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Electroless Nickel: Deposit Properties, Specifications and Applications

By Richard Bellemare and Peter Vignati
OMG Fidelity, Inc.
Newark, New Jersey

TABLE I—Plating Rates of Electroless Nickel Solutions

Bath
Low-Phosphorus electroless nickel
Mid-Phosphorus electroless nickel
High-Phosphorus electroless nickel
Nickel-Boron
Plating Rate
(mils/hr)

0.4 - 0.8
0.6 - 1.2
0.2 - 0.6
0.2 - 0.4


Electrical Resistivities
Table II - Electrical Resistivities


TABLE III—Coercivities of Various Deposits
pct P
Three to six pct
Seven to nine pct
>10 pct
Oe1
20 - 80
1 - 2
Non-magnetic


TABLE IV—Corrosion Resistance Using ASTM B117 Salt Spray Test
Coating Thickness Hours to first appearance of rust pits

0.50 mils
0.88 mils
1.52 mils
2 mils
Coating A
24
96
96
96
Coating B
24
96
96
96
Coating C
24
96
96
96
Coating D
250
1000
1000
1000
Coating A - Ni-P (four to five pct P)
Coating B - Ni-P (seven to eight pct P)
Coating C - Ni-P (6.5 to eight pct P)
Coating D - Ni-P (10 to 12 pct P)


TABLE V—Hardness vs. Phosphorus Content
As Plated Heat Treated
Low-phosphorus electroless nickel
Mid-phosphorus electroless nickel
High-phosphorus electroless nickel
700
480
450
930
980
980


TABLE VI—Temperature vs. Time
Temp (C)
260
285
320
400
Time (hrs)
20
16
8
1


TABLE VII—Taber Abrasion Data
Heat Treatment
Ni-P, as plated
Ni-P, 1 hr, 288C
Ni-P, 0.25-1 hr, 400C
Ni-P, 0.25-1 hr, 600C
Ni-B, as-plated
Ni-B, one hr, 400C
Taber Wear Index *
15-20
10-15
6
4
8-12
4
Chromium *Taber wear index = mg/weight loss/100 revs, CS-10 wheels, one kg load. 2


TABLE VIII—Major EN Specifications
AMS 2404
AMS 2405
ASTM B656

ASTM B733

MIL-C-26074E
Electroless Nickel Plating
Electroless Nickel, Low-Phosphorus
Guide for Autocatalytic Nickel-Phosphorus Deposition on Metals for Engineering Use
Standard Specification for the Autocatalytic Nickel-Phosphorus Coatings on Metal
Coatings, Electroless Nickel, Requirements for



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