Benefits of Gold Plating

Benefits of Gold Plating

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The value of gold as a precious metal has been appreciated for centuries across various decorative, functional, and industrial applications. In our increasingly connected world, gold plating's benefits are more significant than ever. They are particularly valuable for high-reliability contacts and connectors, ensuring rapid and consistent signal transmission. Since 1948, Advanced Plating Technologies (APT) has been providing gold plating services to demanding industries, including the interconnect, medical, telecommunications, and defense sectors.

As an ISO 9001:2015 & 13485:2016 certified and ITAR registered company, APT offers gold plating services for even the most challenging applications. The company provides barrel, rack, and vibratory plating of loose-piece components in both hard and soft gold, as well as duplex gold plating. APT offers 99.9% pure (Type III) soft gold and 99.7% pure hard gold (Type I or II) and can provide various underplate combinations to meet nearly any ASTM, military, or OEM specification.

Types of Gold Plating

The primary types of gold plating are hard gold, soft gold, and duplex gold. Here is a brief description of these three major types of gold plating services:

• Hard Gold Plating – In hard gold plating, a small percentage of an alloying element or compound is added to improve hardness and wear properties. Typically, cobalt or nickel is used, but iron and arsenic can also be utilized. Hard gold deposits have a refined grain structure, producing a brighter overall appearance. The increased hardness benefits applications involving repeated engagement or sliding contact.
• Soft Gold Plating – Unlike hard gold plating, soft gold is nearly pure, with purities of 99.9% or more. The grain structure of soft gold is less refined, resulting in a maximum hardness of 90 Knoop. Due to its high purity, soft gold is excellent for wire bonding or high-temperature applications, as there are no alloying elements to oxidize. It is also ideal for low-load, static contact designs, such as lapping connections and is often preferred in medical applications due to its high purity and biocompatibility.
• Duplex Gold Plating – Duplex gold plating combines both hard and soft gold deposits to engineer a finish with the properties of both types. For example, a highly corrosion-resistant layer of soft gold can be top-coated with hard gold to improve wear properties. Duplex gold deposits also have less overall porosity, enhancing corrosion resistance at a lower overall gold consumption compared to single-layer gold deposits.

Gold Plating Benefits

Gold electroplating offers various benefits, such as:

• Electrical Conductivity – Gold is the third most conductive metal, following copper and silver. However, unlike silver and copper, gold retains its electrical conductivity even in extreme conditions and over extended periods since it does not form compounds or oxides. This property is why gold plating is often used on copper and stainless steel contacts to ensure consistent and reliable conductive paths.
• Thermal Conductivity – Gold is the third most thermally conductive metal, following silver and copper. Due to its non-oxidizing nature, gold retains its high thermal conductivity even in extreme applications, such as down-hole drilling or space applications.
• Ductility – Gold's ductility makes it ideal for flexible contacts or springs, ensuring the benefits of gold survive repeated contact cycles. Proper underplate selection and application are crucial to meeting design requirements for gold-plated electrical contacts or springs.
• Non-Reactivity – As a noble metal, gold does not react or form compounds with other elements. This property enables pure gold to be found in nature even after millions of years. The non-reactive nature of gold makes it an excellent barrier coating for corrosion resistance.
• Corrosion Resistance – Gold's unreactive nature makes it highly corrosion-resistant even in extreme conditions. It resists strong oxidizing and mineral acids, corrosive salts, and aggressive compounds like hydrogen sulfide. Gold does not form oxides or compounds, ensuring its properties remain constant, making it ideal for applications exposed to corrosive environments.
• Non-Hazardous to the Body – Gold-plated medical devices can be safely used within the human body without biocompatibility concerns. Gold's natural resistance to germs and bacteria and its ability to withstand autoclave cycles make it ideal for orthopedic tools and devices. Additionally, gold is radiopaque, making it suitable for marker bands or other arthroscopic instruments.
• Visual Appeal – Gold electroplating enhances the appearance of items with a finish that does not tarnish or oxidize easily. The intrinsic value of gold universally denotes a quality product, regardless of the application.

Conclusion

The benefits of gold plating are coupled with a properly engineered finish. Thickness and type are important considerations, but the underplates deposited before the gold topcoat are also critical to the overall success of the finish.

Proper pretreatment and activation of the base metal are essential to ensure the final gold deposit performs at the highest level. APT's technical sales and engineering team can provide design guidance and develop a test plan for any component or application.

For more information on gold plating and other metal finishing services, give us a call today at 414.271.8138. You can also send us a message through our contact form or request a quote link.

Gold Plating in Electronics & Electrical Components | Blog

Most electronics we use daily contain a small amount of gold. While gold is known for its shiny appearance, it has several functional purposes that make it valuable across various industries.

The electronics sector is the primary consumer of gold today. Although rarely seen, gold plays a critical role in maintaining the functionality of electronic components over time. Due to its cost, electronic parts are not made entirely of gold. Instead, manufacturers use electroplating to apply a thin layer of gold over the main material of the component.

Often used with nickel plating, the thin layer of gold protects the component from corrosion, heat, and wear, ensuring a reliable electrical connection. At Sharretts Plating Company, 99% of our gold plating work serves the electronics industry. Over the last eight decades, we have perfected our gold plating (Au plating) processes, offering both electroplating and immersion plating.

What Is Gold Plating?

At SPC, we have developed and applied various gold plating processes. We use electro-deposition, commonly known as electroplating, which uses an electric current to apply the coating. We also use immersion plating, which does not use electricity.

In electro-deposition, gold is connected to the anode (the positively charged electrode) of an electrical circuit. The substrate (the material to be plated) is connected to the cathode (the negatively charged electrode). Both are then immersed in an electrolytic solution.

A DC current is applied to the anode, oxidizing the gold metal atoms and dissolving them into the solution. The dissolved ions are reduced at the cathode, depositing onto the substrate.

Types of Gold Plating Baths

There are three basic types of gold plating baths:

• Alkaline: An alkaline bath is a non-cyanide solution using sodium gold sulfite as the source of gold ions. With a pH level ranging from 9.0 to 13.0, alkaline solutions produce a hard and bright deposit, reducing the co-deposition of base metals. Adding complexing agents can improve conductivity.
• Acid: Acid baths have a low pH of 3.0 to 6.0 and produce exceptionally pure gold deposits, up to 99.999% pure. Acid gold baths allow for alloy formation with base metals, but complexing agents can prevent this.
• Neutral: Neutral baths, with a pH between 6.0 and 8.0, are typically used for plastic or ceramic substrates as they do not contain free cyanide, which can damage these delicate materials.

Reel-to-Reel Gold Electroplating

Reel-to-reel electroplating (continuous electroplating) is frequently used to apply gold to a material. This method plates reels of raw material before shaping them into electronic components. It can coat strips of manufactured parts.

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Gold Rack Electroplating

At SPC, we build our own racking equipment to meet the precise requirements of our clients' projects. Rack plating is ideal for fragile components or large, complex projects. However, creating a uniform deposit can be challenging, and discoloration may appear where the item attaches to the rack.

Gold Barrel Electroplating

Barrel electroplating is efficient and economical for applying a uniform coating to a substrate. This method is less precise and works best for plating the entire surface of an item. It is not ideal for large or fragile components, as they may be too large for the barrel or get damaged during the process.

Gold Immersion Plating

In some applications, immersion plating (not involving electrical current) is used. The substrate is dipped into an electrolyte solution with gold ions, dissolving ions from the substrate material and releasing electrons. This allows gold ions to deposit onto the substrate, typically resulting in a thin coating with properties similar to electroplated gold.

Properties of Gold Plating

Gold's aesthetic appeal contributes to its value, but in the electronics industry, its functionality is key. Gold's physical properties make it perfect for electronic components. It improves conductivity and protects components, ensuring reliable connections last longer.

• Corrosion Resistance: Gold's ability to resist corrosion is invaluable. It does not react with oxygen or rust like other metals. Though gold may tarnish slightly, this is not damaging and can be polished away. Corrosion resistance is crucial for electrical components, preventing oxidation that could hinder reliable connections.
• Expanded Connection Area: Gold is highly ductile and malleable, allowing it to stretch into thin wire and deform under pressure, increasing surface area and enhancing connectivity.
• Protection From Heat: Gold's high melting point (1943°F or 1062°C) and heat conductivity make it suitable for high-temperature applications, protecting materials from heat damage. Increasing plating thickness can enhance heat resistance.
• Reflectivity: Gold’s reflective properties are ideal for semiconductor parts and spacecraft/satellite design. It reflects high amounts of UV and infrared radiation, aiding in keeping electronics cool.
• Resistance to Wear: Gold plating extends equipment lifespan by protecting components from wear. Unlike other metals, gold does not suffer from fretting degradation, preventing corrosion and ensuring durability. Re-plating is easy when wear eventually occurs.

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