Electroplating services in daily life

Metals are an extremely important resource for our lives and livelihoods. It is impossible to imagine a world without metals. Over time we have used metals to build our lives and the civilization to get it to where it is now and we have found that some metals are more useful than others. The further combination of different metals has given us alloys that form the backbone of our civilization’s infrastructure. We have found that some metals are resistant to rust while others are shiny and attractive to the eye. Our knowledge has helped us use metals to our advantage and to meet our needs.

What is electroplating?

Electroplating is one of the countless processes that help us use metals to our advantage. It is basically a process in which an object that conducts electricity is coated with a layer of metal with the help of electrical current. Electroplating is primarily used to deposit an adherent surface layer of metal with certain desirable properties onto a substance that does not have such properties. The property could be anything, such as wear and abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, lubricity, aesthetic qualities, etc. Electroplating is useful for both decorative and functional purposes. The process is also used in industries to increase the thickness of undersized machine parts. It is widely used in various industries such as automobiles, machinery parts, jewelry, etc. There are many companies that offer electroplating services as solutions for various types of people and industries.

To describe the electroplating process in layman’s terms, it involves immersing the material to be electroplated in a solution that contains one or more salts and dissolved metal ions that allow electricity to flow. Dissolved metal salts include those of the metal to be plated with. Another plate or rod of the metal that will form the lining is dipped into the solution. Now electrical current is passed through the solution, resulting in the deposition of the metal onto the material to be coated.

Electroplating Benefits

The benefits and uses of electroplating are varied. It is used for both industrial and decorative purposes. One of the most common is the use of plating for brass or copper electrical connectors. This is because silver has a much lower surface electrical resistance than other metals and therefore makes electrical connection easier. This is widely used in radio frequency (RF) connectors since radio frequency current flows mainly on the surface of the conductors. Chrome plating is widely used to protect steel parts of automobiles against corrosion. Noble metals such as gold and platinum are widely used to plate jewelry and decorative items to give them an attractive, shiny finish. Nickel is also used to coat decorative items, automobiles, and machine parts against abrasion and corrosion, and also to build up and thicken undersized machine parts.

Electroplating services offered by different providers have many uses in our daily lives, both in terms of utility and decoration.