Electroless nickels cut out lead and cadmium
A
MacDermid product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Aug 10, 2006
Niklad ELV electroless nickels are free from lead and cadmium giving full compliance with the ELV, RoHs and WEEE directives.
Since commercialisation in the early 1950s electroless nickel formulations have traditionally utilised small amounts of lead and cadmium salts as stabilisers and brightening components.
These codeposit as metals within the nickel phosphorus alloy in parts per million concentrations and up until the introduction of the EOLVD, have not been a problem.
Most standard commercialised electroless nickel baths available today still contain lead and cadmium.
Typically, high phosphorus EN deposits containing 10-13 % phosphorus typically contain 250-350ppm of lead (0.025-0.035%) but would normally not contain cadmium.
Medium phosphorus deposits containing 6-9 % phosphorus typically contain 500-650ppm of lead (0.05-0.065%) and 1000-1200ppm of cadmium (0.1-0.12%).
Niklad ELV additives and the resulting coatings do not contain any elements restricted by RoHS, WEEE and ELV directives.
Niklad ELV deposits being lead and cadmium free are ideal for recycling, and so automotive and electronics manufacturers can be sure that they are complying with current legislation.
Electroless nickel deposits are often chosen as engineering finishes as they provide properties that cannot be found in the underlying base material.
The hardness values of the new and conventional deposits are essentially identical and fall within the ranges expected for the particular deposit phosphorus contents.
That is between 450 and 1000 HK100 depending on the phosphorus content and post plate treatment.
Electroless nickel coatings are very wear resistant due to the high hardness of the deposits, Niklad ELV are also similar to conventional systems as the wear is dependant on the phosphorus content and deposit thickness.
The neutral salt spray resistance between conventional and lead- and cadmium-free deposits is also identical.
The NSS resistance depends on the phosphorus content and thickness of the deposit rather than whether a deposit contains lead or cadmium, and can range from 24 to greater than 1000h.
One advantage with the lead- and cadmium-free systems may be better corrosion protection.
Lead and cadmium can and do cause edge pullback and skip plating that can result in corrosion failure.
Many of the new lead- and cadmium-free systems have the same basic formulation backbones as the conventional systems, the only differences being the types of stabilisers and additives.
As such, the phosphorus contents are comparable and behave similarly over a bath's life.
MacDermid has produced a full range of ELV electroless nickel chemistry covering all the standard levels of phosphorus and so meeting the requirements of engineers to provide a deposit that gives the required properties such as corrosion resistance, wear resistance or high hardness.
Niklad ELV 811 high phosphorous electroless nickel deposits offer maximum corrosion resistance and protection.
Deposits contain between 10 and 13% phosphorous and meet the specification requirements of ISO4527, ASTM B-733 Type V and AMS 2404.
The processes are well suited for high build applications giving a smooth, pore and pit-free finish.
Niklad ELV 809 medium phosphorous electroless nickel deposits contain 6 to 9% phosphorous.
Medium phosphorus deposits are the most widely used type providing good corrosion protection with superior wear and hardness properties that satisfies a broad range of engineering requirements.
Niklad ELV 805 low/medium phosphorus electroless nickel contains 4-6% phosphorus in the deposit offering maximum hardness and wear resistance.
Not what you're looking for? Search the site.
Contact MacDermid
Tel +44 121 606 8100
Other MacDermid stories
-
MacDermid launches black electroless nickel
MacDermid has launched the Niklad Eclipse black electroless nickel, which allows the production of a deep black finish by the use of a post-plating immersion dip onto a duplex coating. -
Meeting the needs of the aluminium finisher
MacDermid Oxidite Systems offer pre- and post-treatments for the aluminum anodising industry - cleaning, etching, desmutting and sealing. -
MacDermid shows its range of paint pre-treatments
MacDermid offers a range of paint pre-treatments that offer improved paint bonding and corrosion resistance. -
Macuplex systems provide plating on plastics
MacDermid's Macuplex is a range of plating on plastics pretreatment systems used by applicators for everything from automobile parts to home appliances and mobile phone antennas. -
Pressure testing fluid cuts environmental impact
Vinbrite BIO PTF is suitable for pressure testing applications such as valves, cylinders, vessels, heat exchangers, actuators, fittings, joints, pipes and tubes.
Browse by category
-
Capital Equipment (3,533)
- Capital Equipment (1)
- Compressors and Air Treatment (546)
- Electrical hardware (131)
- Electronics Manufacturing, Tools, Instruments (192)
- Machinery and Production Equipment (1,133)
- Manufacturing Machinery and Plant Equipment (478)
- Production line blowers and fans (74)
- Robotics, Handling and Storage (978)
- Consultancy and Services (927)
-
Control and Instrumentation (5,142)
- Cabling, Conduit, Signal Conditioning (818)
- CNC and Motion Controllers (190)
- Control and Instrumentation (3)
- HMIs/Operator Interfaces (297)
- Logic Controllers, Timers and Relays (96)
- Mid-range and Large PLCs (204)
- Plant- and Machine-Wide Communications (1,210)
- Plantwide control (1,354)
- Power Supplies, Uninterruptible Power (577)
- Smaller-Sized PLCs (393)
-
Drives, Motors and Controls (3,451)
- Drives, Motors and Controls (2)
- Industrial Drives/Controls (1,293)
- Industrial Motors (502)
- Linear Drives and Motors (121)
- Precision Motors and Gears (434)
- Stepper and Servo Drives, Motors, Controls (1,097)
-
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Design (4,328)
- Batteries, chargers and circuit protection (588)
- Connectors, Terminals, Busbars, Slip Rings (724)
- Electrical and Electronic Components (653)
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Design (4)
- Electrical and Electronic Subassemblies (377)
- Enclosures and Equipment Cooling Fans (722)
- Knobs, Handles and Enclosure Hardware (430)
- PCs and Embedded Systems (830)
-
Engineering Design Software (6,388)
- 2D CAD software (203)
- 3D CAD software (1,199)
- CAM, CNC, production management software (583)
- Data, document management software (324)
- Electrical design software (168)
- Engineering Design Software (17)
- FEA and structural analysis software (377)
- File conversion software, data capture (358)
- Fluid, thermal, noise, vibration software (340)
- Materials design and moulding design software (153)
- Maths, charting, statistics, QA software (325)
- PLM and collaboration software (665)
- Process, instrumentation, automation software (269)
- Publishing and documentation software (234)
- Rendering, visualisation, styling software (208)
- Simulation, modelling, validation software (965)
-
Engineering Industry News, Resources (6,199)
- Electronic Resources for Engineers (273)
- Engineering Business News, Views (388)
- Engineering Conferences (438)
- Engineering Education, Resources, Standards (851)
- Engineering Exhibitions, Events (578)
- Engineering Guides, Newsletters (354)
- Engineering Industry Developments, Awards (635)
- Engineering Industry News, Resources (4)
- Engineering Industry Reports, Surveys (597)
- Engineering Recruitment, Employment (219)
- Engineering Seminars (421)
- Engineering Training Courses (458)
- Health and Safety Consultancy, Software (180)
- Health and Safety Events, Training, News (285)
- Health and Safety Legislation (403)
- Health and Safety Strategy, Risk Assessment (115)
- Machine Building (4,633)
-
Materials and Processing (3,045)
- Materials and components (2,276)
- Materials and Processing (5)
- Materials processing and testing (292)
- Rapid Prototyping (472)
-
Monitoring, Measurement and Quality (5,683)
- Data Acquisition Hardware and PC I/O Boards (491)
- Data acquisition Software and Communications (505)
- Data loggers (428)
- Electrical and Electronic Testing, PAT Equipment (645)
- Form/co-ordinate, optical, vision instruments (766)
- Gauges, Indicators and Instruments (449)
- Materials testing equipment (439)
- Monitoring, Measurement and Quality (1)
- Telecomms/network test equipment, software etc (159)
- Testing and Calibration Services and Information (522)
- Testing, analysing and monitoring equipment (1,278)
-
Powertrain Design (3,724)
- Bearings (986)
- Chains and belts (334)
- Gears, brakes, couplings and engines (1,483)
- Hydraulic Components (475)
- Lubricants (441)
- Powertrain Design (4)
-
Sensors (7,325)
- Accelerometers and Vibration Sensors (450)
- Barcode Sensors (103)
- Flowmeters and Flow Sensors (650)
- Gas, Chemical, Radiation, Magnetic Sensors (292)
- Humidity and Environmental Sensors (158)
- Level Sensors and Leak Detectors (539)
- Linear Position Sensors (418)
- Loadcells, Force Sensors, Torque Sensors (733)
- Pressure sensors (644)
- Proximity Sensors (715)
- Rotary Position, Tilt and Angular Sensors (567)
- Sensors (12)
- Temperature sensors (627)
- Vision and Colour Sensors (1,417)
- Small Mechanical Components, Joining, Tools (2,059)
- Valves, Pumps, Process Hardware (3,733)
