ELECTROLESS NICKEL COATING (ENP)

Chemical composition:
The nickel plating shall be of high phosphor type, minimum 10% P.

Pretreatment:
The area of the component intended for plating shall be polished to a fine and smooth surface.

The pretreatment shall be documented in a procedure and include the following operations: alkaline cleaner, electro cleaning, etching and activation by a nickel strike intermediate layer.

.Plating thickness
The plating shall have a minimum thickness of 0.035 mm.

Bath ageing:
The maximal number of turnovers shall be 5.

No heat treatment is required. Any heat treatment shall be agreed with the Company.

The test specimen shall be made of the same material as the components. The test specimen shall be coated in the same bath at the same time as the components. The dimensjon of the test specimen shall be 20 x 100 x 3-6 mm. The test specimen shall be bent 180 degrees over a mandrel with diameter four times the thickness of the specimen. The acceptance criterias are:

- Fine cracks in the coating on the tension side is acceptable

- No spalling is acceptable

Hardness testing by the Vickers method shall be performed on the bend testing specimen. The minimum hardness shall be HV 500 when using a load of 100g.

Visual inspection of the components.

The plated surface shall be free from pores, pitting and cracks.

All operations including pretreatment and testing shall be presented in a plating procedure.