armsorogo

Topic: Electroless Plating for plastics?!

I'm new to the plating process and one of the things I'm trying to do is adhere conductive metal (i.e. copper) to a detailed engineering plastic (in this case Accura 60) design. My guess is the first step would be electroless nickel plating on the plastic, but I'm not sure how to go about doing this.

Are there any methods or kits for electroless nickel plating on plastics?

Thanks!

DustinGebhardt

Re: Electroless Plating for plastics?!

Most plating-on-plastic (aka POP) is done on ABS or ABS-PS plastics. I'm not sure how the Accura 60 will do. You may want to look for a local plating shop and have them try a piece of scrap plastic. If they can do it, you could send them your piece. Last time I checked, POP plating had a huge fallout rate. If you absolutely must get your part back without fail, you may want to try a different base material. Or, make several copies and hope that at least one will come out acceptable. I would not recommend that this be tried at home or by a do-it-yourself person. This is a difficult process with some nasty chemicals. Leave it to the pros.

-Dustin Gebhardt, CEF

Advanced Manufacturing/Finishing Engineer

Moen

Sanford, NC