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Artistic Plating will be exhibiting in booth 778 at the upcoming MD&M West 2010 show in Anaheim California February 9-11, 2010.

Artistic Plating will be exhibiting for the sixth consistent year at the 2010 SHOT show in Las Vegas, Nevada January 19th-22nd in booth 1340.

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Tin/Lead Plating (Electroplating) Services per MIL-P-81728 and ASTM B579

Artistic Plating Company is an industry leader in technical tin/lead plating services to MIL-P-81728 and ASTM B579.  Artistic Plating offers a wide range of tin/lead plating services include 10/90, 90/10, 60/40 and 95/5 formulations. In addition, any custom tin/lead formulation is available upon request.  Our expertise in providing precision barrel, rack and vibratory tin/lead plating services is currently employed in numerous industries including the railway, aerospace, defense, bearing, battery, electronic and fire protection industries.

Artistic Plating’s tin/lead plating services are utilized for their excellent solderability and in critical electrical and electronic applications eliminating the potential for tin whisker formation.  Whiskers can cause failure of electrical and electronic components by bridging multiple conductor paths causing a short circuit (reference Tin Whiskers: Failure Modes and Mitigation Strategies for a detailed NASA investigation of this topic in our Metal Finishing Articles section)

Artistic Plating specializes in demanding plate-to-gauge tin/lead plating services for bearing applications in the aerospace, railway, defense and heavy mechanical industries (reference Bearing Plating Services in our Finishing Solutions section).  Our dedicated Quality Control department provides preplate, in-process and post-plate dimensional and RMS inspections of inner and outer bearing surfaces to ensure dimensional and surface finish requirements are met.  Selective and heavy build tin/lead plating services have been provided up to 0.020 inches in thickness per side.

Tin/Lead Plating Services – Tin/Lead Properties

Artistic’s Tin/Lead Plating services, also referred to as solder plate or solder deposits, are functional finishes of a dull and slightly mottled appearance.  Due to the matte nature of the deposits they are susceptible to rinsing stains and staining from handling.  If a bright appearance is desired, the surface can be overplated with a thin coating of bright tin or the deposit can be subsequently reflowed to a bright appearance. 

The ratio of tin/lead in tin/lead plating services affects the hardness and melting point of the deposit.  The eutectic ratio of 63/37 provides the lowest melting point of 361F of all the tin/lead plating ratios.  The higher the tin composition the higher the abrasion resistance of the deposit.  Tin/lead plating imparts excellent solderability to basis metals minimizing the potential for tin whiskers or tin pests.

Tin/lead plating services on bearings are commonly used for break-in purposes on highly loaded bearing applications generally in the range of 3,000 to 8,000 PSI where the surface speed is relatively low.  Heavier coatings are used in loadings up to 3,000 PSI where the thicker coating allows for imbedability of contaminants especially on grooved bearing designs.  

Tin/Lead Plating Services –Tin/Lead Specifications

The two most common tin/lead plating services certified by Artistic Plating are MIL-P-81728 and ASTM B579.  Artistic Plating also can certify our tin/lead plating services to most company-specific tin/lead plating specifications.  A summary of tin/lead plating services per the MIL and ASTM specs is as follows:

Tin/Lead Plating Services to MIL-P-81728

Composition of the bath is specified as 50-70 w% Tin, 1.0 w% Max other metals and the remainder Lead.  Other compositions are permitted as specified under section 6.3

3.2.5 Underplating - No underplating is specified except for alloys containing 15% or more zinc or beryllium.  A copper or nickel underplating of 0.0001 inch is recommended on such alloys.

3.2.8 Unless otherwise specified, either a matte or bright luster shall be acceptable.  For electronic components only a matte of flow brightened finish shall be furnished.

3.3.1 Thickness of Plating – Unless otherwise specified the thickness of the plating, except on electronic components, shall not be less the 0.0003 inches and shall not be greater than 0.0005 inches on visible surfaces that can be touched by a 0.75 inch sphere. 

3.3.1.1 Thickness of Plating for Electronic Components – Unless otherwise specified the thickness for electronic components shall be a minimum average of 0.0003 inches where measured at four points at least 0.10 apart with no single reading being below 0.0002 inches.

Tin/Lead Plating Services to ASTM B579

The composition of the coating is 50-70 w% tin, with lead the remainder.

Suffix Notation:

F – flow brightened deposits
B – bright deposits (as plated)
M – Matte deposits

Classes of tin/lead plating services per ASTM B579 as follows:

Service Class	Application	Thickness (Steel)	Thickness (Copper)
SC 4	Very Severe	30 um minimum	30 um minimum
SC 3	Severe	20 um minimum	15 um minimum
SC 2	Moderate	10 um minimum	8 um minimum
SC 1	Mild	5 um minimum	5 um minimum
Underplating of 0.0001” nickel or copper is required for alloys containing 15% or more zinc.

Tin/Lead Plating Services – Why Artistic Plating? 

Artistic Plating provides expertise in tin/lead plating services to fulfill even the most demanding functional requirement.  From prototyping and PPAP qualification to full production processing – it is Artistic’s dedicated effort to exceed your expectations.  The following points highlight why Artistic Plating is a leader in tin/lead plating services:

• Diversity of Substrates:  Artistic Plating provides tin/lead plating services on nearly any metallic substrate including hardened and alloyed steels, stainless steels, cooper and copper alloys including beryllium, chromium and tellurium copper, brass alloys, Inconels, Hastalloys, Monels, ductile & cast iron.
• Demanding Plate-to-Gauge Requirements:  Artistic Plating specializes in demanding plate-to-gauge tin/lead plating services required for bearing applications.  Our QC department is proficient in OD and ID bore micrometers and profilometer inspection to ensure bearings meet print dimensional and RMS requirements. 
• REACH Compliance:  Artistic is at the forefront of environmental compliance and can certify our tin/lead plating services as needed to the current REACH regulations.
• Competitive Pricing:  Artistic Plating has been providing quality tin/lead plating services for over twenty years.  Competitive pricing in tin/lead plating services is paramount to gaining and maintaining our customers in today’s competitive global marketplace. 
• Lean Lead Times:  With inventory a word of the past, rapid turn around is a core company value to provide the service our customers need in tin/lead plating services.
• Value Added:  Artistic prides itself on meeting the customer’s needs.  Whether it’s custom engineering packaging, vacuum or nitrogen sealed packaging to enhance storage, Kanban inventory management, light subassembly or multiple finishing combinations – Artistic will work with you to ensure we meeting your needs in tin/lead plating services.
• Extensive in House Analytical and Quality Lab Services:  SPC is employed in all wet-lab work surrounding our tin/lead plating services to ensure baths are analyzed and adjusted at optimum frequencies to ensure operation between critical upper and lower control points.  Our quality lab employs the latest in x-ray, coulometric and spectrophotometer technologies to inspect your parts and will work to your requirements to provide testing as needed.  Our quality lab can certify salt spray performance to ASTM B117, adhesion to ASTM B571 and solderability to ASTM B678.  Mounted cross sections of parts are also available.