Plating

Little Falls Alloys has been plating drawn wire since 1965. The plating of copper alloys adds a variety of characteristics that are chosen by our customers to meet their specific performance objectives. The wire is drawn and plated on-site which decreases both lead time and cost. As demand for fine wire has increased Little Falls Alloys has become a leader in the drawing and plating of fine Beryllium Copper wire made to very tight tolerances.

Plated Wire

Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel and Tin are the coating options that are available at Little Falls Alloys. Reel to reel electroplating is the method used to reach conductive, corrosion resistant and solderability objectives and ultimately improve the performance of the conductor for each unique product.

Gold is simply the best conductor for connectors, pins and springs. It adds to the esthetic impact of the product and is exclusively used in high performance connectors.

Silver is a soft metal that offers high conductivity and will reduce the resistance of plated wire. Silver coating gives the wire a high degree of solderability but it may experience a degree of oxidation. Silver plating is beneficial in high frequency applications as the skin effect will result in high levels of flow through the silver. It also acts as a surface lubricant in forming operations.

Nickel is a hard metal that enhances resistance to high temperatures. Nickel is often used as a barrier between the base substrate and finish (applied over the nickel). Nickel can also be used to prevent the base metal from affecting performance of the finish.

Tin is a relatively low cost coating that is used most often when solderability is the main objective. Tin adds very little to base copper alloys resistance to high temperatures. With its low melting point, Tin is used where high temperatures are not a concern.

Copper plating is often applied as a coating to Beryllium Copper alloys to improve wear on dies and forming machinery. It is also used as a barrier layer when nickel is not suitable due to magnetic property requirements.

Electroplating Materials    Gold, Silver, Nickel, Tin, Copper

Substrate                            Copper Wire, Copper Alloy Wire

Wire Diameter                   .0015-.050

Plating Thickness              Plating thickness varies from application to application and electroplating material.

Customers                         aerospace, conductor, springs, automotive, electronics, military