The plastic parts first need to be cleaned to remove dirt and grease from the surface. This includes cleaning with an alkali agent and neutralizing with an acid dip to ensure that the surface is clean and free of contamination
Author: Anna
The process of plating plastic parts mainly includes the following steps:
Pre-treatment: The plastic parts first need to be cleaned to remove dirt and grease from the surface. This includes cleaning with an alkali agent and neutralizing with an acid dip to ensure that the surface is clean and free of contamination.
Sensitization and activation: The surface of the plastic part needs to be sensitized and activated to increase its surface roughness and prepare it for subsequent metal deposition.
Chemical Plating of Copper or Nickel: A layer of conductive metal, such as copper or nickel, is deposited on the surface of the plastic part. This step is performed by chemical plating, utilizing colloidal palladium as a catalyst.
Electroplating: In addition to chemical plating, an electroplating process is performed. Typical plating layers include nickel, copper, and chromium to obtain the desired luster and corrosion resistance.
Post-treatment: After plating is completed, post-treatment, including polishing and sealing, is performed to ensure uniformity and durability of the plated layer.
Difficulties and considerations in plating plastic parts:
- Conductivity: Plastic itself is not conductive, so the surface needs to be treated to make it conductive, usually using graphite coatings or other conductive materials.
- Surface Treatment: Pre-treatment of the plastic surface is very important and directly affects the adhesion and appearance quality of the plated layer. Steps such as roughening, sensitizing and activating need to be strictly controlled.
- Plating uniformity: The plating process needs to ensure the uniformity of the plating layer to avoid edge effect and local uneven thickness. 3
The above steps and precautions can ensure the quality and effect of plastic parts plating.