The term “gold plating” is well known in the world of jewelry and among the decorative arts. It is also common among many commercial companies who produce electronics. The entire process, which has been inexistence in one form or another for centuries, has both practical and esthetic applications.
What Is Gold Plating?
Reduced to its basics, gold plating involves at least two metals: a typically base metal – frequently copper or silver, and gold. Gold plating, gold electroplating or gold overlay (used in the jewelry business) is the overlaying or covering of the base metal with a thin layer of gold. The gold overlay may be extremely thin or of a somewhat thicker nature. The standard for such an overlay is a minimum of 7 millionths of an inch of 10k fineness.
The concept is simple. You use a charge of electricity to coat this base or more mundane metal with the more expensive and precious layer of gold.
In What Industries Is Gold Plating Used Commonly?
When it comes to gold plating, several industries turn to it to help improve the quality or appearance of their products. Among those are:
* Jewelry: Often through gold plating silver
* Electronics: Conductors and circuit boards
* Medical: Lasers are one example where gold plating has proven to be beneficial
* Telecommunications
* Aerospace
Gold Plating and Pre-Treatments
In some instances, you can overlay gold without treating the metal first. This is particularly true when it comes to gold plating silver. It must first be covered with a copper and nickel layer before the gold plating can be applied. If the gold is being applied to copper, as is common in electronics, the copper must first be pre-treated with nickel. This will act as an intermediary to prevent tarnishing.
Why Gold Plating Is Used
Companies use gold plating for any of several reasons that are behind any form of electroplating. Among the most common reasons are the following:
* Strength: Increases durability of the item – gold is itself a soft metal, plating it helps increase its strength
* Appearance: Gold plating of base metals improves their appearance and even value
* Resistance: Gold is resistant to corrosion while the metals it covers may not be
* Cost: gold plated items are less expensive than gold filled or solid gold ones
Today, you can find gold plating occurring on a massive scale. Commercially, it is usually employed in several industries. These include the obvious – jewelry and those less so such as electronics. Today and well into the future, gold plating will continue to make its mark for very good reasons: durability, corrosion-free and appearance being the selling points.
At PEP General Metal Finishing, we have been producing high-quality products at precise ASTM or military (MIL-STD) standards since 1972. We do everything from tin to Gold Plating. Our company demands the best, and this is what you will get from us. For further information on our high-quality products and reliability test, visit us online at http://www.pepgenmetal.com/.
