Nickelcoat®

Process and advantages

Electroless nickel plating process involves adding a nickel-phosphorus layer on the surface of the workpiece. Compared to electrolytic processes, such as hard chrome plating, the autocatalytic reduction process offers a more uniform layer thickness distribution. Exact contour coating of complicated workpiece geometries is also possible without any problems. Even internal coatings can be carried out to a certain extent.

In contrast to electrolytic plating, the autocatalytic nickel plating does not require any outside source of electricity. Instead, the workpiece surface is coated with a nickel-phosphor-layer in a chemical bath. 

Electroless nickel coatings are characterized by excellent wear protection. Corrosion resistance is also significantly increased in the process. The phosphorus content can be used to control the hardness and the corrosion resistance of the coating.

Nickelcoat – Electroless process by Bortec

With NICKELCOAT®, BorTec offers an exceptional high phosphorus electroless nickel plating process, which is commonly used as protection against aggressive agents in industrial applications. Compared to other methods, NICKELCOAT® stands out with excellent corrosion resistance in acidic environments.

The autocatalytic reaction results in a uniform layer of nickel throughout the entire workpiece. Furthermore, NICKELCOAT® offers great wear resistance and highly improved galling resistance. In summary, Nickelcoat shows the following characteristics:

• Excellent corrosion protection (no rust after 1000 hrs of sea salt spray testing)
• Uniform coating on geometric complicated workpieces
• Recommended in highly acidic corrosive environments
• Hardness of 45 Rockwell C

Applications

Electroless Nickel Plating finds a wide variety of applications and various industries. These include:

• oil & gas components
• valves
• drive shafts
• rotors
• kitchen utensils