Are you looking to expand the surface finishing options you offer clients? Are you prospecting for new clients? When choosing to expand your plating processes what factors come to mind? Cost? Market for process? Robust system? Application? Waste?
Tin plating is used for several key reasons:
- Solderability; ease with which a soldered joint can be made to the metal substrate
- High Conductivity (i.e. low electrical resistivity)
- Corrosion Protection byisolating the base metal from the environment
- Economical metal relative to other metals with similar characteristics such as silver, gold or platinum.
Tin is used in many different industries such as aerospace, food services, electronics, automotive, telecommunication, jewelry, as well as FDA-approved processes. Each are focal points and vital for the economic stability of our nation.
Given the wide-ranging and essential use of tin, marketing this versatile finish provides you with opportunity to broaden your client base.
Minimal Equipment Requirements
Equipment needed to process tin plating is somewhat minimal when compared to other electroplating processes. Of course, a tank is needed. We recommend PVC-lined (e.g. Koroseal) steel, polyethylene or polypropylene tanks. Filtration is also recommended at one turnover per hour with a 10 – 20 micron filter that is engineered for an acidic environment. Temperature controls need to be in place to keep the temperature around 70 degrees. This usually means only a cooling coil is needed as the process of electrolysis does produce heat. Agitation is needed for solution movement. Barrel agitation is enough for a barrel process and light agitation is required for racks. Cathode rod agitation works extremely well for rack plating.
Furthermore, anodes and anode rails are needed. We recommend the use of tin anodes made of 99.99% tin with titanium hooks. Anode rails should consist of plastic-covered copper rails. The last, but certainly not the least, equipment needed is a rectifier. Ideally, the rectifier would have less than 5% ripple.
Always make sure to consider any restrictions on wastewater discharge. Tin generally presents few issues in wastewater treatment. Each municipality may be different and therefore it is very important to fully evaluate waste treatment issues prior to installing any process.
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