CADMIUM PLATING
by Hugh Morrow 4YM4-51
Cadmium Council. Inc., New York, NY
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Most cadmium plating is carried out in alkaline cyanide baths prepared by dissolv-
ing cadmium oxide (CdO) in a sodium cyanide (NaCN) solution. Sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) and sodium carbonate (NaKO,) are formed by reactions within and are part of
this bath. Cadmium balls suspended in steel wire cages serve as the plating anodes. Typ-
ical bath compositions suitable for various plating methods and workpieces are sum-
marized in Table I.
The characteristics of an alkaline cyanide cadmium plating bath are determined by
the ratio of the total sodium cyanide to cadmium metal content. Maintenance of the re-
commended ratio is important to the operating characteristics of the bath. Sodium hy-
droxide is formed by reaction with CdO and is also added in amounts of about 1.0
oz/gal to improve conductivity of the solutions for barrel plating. I t may also be used to
counteract solution drag-in. Sodium carbonate is formed by decomposition of NaCN,
reaction with carbon dioxide (CO,) in the air, and by poor anode efficiency.
All of these alkaline cyanide cadmium plating baths employ addition agents to im-
part a uniform, fine grained deposit. However, excessive amounts of grain refiners are
discouraged, and their use is not recommended for cadmium plating on cast iron.
The choice of a plating bath depends on the size and configuration of the work-
piece being plated. Large numbers of small parts are most conveniently barrel plated
with solutions of a lower NaCN-to-Cd ratio, whilc larger parts with intricate and re-
cessed surfaces must be coated by still plating tcchniqucs of high throwing power. Auto-
matic plating is normally used for intermediate size products which are arranged on
racks and then automatically sequenced through a plating procedure.
Other consideiadons in barh selection include plating efficiency, plating speed, de-
posit uniformity and hydrogen evolution. For instance, to obtain uniform plate thick-
ness, a currcnt density of 20 to 40 ASF is rcconimendcd, but highcr valucs arc uccd for
high speed, high efficiency plating. In such a case, however, bath agitation and cooling
are required.
Table 1. Alkaline Cyanide Cadmium Plating Baths
TOIUINUCN- Conceniruiion, oz/gul
Io-Cd Ruiro. Cd CdO NuChl NuOH Nu:CO,
4.0 2.6 3.0 10.4 1.9 4-10
4.1 2.6 3.0 10.7 8.0 4-6
4.5 4.8 5.5 21.6 3.4 4-6
5.0 2.1 3.0 13.5 1.9 4-8
7.2 2.6 3.0 18.2 1.9 4-6
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Preparation of t h e Plating Bath:
Bath preparation is most conveniently carried out in a spare tank of approximately
the same volume as the production plating tank. Fill the tank roughly 70% full of water,
heat t o W°F, and dissolve the sodium cyanide. For barrel plating, the 1.0 oz/gal of
NaOH should be added at this time. Carefully add the CdO while stirring the solution to
insure that the C d O completely dissolves.
After all salts have been dissolved, add 1.5 t o 2 Ibs of purification grade zinc dust
per 100 gallons of solution and stir thoroughly for 30 minutes. Let the solution stand for
four hours, then filter it into the production plating tank, leaving about 5% of the solu-
tion and sediment at the bottom of the plating bath make-up tank.
Install approximately one cadmium anode per linear foot of conductor bar, and
electrolyze at 0.25 t o 0.50 V for 2 4 to 48 hours. Add the grain refiner agent depending
on the surface appearance desired, and plate for about two days at a current density of
10 ASF to normalize the solution.
O p e r a t i n g Conditions:
Still Plating:
A cathode current density of 5 to 70 ASF may be used, but the normal ranges are 15
to 25 ASF for nonagitated baths and 30 to 50 ASF for agitated baths. Either the cathode
rod or the solution may be agitated. The maximum anode current density should be
about 20 ASF.
When steel wire cages are used to hold the cadmium anode balls, excess anode area
must be provided. U p to 50% of the total anode area may consist of case-hardened
steel, Bath temperature should be 75 t o 90°[Link] preferably held at 80 to 85 O F .
The cadmium metal content should be held at the desired value between 2.6 and 4.6
oz/gal as determined by the plating process required (e&, high throwing power or high
speed-high efficiency).
The free-cyanide content is normally 8 to 10 oz/gal. At higher temperatures, how-
ever, a higher free-cyanide level is necessary to insure uniform results.
The sodium carbonate concentration should be limited to 8 oz/gal or to lower val-
ues for high metal content baths, since the presence of both high cadmium metal and
high sodium carbonate contents tends t o polarize the anodes, limit the usable current
density range, and produce dark and streaky deposits.
T o obtain the maximum throwing power for still plating, use a bath containing 2.2
oz/gal Cd, total NaCN of 17 oz/gal (Cd-to-NaCN ratio of 7.7), and operated at 10
ASF.
Barrel Plating:
Small barrels may be operated at 6 to 8V. For barrels larger than 14” diameter by
30” long, Ihc voliagc must bc 10 l o 12V. The other operating conditions are similar to
those for still plating.
Small lightweight parts are normally plated by barrel plating at low current densi-
ties (5 to 7 ASF) depending on the metal concentration and bath temperature. Under
these conditions, 0.2 mil of cadmium will be barrel plated in 20 to 30 minutes.
Brighteners:
Organic or metallic compounds are often added to alkaline cyanide cadmium plat-
ing baths to influence the formation of the electrodeposited cadmium crystals and thus
the brightness of the coating. They are largely proprietary and, among the organics, in- .
clude:
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Aldehydes Furfural Molasses
Coumarin Gelatin Sugar
Dextrin Milk Some Sulfonic Acids
Metallic brighteners include nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and selenium compounds.
Best results are achieved by a moderate use of both types. Excessive amounts of the
organic brighteners ure leas harniful i n that thcy ultiniatcly hydrolyzc and bccome harm-
less. Metallic brighteners should never be used unless technical facilities and conipctcnt
personnel are available. Baths which are used excessively and which contain large
amounts of organic brighteners must be filtered frequently or continuously.
N0N-CYA NIDE PLATlNG BATHS
In recent years, the need for pollution control of cyanide solutions and for cad-
mium plating solutions which generate minimal hydrogen evolution has led t o develop-
ment of several non-cyanide cadmium plating baths. These solutions are a neutral sul-
fate, an acid fluoborate, or an acid sulfate.
The compositions and operating conditions of each of these baths, along with those
of one of the typical alkaline cyanide solutions, are summarized in Table 11. Brighteners
are generally added to these baths as required, and the cadmium anodes are normally of
99.95% purity.
Of the four plating baths outined in Table 11, the acid fluoborate bath is capable of
high cathode efficiency at high current density but does not, along with the other non-
cyanide baths, have the excellent throwing power of the alkaline cyanide bath. Because
of their higher cathode efficiency, the non-cyanide baths are often preferred for the cad-
mium plating of quenched and tempered high strength steels since less hydrogen is gen-
erated at the cathode, and any danger of hydrogen embrittlement is much less.
In any case, all cadmium plated high strength parts are usually based at 375 O F with-
in four hours of plating to drive off any hydrogen present. The baking times vary from
30 minutes to 23 hours, depending on the specification, and are a function of both the
base steel strength level and the maximum section thickness of the plated part.
Table 11. Typical Cadmium Electroplating Baths
Bath Component
(ozlgal) or Alkaline Neutral Acid Acid
Operating Condition Cyanide Sulfate Fluoborate Sulfate
Ammonium chloride - 1.5-3.0 - -
Ammonium fluoborate - - 8.0 -
Ammonium sulfate - 10.0-15.0 - -
Boric acid - - 3.6 -
Cadmium 2.7 0.5-1.5 12.6 -
Cadmium fluoborate - - 32.2 . -
Cadmium oxide 3.0 - - 1.0-1.5
Sodium carbonate 4.0-8.0 - - -
Sodium cyanide 13.5 - - -
Sodium hydroxide 1.9 - - -
Sulfuric acid - - - 4.5-5.0
Current density, ASF 5-90 2-15 30-60 . 10-60
Temperature, O F 60-100 60-100 70-100 60-90
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