Method for producing plated material, and plated material

• US 10,351,965 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2014
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oriental Electro Plating Corporation
• Original Assignee: Oriental Electro Plating Corporation
• Inventors: Takahashi, Hiroyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wittenberg, Stefanie S
• Application Number:
  US15/028,051
• Publication Number:
  US 20160348260A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,917 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 3/12 of nickel or cobalt
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 3/30 of tin
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 3/40 from cyanide baths , e.g. with Cu+
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 3/46 of silver
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 3/48 of gold
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 3/50 of platinum group metals
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 5/12 at least one layer being of nickel or chromium
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 5/48 After-treatment of electroplated surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 5/505 of electroplated tin coatings, e.g. by melting
• CPC Class Codes: C25F 1/00 Electrolytic cleaning, degreasing, pickling or descaling
• CPC Class Codes: C25F 5/00 Electrolytic stripping of metallic layers or coatings
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/03 characterised by the material, e.g. plating, or coating materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12896 Ag-base component

Abstract

Provided are: a plated material having excellent abrasion resistance, electrical conductivity, sliding performance, and low friction, and wherein a plating layer does not undergo embrittlement properly; and a method for producing the plated material. The method includes a first step of at least partially removing a reflow tin plating layer from a metallic base material having the reflow layer on at least a part thereof and a reactive layer provided at the interface between the reflow layer and the base material; a second step of at least partially subjecting a region in which the reflow tin plating layer has been removed to a nickel plating treatment; a third step of at least partially subjecting the nickel plating layer to a silver strike plating treatment; and a fourth step of at least partially subjecting a region of the silver strike plating to a silver plating treatment.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a plated material, comprising

providing a metal substrate comprising a reflow tin-plated layer and a reactive layer at an interface between the reflow tin-plated layer and the metal substrate,

a first step including peeling at least a portion of a reflow tin-plated layer from the metal substrate to expose at least a portion of the reactive layer and produce a peeled region comprising the reactive layer on the substrate;

a second step including applying nickel plate processing to at least a portion of the peeled region on the substrate to form a nickel-plated layer;

a third step including applying silver strike plate processing to at least a portion of the nickel-plated layer;

a fourth step including applying silver plate processing to at least a portion of the region where silver strike plate processing has been applied, and

wherein the reflow tin-plated layer is formed by applying a reflow process to a tin-plated layer on the metal substrate to convert the tin-plated layer into a reflow tin-plated layer and to form the reactive layer.

2. The method for manufacturing a plated material according to claim 1, further comprising prior to the second step, applying at least one type of strike plating to the peeled region on the substrate where the nickel-plated layer is going to be formed, wherein the strike plating is selected from the group consisting of silver strike plating, gold strike plating, palladium strike plating, nickel strike plating and copper strike plating.

3. The method for manufacturing a plated material according to claim 1, wherein the reactive layer contains Cu₃Sn.

4. The method for manufacturing a plated material according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the nickel-plated layer is 0.05 μ

m to 10 μ

m.

5. The method for manufacturing a plated material according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the silver-plated layer is 0.1 μ

m to 50 μ

m; and

the Vickers hardness of the silver-plated layer is 10 HV to 250 HV.