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Thursday, November 1, 2007:  Green with ENvy
9:00 am to 10:00am
Matt Sisti, Moderator

$30,000,000 Wasted Every Year – What Can You do to Prevent It?
Bill Fields, Palm International
A review of current commodity prices and trends in the industry are provided by one of the leading producers of nickel metal and chemicals. Increasing nickel prices over the last three-years have driven changes in the plating industry and have also lead analysts to predict even more dramatic changes in the domestic industry. This study provides a three-year overview of nickel prices, trends, and realized and potential impacts to the industry. This review includes perspective from the producers and large/small plating-operations. Price increases have lead to changes in the chemistry of certain operations as the industry adapts to the changing supply of certain commodities.

An Updated Comparison of Electroless and Electrolytic Nickel in a Contemporary Marketplace
Doug Vogel, Sirius Technology, Inc.
This paper will explore and compare deposit properties, process characteristics and economics of advanced electroless nickel technology to conventional electrolytic nickel processes. Several case studies will be presented where electroless nickel proved a viable alternative to its counterpart in terms of both properties and economics.  Conventional comparisons between the processes will be challenged and new applications for EN are offered. Focus will be:

• Technological benefits in terms of wear and corrosion resistance as well as uniformity.
• Economics, in light of extreme metal price volatility, bulk processing and processing efficiency.
• Waste issues; low metal and high temperature benefits and re use and regeneration technologies.

RoHS Effects on Electroless Nickel Market in the United States
Kim Tress,  Heatbath Corporation
The “RoHS” (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) was originally established by the European Union to restrict the use of known hazardous substances in an effort to protect human health and promote environmentally conscience recovery and disposal of products.  This legislature addresses environmental impact, health concerns, and removes the trade barriers that were created by the disparities in the individual Member States laws.  Other countries including Japan, Korea, and China, along with several individual states in the United States have established their own RoHS-like restrictions.  Unfortunately, there are significant differences amongst the various legislatures, not only in the restricted substances or their tolerances and effective deadlines, but also in the compliance testing.  

Certain industries in the United States, such as defense, medical, and portions of aerospace, and telecommunications feel that they are exempt from RoHS, and have not evaluated the RoHS compliant coatings.  Although they are exempt, they will still be affected by availability or performance of new alternatives.

This presentation will compare the various requirements, exempt markets, and address the effect these differing laws have had on the electroless nickel market in the United States.

10:00 to 10:15:  Break

Thursday, November 1, 2007
10:15 am to 12 noon
Kurt Weamer, Moderator

Corrosion Resistance of ELV-compliant High Phosphorus Electroless Nickel
Nicole Micyus, MacDermid, Inc.
High phosphorus electroless nickel (EN) deposits exhibit excellent resistance to corrosive media. Due to regulations in recent years (i.e., ELV, WEE, RoHS), several new high phosphorus EN processes have been introduced using alternative stabilizers in order to comply.  Electrochemical and neutral salt spray testing are used to compare conventional and ELV-compliant high phosphorus deposits The corrosion resistance of a new alloy deposit, developed to offer superior corrosion resistance over standard high phosphorus systems, is also evaluated.  Differences in corrosion resistance due to bath age and deposit thickness are also investigated.

ELV Compliant Electroless Nickel and Pretreatment for Magnesium Alloys
George E. Shahin C.E.F., Atotech USA Inc.
There are two ways to process magnesium for electroplating, zincate and alkaline copper plate and fluoride activation and electroless nickel plate. This paper will discuss a new pretreatment that is hexavalent chromium free pretreatment and also an ELV compliant electroless nickel process.

The electroless nickel pretreatment cycle for magnesium was first developed in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s and is typically referred to as the Dow process. The Dow process characteristically consisted of hexavalent chromium/nitric acid etch and a hydrofluoric acid activation step before direct electroless nickel plating could commence. The new pretreatment cycle is hexavalent chromium and hydrofluoric acid free. This pretreatment cycle consists of an alkaline etch used in conjunction with an acid fluoride activation.

This paper is going to discuss the differences between the old chromic acid etch as compared to the new alkaline etch. In addition this paper will also discuss the differences between the non-ELV electroless nickel process as compared to the new ELV compliant electroless nickel. We will show that the non-chromic acid etch is a significant improvement over the standard chromic/nitric acid etch in both corrosion resistance and adhesion.

Controlling Dynamic EN in a Rigid Nadcap Regimen
Milt Stevenson, Jr., Anoplate Corporation
Anyone experienced in running electroless nickel (EN), is all too aware of the delicate nature of operating the bath – one moment everything is fine and then all hell breaks loose!  It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about plating rate, pH, deposit hardness or corrosion resistance – keeping an EN solution performing at its optimum is like juggling hatchets – you’ve got to keep your eyes on several parameters at once to maintain balance or you’re going to get hurt.   Despite its chaotic reputation, electroless nickel specification writers have altogether ignored this fact and laid out minimum performance values to be met on an on-going basis.  Now comes Nadcap to ensure that these properties are met consistently and repeatedly not only day after day, but part after part after part one year to the next.  If you’re providing electroless nickel to the aerospace world under the auspices of Nadcap accreditation, you’d better be prepared for some turbulence.  This paper will look at some of the controls necessary to deal with the turbulence and smooth out the otherwise bumpy ride.  Fasten your seat belts, sit back and relax – we’re going to Disneyworld!

Bright Electroless Nickel without Cadmium and Lead
Mario Orduz, Uyemura
Excellent brightness of an electroless nickel plate is as important as its other functional properties. Cadmium compounds, although widely known to be very toxic, are used as brighteners.  Some lead compounds are used as a stabilizer/brightener.  Environmental concerns have been raised about the use of lead and cadmium especially in automotive plating.  One theory holds that lead and cadmium compounds may leach out from scrap automobiles and thus cause environmental damage.  The “End of Life Initiative” and “Clean Car Campaign” have been formed in an attempt to reduce or eliminate the use of lead or cadmium in automobiles.  Additionally, the European Commission has called for the removal of lead, cadmium, hexavalent chrome, and mercury from automobiles. 

As a result of this apparent demand to eliminate lead and cadmium, our company has been researching replacement additives for electroless nickel that will maintain bath stability and deposit brightness.  A new electroless nickel process developed produces super bright plating throughout the electroless nickel bath life, without cadmium and lead. This new process has good bath stability, consistent deposition rate, sufficient tolerance to solution metal impurities and low internal deposit stress.  This process is suitable for automatic plating applications, and is extensively recommended to plate on aluminum, steel and copper alloys. Deposit brightness and consistency relating to bath age, temperature, pH, and nickel concentration is discussed in this paper.

11:40 to noon:  Q&A with AM Speaker Panel

Thursday, November 1, 2007
12:00 noon to 1:30pm
General Session Keynote Lunch: Don Kline, Products Finishing Publisher, Moderator

No RoHS without a Thorn - Challenges and Opportunities in Aerospace and Defense
Keith Legg, Rowan Technology Group, Hazmat Alternatives
Finishing processes that use Cd, Pb and Cr6+ are coming under increasing pressure from new environmental and health regulations around the world.  The old stand-bys of Cd plate and Cr6+ for corrosion, and chrome plate for wear are no longer acceptable in many applications in the automotive and electrical equipment sectors.  This opens up opportunities for electroless Ni.

However, since the aerospace and defense industries are exempt from most of these rules, does this mean there are no opportunities in these sectors?  Far from it.  These sectors exhibit an unusual dichotomy that combines conservative engineering with early adoption of better technologies.  Always pushing the performance envelope, they are always on the lookout for better coatings, while DoD, especially, often leads the way in adopting greener alternatives.  We are seeing electroless nickel increasingly called out in place of hard chrome, primarily for wear, but sometimes for corrosion resistance.  Even though HVOF coatings are taking over many hard chrome applications in the aerospace industry, there remain many areas where electroless nickel is the best option.  In addition to regular electroless Ni-P and Ni-B, we are seeing more applications for composites of Ni and PTFE or other materials.

The use of electroless nickel in aerospace and defense is not a simple substitution, however.  Many aerospace alloys cannot take the heat treating temperatures electroless nickel requires for maximum hardness.  Many components are large and difficult to coat perfectly.  Process control is often a challenge for organizations more used to simple electroplating methods.  And there never seems to be enough solid engineering data to drive adoption decisions in these industries.

We will explore some of the applications, both current and potential, as well as the strengths and limitations of electroless nickel as a solution.

Thursday, November 1, 2007: Technology for EN
1:30pm to 2:45pm
Bill Fields, Moderator

High Boron Electroless Nickel: Innovations in plating, a general perspective
Dan Brockman, Techmetals
Over 5-years ago Ron Duncan presented a comprehensive paper on the merits and and applications of electroless nickel and what has happened since, which is not much.  The chemistry is much more challenging than chrome or electroless nickel phosphorous alloys.  Even though nickel boron's time may be coming, it is a time of innovation in the engineering coatings industry.  In today’s competitive climate it is innovate or evaporate. Often times new coating technology comes from defense or aerospace research.  Nickel Boron is from the aerospace industry and was first commercialized over 20-years ago.  Nickel Boron (greater than 3% boron) has some properties and characteristics superior to chrome, yet it hasn’t gained wide acceptance. This paper will review the properties and characteristics superior to chrome, and discuss why it hasn’t yet gained wide acceptance.  It will also review the properties and characteristics of Boron Nickel and explore whether or not new innovations have overcome some of the roadblocks to greater acceptance.

Critical Factors that Affect the Microstructure of ENP Files: "Tools for Optimizing Deposit Performance"
Dr. Alan Ruffini and Lloyd Ploof, Sirius Technology, Inc.
The performance characteristics of Electroless Nickel Phosphorous (ENP) deposits are largely attributed to the degree of homogeneity and uniformity within the films microstructure.  There are many critical variables to consider when formulating EN solutions that afford optimum deposit performance. This paper will explore the effects that working bath formulation, deposit nucleation, diffusion and solution dynamics have on the development of defect free films required for use in high technology applications.

The Benefits of a Steady State EN Plating System
Grant Keers, Peter Longfield Atotech USA Inc. Rock Hill SC, and Graham Orgill, Atotech UK Ltd.,West Bromwich, UK
Every plating process requires and benefits from good process control, none more so than Electroless Nickel. Reaction by products formed during plating, build up in the plating solution, increasing the bath density, reduces the plating rate and adversely affects some of the physical properties such as corrosion resistance. Such by products also limit the effective life of the plating bath, to somewhere between six and ten metal turnovers. At this point the least soluble salts begin to precipitate from the solution and there is little economic sense, in stretching the life of an old plating solution, which becomes more difficult to control and produces inferior quality deposits.

Under these circumstances, process operation has always been difficult, and quality variable.

This steady state process overcomes these obstacles by continuously regenerating the bath with a custom tailored electrodialysis system. It allows EN plating under consistent process operating conditions, producing consistent deposit properties with an indefinite bath life. The process has been in production for the deposition of low, mid and high phosphorus deposits for more than six years, and is now available with ELV, WEEE & RoHS compliant chemistry. The paper will describe the technology and give Industrial examples of successful operation, in one case achieving more than 4,000 metal turnovers – and still going strong.

2:50pm to 3:00pm:  Break

Thursday, November 1, 2007: Technology for EN
3:00pm to 5:00 pm
Brad Durkin, Moderator

Automatic System for Endless Operation of Electroless Nickel
Helmut Horsthemke and Stanley Zabrocky, Enthone Inc.
This paper presents an automatic operating system for sulfate-free processes. The paper details a simplified, low cost means to achieve consistent process operating conditions and deposit properties that will provide improved process performance and reduce operating cost.

Metalizing Plastic Surface for EN Coating
Jack McCaskie, Rohm Haas Electronic Materials
Automotive fuel systems, including tanks, hoses, filler tubes, valves etc. have been recently fabricated not from metal but from blow molded and injection molded plastics. With the goal of saving weight in the container and also allowing greater design freedom for tanks and their placement in autos, plastics such as high density polyethylene (HDPE) have become important in auto fuel systems and their total cost benefit has been favorable compared with welded terne plate and metal tubing.

These polymeric materials while meeting many performance desires of auto industry must be treated by some technique to eliminate a deficiency inherent in their composition, namely permeability to hydrocarbon fuel vapors and potential for electrostatic discharge (ESD). Standalone solutions to the above problems have been achieved by using multilayer materials in plastics used in fuel systems or by using costly plastics with conductive fillers. Proven low cost methods such as fluorination and sulfonation have created surface layers within the HDPE component which effectively inhibit vapor permeation by changing the polar nature of the polymer. In addition, since the surface after treatment becomes hydrophilic the tendency for static charge build up is reduced. Another technique which is potentially less costly, very effective in eliminating ESD and providing an effective vapor barrier for permeation is electroless nickel coating of one or both sides of the auto fuel system part. The thin non permeable non reactive layer of EN with auto fuel provides a new way to solve an industry problem of safety compliance while maintaining the flexibility and performance benefits of plastic substrates.

This paper will outline a process for sulfonation gas treatment system for preparation of the container and fittings, to receive an adherent, corrosion resistant electroless nickel coating. Measurements of conductivity and pictures of the surface before and after exposure to fuel and other criteria of performance will be described.

Electroless Nickel:  Beyond ELV
Mike Barnstead, MacDermid, Inc.
Electroless nickel coatings have evolved incrementally since their inception over 50 years ago.  Recent environmental drivers, such as RoHS and ELV, have had a major impact on the technology commonly used.  Current environmental drivers and their impact on electroless nickel formulation and operation is discussed.

Environmental initiatives and regulations will not likely stand still, and more stringent requirements will likely appear in the future.  Meeting new standards may entail a fundamental technological shift in traditional electroless nickel formulation and operation.  Looking at current initiatives and regulations may give an indication of the direction of future environmental drivers. Soluble nickel salts have been under scrutiny for years, and the expectation is that there will be new, tighter limits on their use.  At the same time, the cost of nickel metal has increased at an alarming rate.  The cost of nickel metal is not expected to drop significantly in the near future.  Technologies designed to minimize the environmental impact, reduce worker exposure, and reduce nickel metal waste will be discussed.

The focus on environmental compliance combined with the change in raw material costs will significantly changed the way we approach our business.  This paper looks at the impact these changes can have on electroless nickel technology, discussing both the environmental drivers and the impact of nickel metal cost.

Cost Savings in Electroless Nickel Despite High World Market Metal Prices
Michael Feldstein, Surface Technology, Inc.
This paper presents a novel way to combat the high cost of nickel in today’s world metal commodity market, and actually save significant expenses.  As nickel metal has reached historic highs on the London Metal Exchange and world markets, so too have the prices of all nickel-plating baths, including electrolytic and electroless nickel.  Composite electroless nickel is a widely accepted and growing segment of the plating industry.  The inclusion of particulate matter within electroless nickel deposits can be a powerful enhancement of the coating’s inherent characteristics, and, in many instances, adds entirely new properties to the plated layer.  In addition to these performance benefits, this paper demonstrates that the inclusion of various types of inert particles within electroless nickel can also reduce the cost of the plated layer.  The rationale is straightforward: the plater can reduce costs by replacing a significant portion of the costly metal alloy with lower cost particles.  In today’s market, this rationale is reality due to the high cost of nickel metal and the decreased cost of particulate dispersions for plating baths due to the growing economies of scale that has been achieved with the increased popularity of composite electroless nickel plating.   Moreover, there are a number of secondary and tertiary cost savings and benefits including thinner layers with greater wear resistance, longer bath life, performance and environmental advantages.

Plating Thick EN Deposits Without Pitting
Michael J. Aleksinas, Metal Chem, Inc
A large number of applications today require electroless nickel deposits that are flawless in terms of uniformity of deposit. Pitting of EN, especially in thicker deposits, has been an ongoing issue which has plagued EN platers for many years.  This paper discusses the many variables that can have a profound effect on pitting.  Variables such as filtration, agitation, substrate preparation, and nickel chemistry will be discussed in detail. Understanding these phenomena and their effects on the causes/prevention of pitting will give platers a better understanding as to how to improve plating thick deposits of EN in the future.       

4:40 pm to 5:00pm: Panel Discussion with Thursday afternoon speakers

Friday, November 2, 2007: Platers Unite!
9:00am to 12 noon
Dan Brockman, Moderator

Increase Profits by Cutting Rising Energy Costs
Erik Daugherty, Palm International Inc.
The Electroless industry has been abuzz as nickel and other commodity prices have climbed higher and higher over the last couple years. Another key commodity, different forms of Energy, is sharing front-page attention as industry, transport, and individuals face the increasing price of petroleum, natural-gas, and electricity. Energy cost increases have focused attention on efficiency. Palm International Inc. recognizes this paradigm shift and has lead efforts to control high energy costs by investing in energy efficiency technology; such as new lighting in offices, warehouses, and production facilities that will reduce energy costs by at least 40 percent and provide quick payback periods ranging from 8-months to less then 3-years. Several clear case studies at Palm International Inc. are outlined in this paper showcasing smart investments that are saving energy and boosting the bottom-line.

An EN Plater’s Experience with the Global Hypophosphite Oligopoly - Exclusive information you can only get at EN 2007!
Fred Viggiano
Fred Viggiano will be joined by two other employees for a panel discussion to share his experiences in what he terms “the hypo wars”. He will provide a very insightful glimpse into what he went through as a large consumer of EN when the hypo market tightened up in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Fred was instrumental in bringing Chinese hypo into the USA market.

Simple Things Platers You Can Do To Reduce Costs and Improve Performance
Kurt Weamer, Regional Sales Manager, OMG Fidelity, Inc.
There are a number of old sayings that highlight the need to focus on the little things. “Concentrate on the little things and the big things take care of themselves” or “Good things come in small packages.” There is a lot of truth to these even today. It is too easy to get caught up with the fires that are going on today, that the little things just seem to disappear.

Over the last twenty years, electroless technology has continued to improve. Chemistries that last longer and that are environmentally friendly. Stainless steel tanks with anodic protection and chemical controllers are just a few things that have helped today’s metal finisher. But in today’s age of minimal margins and increasing costs it is important not to overlook the little things that can have an impact on your bottom line. The simple programs outlined in this paper will help tank maintenance, chemistry and inventory control and will come at little to no additional costs. Discover how implementing these 12 little things may help you in a very big way.

Overview and Optimization of Electroless Nickel Production
Bill Fields, CEO, Palm International Inc.
Industry is focused on optimizing operations in a competitive global market by stream-lining production processes, and decreasing energy costs. This paper provides a primer of Electroless nickel production techniques and equipment, including, tank setups, materials of construction, filtration techniques, pumps, and heat sources..

10:20am to 10:30am:  Break

Building a Solar Powered Plating Plant - Exclusive information you can only get at EN 2007!
Michael Feldstein, Surface Technology, Inc.
Learn about the development this plater has put in place to build a solar powered plating plant. Due to it's proprietary nature, this information will not be printed in the EN 2007 Conference Proceedings book and therefore will only be availabe by attending the session.

Collaboration for Compliance Sakes - Exclusive information you can only get at EN 2007!
Roger Plath , Twin City Plating
After 20 years of playing the cards close to the vest, there is a small contingent within our association that has been working with the state & county enforcement agencies, to ease the compliance burden of current EPA Reg’s. The story is about cooperation, collaboration, sharing best practices, maximizing & pooling resources to improve the business in our market. Whether you consider the entire manufacturing industry or only the metal finishing segment, we have limited resources. It should be our goal to maximize return on our assets or resources. We are making progress as an industry.  Minnesota was successful with “Central Recovery” for haz waste in the 80’s, and we’re trying to be innovative & cooperative again.  This is a story worth sharing.

Platers Unite!  How this Group of Platers Created a Network to Grow Their Business - Exclusive information you can only get at EN 2007!
Dan Brockman, Techmetals
Learn from this group of platers who pulled thier networking power together to discover the strength in numbers. Sensitive to each other's proprietary information, but willing scratch each other's backs, this group will demonstrate how they all benefit by working together, and how you can grow your business by implementing the same strategies.

Conference sessions and times are subject to change.