An Easier Solution to EN on Copper and Brass

The difficult part of plating EN on copper and brass is that copper and brass are not auto catalytic to electroless nickel (EN). There are a few methods to try and get the EN to take off and most start with a soak cleaner, acid activation, from there you can try to go into the EN with a small charge or you can do a Woods strike. Those ways work OK, but for parts that have strange geometries, blind holes or some combo or area in-between you may need a better way. That is what i am introducing to you today.

I would like to Introduce ICP ACCERA, it is a Hydrochloric based palladium activator for copper. Originally intended for the printed circuit board industry we have found that it has greatly helped other shops running electroless nickel on copper and brass. It is very easy to run and control. The running temp is room temp to 95°F and a short dipping time of 30-120 seconds. The makeup is 20% and the running concentration is 10-30%, you can analyze with atomic absorption (AA).

We are also now working on ICP ACCERA AP. A chloride free, organic acid type. Because it does not contain a strong acid it dissolves less copper. The running bath standard palladium concentration is 50% of the palladium that is contained in our traditional ICP ACCERA. It has a very long life due to reduced dissolving of copper over hydrochloric or sulfuric acid types.

If you have any questions or would like to receive a quote please contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.