Plating Technology
With a broad spectrum of cutting-edge electroplating processes, Diehl Metal Applications (DMA) offers customized, state-of-the-art solutions. We serve international customers from the automotive and telecommunications industries, from the areas of medical, mechanical and electrical engineering as well as the electronics sector.
New materials and increasingly sophisticated applications place stringent demands on the plated surface. No matter whether it is wear strength, solderability, corrosion resistance or conductivity that is required, thin surface finishes ensure reliability and a long product service life.
Surface coatings often resolve the conflict of interests between the technological requirements placed on the base material and the application conditions. With our standard plating technologies, we offer a diverse range of common selective processes for a multitude of applications.
- Immersion plating
With this technology, it is possible to fully or selectively immerse full strip or prestamped material into the electrolytes.
- Mask wheel
With this technology, a rotating mask system determines the position of the plating. It is also possible to put several coating patterns onto one strip.
- Brush plating
With this technology, selective deposition can be achieved by guiding the contacts along a cloth that is saturated with electrolyte. This process is particularly suitable for the selective plating of contact ends with precious metals.
- Masking with foils
This technology enables the selective deposition of an electroplated strip. This can either take place in the strip plating facility itself or outside of it as a separate work step.
The masking system is necessary if the surface must be protected – in the case of bonding surfaces, for instance. Furthermore, this process is used as an alternative / addition to conventional mask wheel technology, in order to offer the entire spectrum of strip plating.
With our processes for plating highly sophisticated stamped strip and semi-finished goods, we are setting new standards when it comes to strip plating. Individual surface coatings such as highly selective precious metal plating preserve valuable resources. Wholly in line with our customer requirements, we thereby enable the cost-efficient use of high-quality plating using precious metals.
- Internal plating
This technology enables the highly selective internal gold plating of pre-bent contact springs. The spring apertures running parallel to the direction of movement pass through a production module specially designed for this process. This leads to an optimum plating thickness distribution and low use of precious metals.
- Spot technology
This technology is used to plate only the functional surfaces of pre-stamped strip, stamping grids or semi-finished goods, according to the functionality of the component. Spot technology enables precious-metal plating to be applied with high precision. Innovative spot technology assists in minimizing the use of precious metals. Depending on the technical requirements, a distinction is made between mechanical and variable spot technology:
Mechanical spot technology:
In the case of mechanical spot technology, a pilot hole for the positioning of the plating area, product-specific spot chains and housings are necessary.
Variable spot technology (MLP / MP):
In the case of variable spot technology, a pilot hole is likewise necessary for the positioning of the plating area. Here, however, the product-related spot chains and housings are not required.
With the development of special applications in reel-to-reel plating, we provide our customers with fresh impetus during product development. To do so, Diehl Metal Applications offers various special processes for achieving particular surface properties:
- Advanced Indium
Advanced Indium is an electroplated surface specially developed for the requirements of press-fit zone technology and represents an alternative to the use of tin-lead.
- Advanced SilverTin
Advanced SilverTin is an electroplated surface specially developed for the requirements of press-fit zone technology and represents an alternative to the use of tin-lead.
- Advanced Nickel
Advanced Nickel is an electroplated surface specially developed for the requirements of press-fit zone technology and represents an alternative to the use of tin-lead.
- Aluminum Strip Plating (ASP made by Diehl)
Aluminum Strip Plating (ASP) is a process which Diehl Metal Applications offers as a solution for electroplating aluminum semi-finished goods and pre-stamped material in a reel-to-reel plating process. The result is a pore- and crack-free, solderable coating with good adhesion properties.
- Palladium-Nickel
With palladium-nickel, Diehl Metal Applications provides an electroplated surface finish which has established itself on the market as an alternative to gold.
In comparison to gold surfaces, precious metal costs for a palladium-nickel coating with goldflash are considerably lower. The reasons for this cost-saving effect are the high level of hardness and the wear strength of the palladium-nickel coating compared to gold, as well as the resulting reduction in contact layers.
- Tin Reflow
Diehl Metal Applications has the technical possibilities to remelt the tin surface on semi-finished goods and contact parts on the strip. The advantages of this include an even Intermetallic Compound (IMC), improved insertion and pulling power as well as a low-whisker surface.
- Tin Post Bake
Depending on the part requirements, Diehl Metal Applications can offer Tin Post Bake as an alternative to Tin Reflow. The advantage of this process is a thin intermetallic phase (IMC – Intermetallic Compound). In addition, there is no drop effect.
- Bondable surfaces
Diehl Metal Applications has the technical possibilities to plate stamped parts with bondable surfaces. Here ultra-pure surfaces made of gold, nickel, nickel-phosphorus or silver are used. The bonding coating can be applied selectively and also combined with other coatings (including: Ag, Au, Ni, Sn).
Bondable surfaces for stamped parts, for example, enable the connection of electronic components with their contact elements or carrier materials.
This area of Diehl Metal Applications includes fully automated barrel, rack and prototype plating. The fully automated facilities are operated by central control units. Our customers profit from decades of experience as well as innovative plating technologies which are aligned to their specific requirements.
- Rack plating
On our fully automated rack plating machines Diehl Metal Applications offers the electroplating of individual parts which are not suitable for barrel plating. If required, special racks are produced in order to render the process effective and cost-efficient.
- Barrel plating
On our fully automated facilities we process bulk material for barrel plating. To ensure that the products are processed effectively and to the required level of quality, we preselect the optimum process parameters based on our decades of know-how.
- Prototype plating and special processes
Diehl Metal Applications offers prototype manufacture and prototype plating. Various plating designs and even selective plating of individual parts are possible in the prototype laboratory as well as in small-series plating. Within prototype manufacture it is possible to selectively coat short strip sections with a length of up to 300 mm.
Furthermore, Diehl Metal Applications not only offers other special processes but also selective plating, vibratory finishing as well as blistering individual parts in serial production.
Based on customer requirements, our Process Engineering department develops and optimizes plating technologies to provide our customers and partners with optimum service at all times. In this way, we are well-equipped to offer customer-specific solutions to meet the growing challenges of the market.
- Product portfolio
Thanks to our comprehensive technology portfolio, we offer various surface finishes and can thus take individual customer requirements into account in a targeted way:
- Application of stripe-like patterns on strip
- Coating of precision stamped parts (stamping grids, stamped parts)
- Coating of plug connectors (springs, sockets, pins)
- Single-sided plating of contact springs
- Internal plating of closed contact springs
- Special coatings for press-fit zones for various products
- Production
Diehl Metal Applications has extensive know-how in providing optimum, cost-effective plating technologies for every application area. On high-tech reel-to-reel plating machines, metals are applied using different electroplating processes. DMA has one of the largest facilities for surface finishing in Europe:
- 41 machines at two locations in Europe
- Three rack and barrel plating machines
- Selective technologies for minimizing precious metal consumption
- In-house machine construction for reel-to-reel plating
In this way, we are able to support our customers as a competent partner in all matters relating to surface technology.
- Quality
Thanks to continuous quality monitoring during and after the plating process, we guarantee surface finishes at the highest level.
Electronic as well as analytical bath monitoring ensures surface finishes with maximum process reliability.
- Integrated value chain
Diehl Metal Applications develops and produces complete or partial solutions along the value-adding chain, based on cus tomer requirements:
- Support in selecting intelligent material combinations
- Highly integrated manufacturing processes in copper alloy production
- State-of-the-art stamping & surface technologies
- Overmolding & assembly technology
Our customers and partners are free to decide at any time whether they want a partial solution where they provide the material, or if they wish to hand over the entire process to us.