Chemical Properties:

Chemical symbol Ni –  Latin Niccolum.

Atomic Number – 28

Atomic Weight – 58.69

Melting Point – 1453.0 C (2647.4 F)

Boiling Point – 2732.0 C (4949.6 F)

Specific Gravity – 8.90

Nickel is a corrosion resistant metal used extensively in engineering and decorative applications.  In addition to plating, nickel is used in stainless steel and other corrosion resistant and high temperature alloys.

Guidelines:

Nickel is normally plated in either a non-brightened bath that produces a dull to semi-bright finish or a brightened bath that produces a fully bright finish.  The use of a fully bright nickel should be limited to applications where the main function is decorative.  Bright nickel is less ductile than dull nickel which will lead to fracturing of the deposit if the part is bent or flexed – especially with heavier deposits.

Common Specifications:

These are the most common specifications used for nickel.  From an economics standpoint, government and/or industry specifications should only be invoked when called out on the drawing or mandated by customer requirements.  These specifications invoke various testing that may not be required and will raise the price of processing.  If the specification is used as a form of shorthand, then a statement of “certification to hardness/thickness only” will eliminate unnecessary additional testing.

QQ-N-290

Classes  (Function)

Class 1    Corrosion Protective Plating

Class 2    Engineering Plating

SB           Single Layer Bright

SD           Single Layer Dull or Semi-Bright

M            Multi-Layer

Grade A    0.0016 Thick

Grade B    0.0012 Thick

Grade C    0.0010 Thick

Grade D    0.0008 Thick

Grade E    0.0006 Thick

Grade F    0.0004 Thick

Grade G   0.0002 Thick

AMS 2403

General Purpose Nickel Plating

Thickness as Specified

AMS 2404

Low Stress Nickel Plating

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