Specialized Plating Methods in PCB Fabrication
Finger Row Electroplating
- Rare metals like gold are plated on board edge connectors to reduce contact resistance and increase wear resistance.
- Gold plating is applied over a layer of nickel on protruding contacts.
- Steps involved in the gold plating process include stripping, rinsing, scrubbing, activating, nickel plating, gold penetration, and thorough cleaning.
Through-Hole Plating
- Electroplating layer is applied to the walls of drilled holes in a substrate.
- Specialized de-staining and etch-back chemical technologies are required to remove resin accumulation on hole walls.
- For PCB prototyping, a low-viscosity ink can form a high-adhesion film on hole walls, eliminating the need for multiple chemical treatments.
Reel Linkage Selective Plating
- Used for electronic components like connectors and integrated circuits to achieve good contact and corrosion resistance.
- Materials like nickel, gold, silver, or alloys are selectively plated on metal foils.
- Batch processing is employed to reduce costs.
Brush Plating
- Electroplating technique that selectively plates specific areas of a PCB, such as board edge connectors.
- Commonly used for repairing discarded circuit boards in electronic assembly workshops.
- An anode wrapped in an absorbent material delivers the electroplating solution precisely where needed.
