Silver plating baths
Plating pure silver
Silver plating
Silver plating has become a widespread technique in jewel industry, characterized by an easy-to-made machinery system and by a high producing speed. This technique is used to plate silver chains and pendants most, onto a lot of different alloys metals such as nickel, copper and zinc. The plating is just one of the phases of the whole process that is made up of different stages.
Polishing and preparing
Before being silver plated, chains have to be polished very well and prepared, this preparation
has to be ,ade with specifical baths, with some of them with ultrasounds polishing system.
From a first ultrasounds treatment, chains are put in a rinsing bath and then in another
ultrasounds treatment again and after this into an other rinsing bath. This stage is strictly
necessary to prepare chains for the subsequent baths, those of the activation phase.
The activation phase is composed of multiple baths, the first one is the degreasing bath,
after which the chains get inside a rinsing bath; after this they're put inside the activation
bath, and after that into an another rinsing treatment, both of these rinsing treatments has to
be made in demineralized water.
After these two stages, chains surfaces are polished and electrically activated, so that they're
ready to be silver plated.
Silver bath
The silver bath machinery consists of a main bath, inside of which will be the silver-plating
solution, a recovery bath and a rinsing bath, both of them smaller than the main one.
The plating bath is composed of an appropriate electrical system, of specific site positioning
for silver anodes, and of cathodic system on which chains will be put. Moreover, the machinery
has to have all the specifical characteristics of a plating machine: a particular moving system
for the fluid, often using special pumps, a heating system able to maintain the solution
temperature unvaried, and an adequate aspiration system for cyanide gases also.
The chains are put inside the solution and the process lasts only for few minutes, due to
the high speed of silver settlement.
Finishing
After being silver plated, chains have to be rinsed again; this rinsing is fundamental to
conclude plating. Silvered chains are treated with rinsing bath, another ultrasounds bath
with demineralized water and then they're rinsed and dryed.
At this point chains are finished, the silver deposit is stable and bright onto the chains' and
pendant's surfaces.
Further informations
Interested in silver plating? Contact us!
ESA s.r.l. offers silver plating solution and a complete technical assistence,
and, with its chemical laboratory, offers also a consulting service to help improving
every working stage.
ESA's staff is also able to visit your production site and offers training courses,
to follow your industry to a high production level.