In precision mechanics processing, nickel plating is a treatment in which certain materials are subjected to modify the surface characteristics such as hardness and resistance to external agents. It is very useful in precision mechanics or precision mechanics for ensuring the corrosion resistance of manufactured pieces.
The process is distinguished chemical nickel plating and electrolytic nickel.
The first can be performed on various materials, from metal, glass and plastic. The procedure is also called electroless plating nickel and consist in a deposition of nickel without the use of electric current, but through the presence in the treatment of a chemical reducing agent, generally sodium hypophosphite solution. The main advantage is that the distribution of the thickness of nickel on the objects processed in the framework precsion mechanics is extremely uniform, even in the case of complex geometric shapes.
The electrolytic nickel plating in precision mechanics processing can only be performed on metal material. The pieces are immersed in specific baths and, through a passage of electric current, there atoms are deposited by a pure material bars, arranged according to some geometric principles. The nickel plating provides corrosion resistance that depends, in addition to the layer thickness, from its porosity, brittleness and adhesion