Why Sputter instead of Electroplate?

[symbolipoint]

TL;DR

Why is coating a metal with another metal using Sputtering any advantage over Electroplating?

Not the smartest question, but why should metal deposits be put onto other metals (like razor blades) using Sputtering instead of electrodeposition or electroplating the coating onto the metal object to be coated?

 

[Baluncore]

Sputtering can quickly coat any solid surface, with an element or an alloy.
Electroplating can slowly plate a conductive surface, with an element.

 

[Rive]

like razor blades

Properly machined thin edges are really sensitive to practically everything.
Knife nerds suggests to clean your knives immediately after cutting lemon (or any acidic food!), for example.
Submerging the edge into an electrolyte and running current through them - you guess

 

[Baluncore]

Submerging the edge into an electrolyte and running current through them - you guess

With electroplating, the current is DC, with the correct polarity required to plate metals from the electrolyte onto the edge.

The rate of deposition during electroplating is determined by the voltage gradient. A sharp edge or point will therefore grow rapidly, while a flat surface develops only a thin layer. That is a form of geometric instability, an edge will grow whiskers. The plated item will need to be polished after plating.

With sputtering, there is a tendency to coat the areas of a surface exposed to the plasma, while not so much material reaches the sharp edges or points that have areas approaching zero.

 

[Dullard]

"Sputtering can quickly coat any solid surface, with an element or an alloy.
Electroplating can slowly plate a conductive surface, with an element."
-Baluncore

Worth repeating.

 

[Baluncore]

Worth repeating.

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth." Vladimir Lenin.

I knowingly lied. My two line answer was a gross generalisation.

Electrodeposition is also used to deposit alloys.
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/5/2/195/htm