Effect of current density on microstructure and properties of automatic brush electroplated nickel

A new automatic brush electroplating technology was developed to improve the quality and automatic level of electro-deposition. Effect of current density on microstructure and properties of automatic brush electroplating nickel were investigated by SEM, XRD, TEM, X-ray stress tester, micro hardness tester and CETR, and the plating was compared with Watts Ni plated. The results show that automatic brush electroplated nickel has compact and smooth microstructure, without pinholes and nodules etc. defect. With current density from 4A/dm2 increase to 16A/dm2, the degree of (111) preferential orientation decreases and that of (200) preferential orientation increases by degrees; the grain size and internal stress gradually increases; the microhardness fluctuate in 500-600HV, and the loss weight from 6.8 to 5.2 mg.