode is either dipped or the plating solution is constantly pumped up to the area being plated.  The anode is then applied to the workpiece by the operator, or the workpiece moved over a fixed anode.  This movement will allow even plating build-up on the entire area being plated.  Plating occurs only where the anode contacts the workpiece.

advantages of selective nickel plating

Selective Nickel Plating should be considered whenever industry builds up metal for repair or resizing, or for mechanical or corrosion resistant properties. The plater can take equipment used in brush plating to the work, often avoiding disassembly, reassembly, and downtime. Brush plating, or selective plating as it is also known, affords numerous benefits over other metal repair processes such as welding, thermal spraying, or bath electroplating including: