Nickel plating
Bright nickel and German nickel plating, as a finish in its own right or as a barrier layer under gold and silver. Plated to the thickness on your drawing and measured in-house by XRF.
Variants Bright · German
- Part
- BNC connectors, example
- Finish
- Bright nickel
- Photo
- Stock photo, not our part
Bright nickel or German nickel
We plate two kinds of nickel. They look similar but behave differently. German nickel is a low-stress, ductile nickel:
| Bright nickel | German nickel | |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Bright and smooth, hides small marks | Matte to semi-bright |
| Internal stress | Higher | Low |
| Ductility | Lower | High, bends without cracking |
| Purity | Contains small amounts of brightener | Very pure |
| Typical use | Finish on its own, where appearance and corrosion resistance matter | Underlayer for gold on connector pins, parts that are crimped or bent, thick deposits |
If you are not sure which your part needs, tell us how it is used and we will advise.
Nickel as a barrier under gold and silver
On copper and brass parts, nickel under gold stops copper diffusing into the gold, and nickel under silver slows the same process on parts that run hot. German nickel is usually chosen for this because it is pure, low in stress and ductile, so it does not crack when pins are crimped or press-fitted.
Nickel is magnetic. On RF parts where passive intermodulation (PIM) matters, a nickel-free system such as copper and tri-metal is often specified instead.
Nickel as a finish
On its own, nickel resists corrosion and wear better than copper or brass. Bright nickel gives a clean, bright appearance, which is why it is used on visible parts.
What to put on your drawing or enquiry
- Base material and grade
- Bright nickel or German nickel
- Nickel thickness in µm, and the top coat if there is one
- Areas to plate or mask
- The plating specification and revision, if you work to one
- Quantity per lot and expected yearly volume
Specifications
| Specification | What it covers |
|---|---|
| ASTM B689 | Electroplated nickel for engineering use. |
| ISO 4526 | International standard for electroplated nickel for engineering use. |
| SAE AMS 2403 | General-purpose nickel plating, used on aerospace drawings. |
| SAE AMS 2424 | Low-stress nickel plating. |
| AMS-QQ-N-290 | Nickel plating, the SAE version of the former federal specification QQ-N-290. |
Send the specification and revision with your drawing and we will confirm whether we can meet it.
Thickness measurement
Nickel thickness is measured on our Fischerscope XRF instrument, including nickel under a gold or silver top coat.
Also consider
Email your drawing for a quote
Attach the drawing and include as much of this list as you can. The more you send, the fewer questions we need to ask before quoting.
- Drawing: PDF, DWG, DXF or STEP
- Base material and grade
- Finish, and thickness in µm
- Quantity per lot and yearly volume
- Areas to mask, if any
- Standard or customer specification