[A_Steingrube] published a guide to his favorite copper electroplating method. Plating copper on other metals is popular with the steampunk crowd, but it does have other uses. Copper plates are often used as a preparatory step for electroplating other metals such as nickel and silver. It also (usually) increases the conductivity of the metal to be plated. [A_Steingrube] The copper acetate plating method is used. The novelty of his method is that he chose to use household chemicals to make his own electrolyte solution. Copper acetate is made by mixing distilled vinegar and household hydrogen peroxide in a 50/50 ratio. Heat the mixture and put in a copper scouring pad. The scouring pad partially dissolves, provides copper ions, and makes the solution blue.
The next step is to clean the material to be plated. [A_Steingrube] Cameo aluminum and stainless steel cleaners are used for this, but we think any good degreaser can be used. The actual electroplating process involves connecting a piece of copper to the positive electrode of a 6-volt battery. Use copper scouring pad again because of its high surface area. The material to be plated is connected to the negative electrode of the battery. He warned that it is necessary to keep the solution and the material being plated in constant motion to avoid serious "burning spots" after the electroplating process, which may peel off. The results speak for themselves. As with any bare copper material, if left unprotected, the electroplated layer will quickly oxidize.
Finally, there is an easy-to-follow electroplating tutorial using household materials! Some time ago I tried to do some plating with a cracked PC power supply. It seemed to work a bit, but it took a long time for the jacket to be wiped off by finger pressure. I must now follow this tutorial to try again
I have watched some videos on Youtube, and some people think that higher voltage does not mean better electroplating results. People seem to use voltages in the range of 1.5 to 3 volts to work well for me. Therefore, you may use a PC power supply to electroplate at an excessively high voltage for best results.
Many companies that make copper-plated scouring pads must know how to plate well. Because many copper-colored scouring pads are only copper-plated, not pure copper.
If I remember correctly, as far as the amplifier is concerned, the most powerful voltage rail is the 5V voltage rail. So, its efficiency may decrease, but this guy uses a 6V battery, so it should at least still work.
On the PC power supply, as far as the amplifier is concerned, the most powerful rail is the 12v rail, not the 5v rail... On the mid-range PSU, the 5v rail usually has the least amperage, followed by the 3.3v rail, then the 12v rail ( It is the highest if it is a single track design)...You will usually see about 15-25 amps on a 5v track (depending on the total wattage of the PSU), which should be more than enough.
Um. Not really. Most PSUs have the rated power printed on the side of the device. I just dug a spare from my trash can. Its rated voltage is: 5V @ 30A, 3.3V @ 26A and 12V @ 27A. The ratings vary, but this is a very typical unit. Any of these current ratings is sufficient to plate parts of the size mentioned in the article. I recommend using the 3.3V rail.
Unable to reply to the comments below, so reply here.
"5V @ 30A, 3.3V @ 26A and 12V @ 27A."
Hmm... 5v @ 30A = 150W 3.3V @ 26A = 85.8W 12V @ 27A = 324W So, the output power of the 12V power rail is more than twice the original.
The oxidation-reduction potential of Cu/Cu2 is only about 0.5V, so you only need a potential difference of 0.5V to get copper ions out of the solution. You may need an additional 0.5V to consider putting copper into the solution, so you need a maximum voltage such as 1V.
Resistance is a function of the density of copper ions in the solution and the surface area of the cathode and anode. Therefore, the use of copper scouring pads will reduce resistance, allowing more current to flow. Memory check: positive ions are cations, right? Attracted by the [negative] cathode? And [positive electrode] Is the anode copper scouring pad?
The amount of current affects the deposition rate in electroplating.
Hey, if you try to galvanize steel, the reactivity index of copper and aluminum to steel is very poor, so it cannot be used. You must plate nickel or zinc first, then copper. Keep ventilated because salt will produce chlorine
I am curious whether this solution and process are applicable to electroforming? I know the power requirements are different.
I am not sure about the legality of electroplated coins because they are federal property.
He just added an extra layer of protection to it, and I think they should thank him.
As long as you don't spend them or try to pass them as currency. When the value of currency is based on the actual metal from which the coin is made, American currency is tainted. If you damage the coin, you may reduce its value. Even so, if you don't use it as cash later, you can deface the coin.
Are you kidding me... put a thick enough plate in that quarter and you might make it worth more than 25 cents: D
It must be very thick-because there is no metal worth 25 cents in a modern quarter dollar coin. Fiat currency sucks.
coinflation (dot) com, if anyone wants to know what the actual melting value is.
Yes, I don't have these coins in my pocket, the federal government does. Slender coin collectors better be careful!
(Tell everyone that the jewelry you make is really bad)
Buddy, i think you might be the blunt object here
Some basic ideas in electroplating are usually that the cleaner the substrate, the better the effect. In addition, controlling the current is one of the most important process parameters, because electroplating at an excessively high current rate will cause the metal to be deposited in an uneven manner, resulting in unsightly appearance or poor adhesion of the coating.
For example, there is a classic chemical demonstration in which a clean copper object is placed in a silver nitrate solution. Silver precipitates as a coating or needles/lumps/deposits on partially oxidized copper objects, and the solution turns blue due to the dissolution of copper ions. Even if a beautiful smooth coating is formed due to the low reaction rate in the dilute solution at low temperature, it will still form silver plating with very poor adhesion... It will easily fall off with a light touch.
Although many metals can be electroplated, there is a reason for a special process that involves a lot of research and development to obtain a durable, adherent, and visually bright coating. All you have to do is put two metal objects in an electrolyte solution and run some direct current to complete all these exquisite coatings. The original idea was a tragic oversimplification.
I think what I want to say is that they have used copper cyanide in industry for a long time for a reason. This is not because playing with cyanide is fun.
In 1964, I worked at Southwest Silver in Oklahoma City. All our solutions are based on cyanide chemicals. Our biggest business is cleaning, re-plating and painting lacquer fancy silverware from some of the better members of our society. Always copper plating and complete polishing before silver plating. The better plate is based on brass. Jack usually refuses any iron-based items. This is too expensive for chemistry. Clayton Plating is right next door, and I worked for them when I was not a long time in SW Silver. We did chromium, nickel, cadmium, and there is another process that I have never participated in. It is related to the establishment of surface diameters for USG with hard chromium. I remember my boss Jack sweats in the summer from all the solution he has absorbed throughout his life. He died of cancer at an advanced age, I believe he was over 56 years old. I remember that I was about 16 years old, so he was an old guy. I learned a lot about the life of working in these two companies.
Thank you for the story :-)
Wow, cool story, it would be an interesting job for a young man!
Distilled vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (with salt) are the materials I use for PCB etching agents. (Previously described on Hackaday.) So can I use the etchant I have used and use it as the electrolyte for this method?
Yes. Because the copper dissolved from the PCB is still in solution (and purer than the copper-plated scouring pad he used in this article), all you need to do is add something made of copper to the positive terminal of the battery, Then when both are immersed in the solution, plate your workpiece to the negative terminal...Although I am not sure whether the added salt will affect the plating process, I don’t think it’s a problem, but then again, I’m not Experts in this area...
I just use the root killer crystal for copper plating.
That is copper sulfate crystals. I use it to make a copper plating solution for lead electroplating. Dissolve copper sulfate crystals in hydrochloric acid with sulfuric acid, and there will be a large amount of copper ions floating around.
Keep the dissolved copper at a low concentration. The higher the concentration, the more likely you are to get flake deposits.
Best electroplating = the cleanest substrate, the lowest current density, the lowest electrolyte concentration and the lowest temperature, the lowest working voltage...
Copper chloride can also work. In fact, I bet most copper salts can be plated well.
How exactly is the bullet copper plated? All the videos I have watched require the object to be physically connected to the cathode, which results in the parts contacting the alligator clip not being electroplated. The Rainer plated bullets I have used did not show signs of being physically connected to the cathode. I think that having workers physically connect the cathode to each bullet to be plated will not be cost-effective when you think they are some of the cheapest Mass-produced bullets.
Please don't mention bullet die forging, I know this, and not a few thousand dollars fell on the die forging press to die.
Maybe they connected the electrodes to the surface inside the bullet before assembly.
They do not have, and will not be cost-effective, because they have produced millions and they are only attractive at the lowest price. I started searching for it on Google, and apparently they used a method called barrel plating, in which the anode and cathode never touch the workpiece. Now I just need to figure out how to modify my rotating drum to do this.
I have no evidence to support this, but I think they are more likely to pour lead into copper shells than bullets formed by plating copper. It will be much cheaper and faster than electroplating.
FMJ bullets are actually forged through jackets. TMJ bullets are electroplated.
Barrel plating is the correct answer for many large-scale processed objects that can withstand the impact at any reasonable processing speed.
An unforgettable Hack on Barrel Plate for Hobbyshops is the use of perforated plastic pipe belts to rotate in a groove made of well casing. Connected to the metal trough and what the designer calls the “throwing plate” bends around the upper surface of the pipe, but below the top of the solution. Obviously, if I remember correctly, the bleak ratio of plate to part to trough is sufficient.
I am only curious about the manufacturing of the solution. As an industrial hard chrome electroplater for several years, he taught me everything I need to know about electroplating. How is vinegar distilled? Is it tested with a hydrometer or simply reduces the volume to an estimated or random acid concentration? A section of copper pipe may be a better choice than a copper-plated SQUB pad...even if the pipe has beryllium. I personally plan to use clean copper busbars.
Does anyone know how to plate copper non-metallic items, such as lace, leaves, and pine cones? I like to plate a bunch of these things with copper, even if it just covers them sparsely, as a holiday decoration. Thanks in advance!
I am currently trying to learn to do this, so far I have been trying to use graphite/pva mixture, bare conductive paint-water soluble:-(, bare paint mixed with pva, and super shielding graphite paint (evil)-I think I met The problem is related to the resistivity of the coating, and my (electronic) rectifier does not seem to want to output too much current through the solution when using these types of carbon-coated cathodes. I know that I can buy nickel/copper/silicon paint, So this may be what I want to try next.
Working with copper chloride, my poles are backwards. I think I may have made ferric chloride. I really don't have a clue.
I found that the best thing to use is in the hardware store. It is called the root killer because your sewer contains 0.99% copper sulfate***, but it works well and is quite cheap. I think I bought it for $13 One pound, this is a kind of blue particle, I only use water and an old model train transformer with a 12 gauge copper wire as a tight coil as the electrode, but I might try peroxide vinegar tonight, I will definitely get better the result of
I know many people who talk about copper plates. I also know that some people say that chrome plating may be better in some cases. I don't know that electroplating copper is so popular in steampunk culture, I might need to look into it a bit more.
How to electroplate non-conductive surfaces with electroplated copper:
Once upon a time, I owned a printed circuit board manufacturing company where I made PCBs with plated through holes. The final product consists of plating solder, 40% tin and 60% lead onto glass fiber filled epoxy resin. how?
1. Clean the glass fiber epoxy board and microetch in a HCl solution bath, then rinse the three baths in distilled water. (Note: This is an acidic solution) Before placing the circuit board in the next tank, the distilled water bath very gently washes off any carry-out solution in the previous tank. The rinse tank that is brought out will eventually rotate, taking the fresh distillation tank as the last tank, and the tank as the first tank is now condensed, and then re-added to the active HCl solution tank, and the carry-out is there from the beginning. No waste enters the environment. 2. Soak in the electroless palladium plating solution for a short period of time. Palladium forms an extremely thin, transparent, soft but conductive surface. (Note: This is a formaldehyde solution) Quickly, in order to prevent oxidation as much as possible, you should put the circuit board in a bathtub and isolate it from the air, and then rinse it three times in distilled water. Again, eventually, the tank was recovered. 3. Soak in the electroless copper plating solution for a short period of time. (Note: this is a formaldehyde solution) Rinse quickly three times with distilled water again. This is a soft but tightly fitting copper plate. 4. A layer of hard copper is electroplated. Note: This is a sulfuric acid electrolyte containing an amino acid leveling agent and a pure copper anode. The voltage is about 1 volt. The voltage is adjusted to obtain a current that is determined by the Hull cell analysis of the surface area to be electroplated and the specific electroplating bath. It needs to be moved slightly to provide a proper "throw", so the plating will be plated in the holes on the board, not just the outer surface area. Once again, perform three rinse baths in distilled water.
Circuit boards (or almost any plastic or non-conductive material) now have a layer of hard copper plating. It is at this point that the photoresist is added to the copper plated board. The circuit pattern is then developed in the resist. Then solder electroplating, then remove the resist, then remove the non-solder copper plating, clean the oxide solder board, add a layer of flux to the board, heat the solder plating layer to reflow, remove the flux, clean the circuit board, on the circuit board Silk screen coating with solder resist and silk screen printing of customer information. Then pack, transport and collect easy money.
Electroplating solder, it is 60% lead, a very inactive metal that does not like electroplating very much, and 40% tin, a very active metal. If the plating ratio is correct, it means that the plating bath contains some extremely dangerous Chemical substances, such as hydrofluoric acid, and controlling bath chemistry and electroplating current are not suitable for experimenters.
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The price of 99% copper sulfate on Amazon is about US$3 to US$5 per pound, depending on whether you get 2 pounds or 10 pounds
I worked in a graphic art company in the late 70s/early 80s, where I did a lot of single film processing. This film is called orthochromatic film. Part of a process involves using a paper cutter to cut a strip of film from the film so that the remaining sheet can pass through the film processor. I kept the raw strips for several months, made a quart of fixer, and saturated the solution with the silver in the film. I extracted silver by connecting 6 volt lantern batteries to copper pennies on the anode and cathode (yes, they were made of copper at the time). I don't know what I'm doing, just fiddling. I chose the lantern battery because I think it will last a long time. I also have the can of black metallic silver mixed with some copper from the dissolved pennies I used on the anode. I'm curious what I can do with black powder.
Hello everyone, I am a beginner, I just try to use copper acetate made of vinegar to plate copper on iron. The problem is.. When I rinse the iron that has been plated, it disappears. Please anyone answer my question.
Some people say that the iron must be activated first (I don’t know what he means)
What concentrated hydrogen peroxide should I use, there seems to be 3%, 6% and 12% for household use?
Hi, I am a homeschooling mom and she is interested in trying electroforming as a hobby with some of my older children. About an hour ago, we mixed the copper acetate solution and started electroforming the leaves we prepared. I was very surprised by the amount of smoke it produced. I have a scientific background and I am used to doing all kinds of science in my kitchen, but I want to know if it is safe to do so without a hood in our house. Should we even mess with these solutions in the kitchen? How do you all do this and stay safe?
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