Activation is an important pretreatment process in electroplating. It can remove oxidation and dirt on the metal surface, increase surface activity and enhance chemical reactivity with the electroplating solution.
Author: Marisa
I. Necessity of activation treatment
Before electroplating, metal parts need to be activated. This is because there are substances such as oxidation, rust, and oil on the surface of metal parts, which can cause poor electroplating effect, reduce electroplating speed, and cause electroplating to fall off. Therefore, activation treatment of metal parts that need to be electroplated can improve the physical and chemical properties of the metal surface, increase its chemical reactivity with the electroplating solution, and reduce conductivity, thereby improving the electroplating effect. At the same time, activation treatment can also improve the uniformity of electroplating and reduce the cost and time of electroplating.
II. The process of activation treatment
There are two ways of activation treatment: chemical activation and mechanical activation. Among them, the treatment steps of chemical activation are as follows:
1. Cleaning: First clean the metal parts with hot water and remove surface oil, dust, and impurities. Organic solvents or alkaline washing chemical methods can be used for cleaning.
2. Degreasing: Put the metal parts into the oil stain cleaning tank to remove noise, black skin, oxides, etc.
3. Pickling: Soak the cleaned and deoiled metal parts in acid to remove the surface oxide layer and the oxide between the metal.
4. Activation: Put the metal parts into the activation tank to remove the remaining oxides and other impurities in the pickling. At the same time, the chemical liquid in the activation tank can add a passivation film on the surface of the metal parts to increase the surface activity.
5. Rinse with clean water: Rinse the activated metal parts with clean water to ensure that there is no chemical liquid residue on the surface.
6. Drying: Put the rinsed metal parts into the oven for drying to prepare for subsequent electroplating.
III. Precautions
When performing activation treatment, you need to pay attention to the following points:
1. Different metal materials and shapes require different activators and treatment methods.
2. During the activation process, it is necessary to control the temperature and immersion time to prevent excessive activation or excessive cleaning from causing excessive surface reactivity and affecting the electroplating effect.
3. Different types of pickling solutions and activation solutions have different chemical properties, and you need to read the instructions carefully for processing.
IV. Conclusion
Activation is an important pretreatment process in electroplating. It can remove oxidation and dirt on the metal surface, increase surface activity and enhance chemical reactivity with the electroplating solution, thereby improving the electroplating effect and reducing costs and time. Before electroplating, it is necessary to pay attention to selecting the appropriate activation solution and treatment method, controlling the treatment time and temperature, and ensuring the cleanliness and activity of the metal surface.