Overview
Silver has the most applications in comparison to any other plated metal. Silver plated metal objects are used in almost any industry and it’s difficult to replace any other metal in its place. In addition to this, Silver is the least expensive precious metal of its group. Silver also has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity and light reflectance of any current known metal, and the lowest weight and melting point of the precious metal group.
Common application of silver plating are to increase a product’s life cycle by replacing the material coating of choice of a tin or alloy coating. Silver plating is also commonly used to plate components used in electrical contacts such as conductors, silver plating is used in specialized mirrors, windows coatings and in catalysis of chemical reactions.
Key Performance Properties of Silver Plating:
Specifications:
| Silver Electroplating Capabilities | ||
| Electroplating Material | Silver | Bright or Matte Silver |
| Copper Alloy (Non Ferrous) Substrates | Beryllium Copper (BeCu) | Copper |
| Tellurium Copper (TeCu) | Brass | |
| Zinc Diecasting | Leaded Brass | |
| Nickel Alloy (Ferrous) Substrates | Carbon Steel | Nickel |
| Leaded Steel | Spring Steel | |
| Stainless Steel | Molybdenum | |
| Kovar | Elkonite | |
| Invar | Alloy 42 | |
| Specifications | AMS-2410 | ASTM B700 |
| AMS-2411 | QQ-S-365 | |
| AMS-2412 | ||
| Electroplating Characteristics | Silver has the Highest Electrical and Thermal Conductivity of Any Current Known Metal | Silver has the Highest Light Reflectance of Any Current Known Metal |
| The Least Expensive of All Precious Metals | Lowest Weight and Metling Point of the Precious Metals Group | |
| Excellent Lubricity | ||
| Process | Electroplating | Deburring |
| Vibratory Finishing | ||
| Cleaning | Tumbling | |
| Application | Rack | Selective |
| Barrel | ||
| Automation Capabilities | PLC Controlled Process | |
| Pre-Plate Operations | Etching | Masking |
| Bright dip | Tumbling | |
| Post Plate | Chromate | Tarni-Ban |
| Dip Spin Laquer | ||
| Electroplating Thickness | 5 to 500 µin | |
| Part Width | Up to 12 in | |
| Inspection | Microscope (Visual up to 500x) | |
| Testing Ability | X-Ray Fluorescence | Steam Age/ Salt Spray |
| (Thickness / Composition) | Ammonium Sulfide | |
| Cross Section | Copper Sulfate | |
| Hardness | Potassium Hydroxide | |
| Solderability | Eddy Current | |
| Bake | AA (Atomic Absorption | |
| Adhesion | Spectroscopy) | |
| Purity | ||
| Product Volume | 1 to 1,000,000 pieces | Prototype to Large Volume Production |
| Typical Lead Times Available | 3 to 5 days | |
| KANBAN / Inventory Management System | ||
| Quality | Statistical Process Control | Control Plans |
| Traceability | Process Validation Protocol | |
| Web Based Tracking | Equipment Validation Protocol | |
| PPAP | Lean Six Sigma | |
| PFMEA | ISO9001:2008 Certified | |
| Documentation | Certificate of Conformance | |
| Packing List | ||
| Additional Information | ||
| Industry Focus | Medical | Military |
| Automotive | RF Microwave | |
| Electronics | Battery/ Hardware | |
| Intended Applications | Safety Critical Parts | |
| High Reliability Parts | ||
| Certifications | ISO 9001:2008 | |
| Industry Standards | ASTM | RoHS |
| Mil-Spec | EEIC | |
| File Formats | ||
| TIFF | ||
| RTF | ||