How to do electroplating step by step?

Your object is now nice and clean, its time for the main event -- electroplating!

With competitive price and timely delivery, Ruisite sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

To assemble an electroplating system, you need two metal objects, a container, an electrolyte (like salt water), some wire, and a power supply.

In the example in the picture there is a bucket of salt water, a horseshoe that has been cleaned, a wire the goes between the horseshoe and one end of the battery, and a wire that goes between a chunk of zinc and the other end of the battery. A long strip at the end of the wire has been stripped of its insulation so there is a long section of good contact between the horseshoe and the exposed copper wire. I wrapped the wire around the tip of the horseshoe several times to hold that wire securely in place. If I wanted to coat the whole horseshoe, I would periodically take it out of the bath and shift the wire wrap farther down the horseshoe. I used a 9 volt battery to power my electroplating system.

When you are electroplating, the two metals objects are connected to the battery but not each other. The part of the metal you want coated needs to be completely submerged. For this trial, I was resting the horseshoe on the side of the bucket so that only the tip of the horseshoe would be coated with zinc.

The solution, called the electrolyte, contains ions which are atoms with an electrical charge. When you use salt water, the ions are positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chlorine atoms that form when sodium chloride is dissolved in water. The two metal objects are called electrodes. The electrodes and electrolyte choices make a difference in how well the electroplating system works. These electrodes and electrolyte make a complete circuit with the battery so energy will flow from the battery through one of the electrodes to the electrolyte taking some of the metal ions from that electrode to the other electrode where some of those metals ions are deposited and then back to the battery to repeat the cycle. The electrode that is connected to the positive end called a positive terminal of your battery is the metal that you are using to plate your object, so the piece of zinc in my zinc plated iron horseshoe example. The electrode that is connected to the negative terminal of the battery is the object you want to plate so the iron horseshoe in my example. I used sodium chloride because I had lots of cheap sodium chloride around, but to get an even better coating you can match the metal ion in your electrolyte solution with the metal you want to coat. For example, if you are coating something with copper you can use a copper sulfate solution for your electrolyte. Or for my example I could have used a zinc sulfate solution instead of sodium chloride. Just remember to research how to properly dispose of your left over solution according to the disposal rules in your area when you finish with your experiment.

This article was co-authored by Bess Ruff, MA . Bess Ruff is a Geography PhD student at Florida State University. She received her MA in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara in . She has conducted survey work for marine spatial planning projects in the Caribbean and provided research support as a graduate fellow for the Sustainable Fisheries Group. This article has been viewed 285,550 times.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit electroplating machine.

Article Summary

X

Electroplating household metals is the process of coating them with a different metal, and you can easily do it at home. You&#;ll need muriatic acid, a 6-volt DC lantern battery, 2 alligator clips, a piece of copper metal, and a container large enough to submerge the metal you want to electroplate. First, you&#;ll need to scrub the surface of your metal with dish soap and an abrasive cleaner to remove any dirt and oil. Then, dilute your muriatic acid with water in your container. Connect your battery's positive terminal to the copper and the negative one to your metal, and submerge both metals in the acid solution. When you&#;re satisfied with the look of its coating, remove it and leave it to dry. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Don&#;t forget to wear goggles and gloves to protect yourself from the acid. For more tips from our Science co-author, including how to electroplate metal with a metal ion electrolyte solution, read on!

Did this summary help you?

For more Hot Dip Galvanizing Machine For Metal Productinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.