EP0063925A1 - Procédé d'électro-déposition et produits ainsi obtenus - Google Patents

Procédé d'électro-déposition et produits ainsi obtenus Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0063925A1
EP0063925A1 EP82302060A EP82302060A EP0063925A1 EP 0063925 A1 EP0063925 A1 EP 0063925A1 EP 82302060 A EP82302060 A EP 82302060A EP 82302060 A EP82302060 A EP 82302060A EP 0063925 A1 EP0063925 A1 EP 0063925A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
connector
plating
process according
connector element
masking
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
EP82302060A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
John Gilbert James
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP0063925A1 publication Critical patent/EP0063925A1/fr
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25D—PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PRODUCTION OF COATINGS; ELECTROFORMING; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25D5/00—Electroplating characterised by the process; Pretreatment or after-treatment of workpieces
    • C25D5/02—Electroplating of selected surface areas

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a process for electro-plating and in particular to a process for electro-plating selected surface areas of electrical connector contacts, asmay be used in the assembly of computers and other electrical and electronic systems, and to the products of that process.
  • the contacts which are usually of copper alloy (e.g. brass, bronze or monel) with a thin layer of, for example, gold, silver, palladium or rhodium, or possibly some other precious metal.
  • copper alloy e.g. brass, bronze or monel
  • the electrical contact area of male/ female connector contacts may require a layer of plated material of from 1.25 to 5 microns thick, depending upon the end use of the connector. In practice such thicknesses have generally been found to give satsifactory electrical contact while at the same time providing sufficient plating material to meet the normal wear and tear to which the contact is subjected.
  • plating material arsising from (1) the presence of plating on non-contact external parts of a connector, and (2) the presence of excess plating on non-contact external parts of a connector where the contact area is internal.
  • a selected surface area electro-plating process is provided, which significantly reduces the use of unnecessary plating material.
  • the present invention provides a process for electro-plating a selected surface area of an electrical connector contact element comprising electro-plating the connector element in the absence of a masking element to give the required thickness of plating material in the selected area, applying a masking element to the selected area of the connector element where the plating material is to be retained, and removing the plating material from the unmasked parts of the connector element, so that the connector element remains plated in the selected area only.
  • the present invention also provides an electrical connector contact element which has been selectively electro-plated according to the above process.
  • connector contacts may also be produced by e.g. rotary table transfer machining, cold heading techniques or high speed stamping machines.
  • the masking element which is usually in the form of an elongate pin (female connector) or tubular sheath (male connector) must clearly make a good fit with the connector contact to mimimize the risk of loss of plating material from the contact area, and such a fit may, if necessary, be improved by the presence of an inert sealing substance, such as a silicone grease.
  • the masking element is preferably of inert material as regards the process of the invention and in practice, materials such as stainless steel or plastics, for example, silicone rubbers, may be employed. Alternatively, a masking ink or wax may also be used, if appropriate.
  • the accompanying figure illustrates diagrammatically the positioning of a cylindrical masking element 1 in relation to a female connector contact 2 in which the cylindrical internal electrical contact surface area 3 of the female connector is to be masked. Reference to the figure is also made in the following example of a process embodying the present invention, where appropriate.
  • the connector contact 2 is optionally electro-plated with copper (employing, for example, copper gleam PC or cupral B solution) * to give a 1 micron thick layer in the contact area 3, and/or nickel (employing, for example, LCT semi-bright nickel solution) * to give a 2 to 4 micron layer in the same area.
  • copper employing, for example, copper gleam PC or cupral B solution
  • nickel employing, for example, LCT semi-bright nickel solution
  • the connector is then conventionally electro-plated with gold (employing, for example, as appropriate Aurospeed E, Auronal MRC, Auronal MRN, Auro Vel HV, Auronal 44, Auro Glo PN, or Auro Glo PC solutions) * to give the required thickness in the contact area 3.
  • the thickness of plated material in the contact area may vary from 0.5 to 5 microns subject to end use.
  • the connector After washing with de-ionized water (drag-out), the connector is cleaned in the usual manner and dried.
  • a masking pin 1 for example, in stainless steel, is now carefully inserted into the female connector 2 to cover all of the electrical contact area 3 of the cylindrical internal surface of the connector where the gold plate is to be retained. It is important to ensure that the masking pin fits accurately and tightly over the whole of the selected contact area in order to minimize loss of gold plate therefrom in the next stage of the process, when the connector is placed in a gold stripping solution (for example, Super Strip 101 solution) * until all unmasked areas of the connector have been stripped of gold-plated material. After stripping, the connector is washed and dried as before and the masking pin removed.
  • a gold stripping solution for example, Super Strip 101 solution
  • the connector contact may finally be flash-plated with, for example, a layer of 0.15 microns of gold (as measured on the external surface), for cosmetic purposes.
  • the application of the present invention to a male connector contact is identical to that outlined above in respect of female contacts, except that the masking device is placed on to the contact instead of inserted into the contact.
  • the parts may be split or tapered or otherwise modified.
  • the present invention enables the use of plating material to be limited to the requisite thickness in the electrical contact area only of the connector contact, thereby resulting in a substantial saving of the plating material concerned.
  • the masking elements may be loaded, either into or on to the connector contacts, as the case may be, by an automatic assembly machine. Subsequently, the contacts may be stripped, cleaned, dried and unloaded where the process is fully automatic.
  • the masking elements can, of course, be fitted manually when the number of connector contacts involved is small.
  • the recovery of gold from the saturated stripping solution is carried out by the usual well established techniques, when the recovery of gold can be as high as 99%.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Electrochemistry (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Electroplating Methods And Accessories (AREA)
  • Manufacturing Of Electrical Connectors (AREA)
EP82302060A 1981-04-24 1982-04-22 Procédé d'électro-déposition et produits ainsi obtenus Ceased EP0063925A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8112666 1981-04-24
GB8112666A GB2097426B (en) 1981-04-24 1981-04-24 Electro-plating process and products therefrom

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0063925A1 true EP0063925A1 (fr) 1982-11-03

Family

ID=10521334

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP82302060A Ceased EP0063925A1 (fr) 1981-04-24 1982-04-22 Procédé d'électro-déposition et produits ainsi obtenus

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0063925A1 (fr)
GB (1) GB2097426B (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3447032C1 (de) * 1984-12-22 1985-09-26 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Co., Saint Paul, Minn. Verfahren zum galvanischen Herstellen einer örtlich begrenzten Edelmetall-Auflage
WO1986007205A1 (fr) * 1985-05-20 1986-12-04 American Telephone & Telegraph Company Dispositif de contact electrique a base de nickel

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5397598A (en) * 1993-11-12 1995-03-14 International Business Machines Corporation Method for selectively coating a member having a shank by masking a portion of the shank with a washer

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1287563A (fr) * 1961-02-03 1962-03-16 Procédé de chromage alvéolaire
GB1485083A (en) * 1976-02-03 1977-09-08 Standard Telephones Cables Ltd Selective electro-plating

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1287563A (fr) * 1961-02-03 1962-03-16 Procédé de chromage alvéolaire
GB1485083A (en) * 1976-02-03 1977-09-08 Standard Telephones Cables Ltd Selective electro-plating

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3447032C1 (de) * 1984-12-22 1985-09-26 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Co., Saint Paul, Minn. Verfahren zum galvanischen Herstellen einer örtlich begrenzten Edelmetall-Auflage
WO1986007205A1 (fr) * 1985-05-20 1986-12-04 American Telephone & Telegraph Company Dispositif de contact electrique a base de nickel

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2097426B (en) 1984-01-18
GB2097426A (en) 1982-11-03

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PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

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AK Designated contracting states

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17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 19830427

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

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Effective date: 19860228