Electroless Nickel Plating Electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) is also known as chemical or autocatalytic nickel plating. Electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) is a chemical reduction process which depends upon the catalytic reduction process of nickel ions in an aqueous solution (containing a chemical reducing agent) and the subsequent deposition of nickel metal without the use of electrical energy. To achieve good adhesion to the aluminum substrate in the electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) process, a zinc immersion coating is used as a pre-treatment. Due to its exceptional corrosion resistance and high hardness, the electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) process finds diverse applications on items such as valves, pump parts etc., to enhance the life of components exposed to severe conditions of service. The electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) process is particularly useful in the oil field and marine sector. Also in chemical processing (heat exchangers impellers etc.), plastics (molds, dies and extruders), textiles (printing cylinders, machine parts etc.), automotive (shock absorbers, heat sinks, gears, brake pistons, etc.) aviation and aerospace (satellite and rocket components, rams, pistons etc.) and food and the pharmaceutical industry. With a correct pretreatment sequence and accurate process control, good adhesion and excellent service performance can be obtained from electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) deposited on a multitude of metallic and non-metallic substrates. Electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) deposits are very uniform in thickness over the part’s shape and size. The electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) process offers distinct advantages when plating irregularly shaped objects, holes, recesses, internal surfaces valves or threaded parts. The selection of a specific grade of electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) is done in accordance with the nature of the application. When a high hardness and low coefficient of friction is desired, low phosphorous electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) is preferred. For general applications where a bright finish is required and operating conditions are not very corrosive, medium phosphorous electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) is used e.g... Printer rollers, machine components, plastic molding dies etc. When conditions of use are severely corrosive, a high phosphorous electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) is selected. The high phosphorous electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) is amorphous in nature and is compressively stressed unlike the low and medium phosphorous electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) processes which are Crystalline and tensile stressed. In general, low phosphorous electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) and especially electroless nickel boron are considered solderable. Mid and high phosphorous electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) are far worse for solderability. Cobalt, iron tungsten, rhenium, molybdenum, Teflon and electroless nickel diamond are a few of many combinations of poly alloys available in the electroless nickel plating (electroless plating or EN) process for special applications. Technical Plating can handle all of your electroless nickel plating needs including low phosphorous electroless nickel plating, medium phosphorous electroless nickel plating, and high phosphorous nickel plating. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or quoting needs! References: Electroless nickel plating at Corrosion Doctors. Electroless nickel plating at Wikipedia.