Iron (nickel plated) -- what is it?

[kenny1999]

I came across the label on a product , that is "Iron (Nickel Plate)"

What does it mean? Does it mean it is made of Iron and its surface is nickel plate?

What is the general properties of a nickel plate product, can it be understood
as a painting on the surface of a material? Does the plate fall off easily?

 

[DaveC426913]

Not a metallurgist here.

Nickel-plated iron will be an iron core with nickel electro-plated on. You clamp an electrical cable to the object and submerse it in a chemical bath. The bath is oppositely charged, causing nickel ions to be attracted to and stick to the iron of the object.

Search for nickel-plating and electro-plating.

 

[jrmichler]

Also search electroless nickel plating. It's a chemical nickel plating process that does not use electricity. The coating thickness is more even than with electroplating, and the nickel coating has some phosphorus in it.

 

[kenny1999]

I have just made a search and found that nickel plate can be damaged by impact, friction and something... I'd like to know how big is the impact or friction is necessary to break a nickel plate product, any general idea ?

 

[DaveC426913]

... any general idea ?

Of course not.

 

[jim mcnamara]

If you provide details we can help. Nickel plating is very thin. Most of the resistance to "breaking" comes from iron, not the plating. Or do you mean can the plating be broken and the iron underneath is unaffected?

So.

What exactly are you interested in finding out? First - Describe the object, please. Then tell us your application.

 

[kenny1999]

Also search electroless nickel plating. It's a chemical nickel plating process that does not use electricity. The coating thickness is more even than with electroplating, and the nickel coating has some phosphorus in it.

What are the advantages of "electroless" nickel plating over normal / cheaper nickel plating??

 

[chemisttree]

You get to pay way more money for electroless. Even so, electrolytic plating isn’t cheap. Electrode nickel plating requires a regulated voltage source and sometimes temperature regulation (money, money, money). The plating solution is considered toxic, hazardous waste that you need to pay someone to dispose when it is exhausted. You’ll need to pay a plating chemist to tell you when it’s dying/dead or just guess (money, money, money). Every step you take (on an industrial level) will cost you money and be a big headache environmentally-speaking. But it’s nice work if you can get it AND you don’t mind the cancer.

Electroless nickel is usually for one-off, small projects and you don’t need all the overhead. Coatings are generally thinner and you get to dump the spent solution down the toilet or sink (not really, but that’s what usually happens) and join the ranks of thousands of folks and their ‘fugitive emissions/sources’ that someone else has to clean up or ignore and harm the environment.