Common Faults of Cyanide-Free Alkaline Copper and How to Deal with Them

Common Faults of Cyanide-Free Alkaline Copper and How to Deal with Them

Author: Robby

Cyanide-free alkaline copper plating technology has been widely used in the electroplating industry because of its environmental protection and high efficiency. However, in the actual operation process, various faults may occur, affecting the plating quality and production efficiency. The following is a detailed analysis of these faults and how to deal with them:

Common faults and treatment methods

1. Uneven plating: This fault may be caused by uneven distribution of current density, fluctuation of plating solution temperature or imbalance of plating solution composition. The solution includes:
   • Adjust the current density to ensure that it is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the plated part.
   • Strictly control the plating bath temperature to avoid too high or too low temperature affecting the quality of the plated layer.
   • Regularly test and adjust the composition of the plating solution to keep it within the optimum process range.
2. Poor plating bonding: This fault may result in peeling or blistering of the plated layer and is usually related to improper pre-plating treatment, contamination of the plating solution, or quality problems of the substrate. Solutions include:
   • Strengthen the pre-plating treatment to ensure that the surface of the substrate is clean and free of oil and grease to improve the bonding of the plating to the substrate.
   • Clean the plating solution regularly to remove impurities and contaminants from it.
   • Select a reliable supplier of base material to ensure that the quality of the base material meets the plating requirements.

Principles and operating conditions of the cyanide-free alkaline copper plating process

The cyanide-free alkaline copper plating process uses a non-cyanide electrolyte instead of the highly toxic cyanide electrolyte, avoiding cyanide poisoning of workers and environmental pollution. The specific operating conditions are as follows:

• Raw materials and operating conditions: the amount of pure water, type and amount of solution, pH value, temperature, etc. for hanging and barrel plating are specified in detail. For example, for hanging plating, 60L of deionised water is added to the plating tank, 30L of 200A solution (containing 900g of copper) is added, the pH value is adjusted to 9.5 with 50% KOH solution, and the temperature is controlled at about 50℃.

By strengthening the process control, regularly testing the plating solution composition and keeping the equipment clean, etc., the probability of failure can be effectively reduced, and the plating quality and production efficiency can be improved.