n the mid- 1980’s zinc-alloy-plating

technologies debuted in the U.S., but

Zinc-nickel alloy plating has
hit the U.S. scene. Who is
doing it, and why? . . .
By NABIL ZAKI
and
EDWARD BUDMAN
Frederick Gumm Chemical Company
Keamy, New Jersey
46 PRODUCTS FINISHING
only recently have they become more
widely accepted and used in this coun-
try and Canada. Severa1 factors may
have delayed industry’s adopting these
technologies, despite their documented
success in Japan and Germany.
l U.S. regulatory agencies only re-
cently restricted cadmium as a protec-
tive coating.
l Improved quality and product reli-
ability, surpassing that traditionally
offered by zinc plating, has become
necessary in the last few years.
l The simultaneous introduction of
severa1 zinc alloys and processes re-
quired more time to evaluate them
before new specifications could be
written.
The technologies offered today in-
clude zinc-iron, alkaline or acid zinc-
nickel, and zinc-cobalt. A multitude of
papers and symposia are offered regu-
larly to educate the industry on these
processes.
Al1 data from the initial wave of
cadmium-replacementproducts was re-
viewed. Three years of pilot lab and
field tests showed the alkaline zinc-
nickel process as a front runner. Sub-
sequently, various industries adopted
zinc-nickel as part of their finishing
specifications. This prompted severa1
plating facilities, captive and contract
shops, to insta11 alkaline-zinc-nickel
processes. These plating installations
vary in size from 200 to 5,000 gallons,
for rack and barre1 plating.
OCTOBER, 1991
 Electrical
l Transmission
1. INDUSTRIES using alkaline zinc-nickel
Automotive Industry
This industry is the prime beneficiary
of fhis technology (Fig. 1). Performance
warranty upgrades and the need to re-
place cadmium plating prompted the
move to zinc-nickel coatings.
Honda, Toyota and Mazda have zinc-
nickel specification requirements al-
ready in place. And U.S. plating shops
will supply their needs for alkaline
zinc-nickel in conformance with‘ their
specs, mostly for under-the-hood com-
ponents. Chrysler Corporation released
its new specification for zinc-nickel
and zinc-cobalt in 1989.
After considerable lab and proving-
ground testing, Ford Motor Company
issued its Engineering Change Code in
1990, replacing cadmium with alkaline
zinc-nickel. This change has also al-
lowed its main suppliers to remove
their cadmium baths and remain in
compliance with new regulatory laws.
The end products go into power steer-
ing, air conditioning and hydraulic brake
OCTOBER, 1991
components on passengercars and light
trucks.
Most of these parts are tubular, and
plating bath alkalinity provides corro-
sion resistance to the unplated ID. This
is a critical consideration in applica-
tions where no foreign residue or con-
taminants are allowed, in power trans-
missions or brake lines, for instance.
New extendedSalt-sprayrequirements
on some Ford components now stand at
768 hrs to red rust, for eight microns of
zinc-nickel with iridescent chromate.
Other automotive requirements for zinc-
nickel with bronze chromates are cur-
rently being produced and achieve 1,OOO-
1,200 hrs to red rust in neutral Salt-spray
testing (ASTM B-l 17).
Electrical-Transmission Industry
Severa1zinc-alloy processes for plat-
ing heavy-electrical-transmission com-
ponents were thoroughly evaluated.
Alkaline zinc-nickel replaced alkaline
zinc for components such as anchors,
cleats and bolts exposed to harsh envi-
ronments such as those along high-
ways and near seashores.
Zinc-nickel coatings with iridescent
chromates increased the corrosion re-
sistance of these components from 250
hrs to more than 1,000 hrs in salt-spray
testing. The new coating may be ap-
plied directly over steel or pregalvanized
steel for the required additional protec-
tion.
Another growing application is plat-
ing coaxial television cable connec-
tors. These. connectors are tradition-
PRODUCTS FINISHING 41
FunctionalPlating
ally cadmium plated for maximum cor-
rosion protection both indoors and out-
doors. After extensive testing, alkaline
zinc-nickel replaced cadmium as an
environmentally safer substitute.
POWER TRANSMISSION LINES use alkaline
zinc-nickel coatings on anchors, cleats and
bolts connecting lines and components.,
Fastener Industry
This is another industry that depended
heavily on cadmium plating because of
its corrosion resistance. Alkaline zinc-
nickel has outperformed plain zinc and
cadmium in corrosion resistance tests
before and after crimping and baking
for hydrogen embrittlement.
Like cadmium, zinc-nickel-plated
parts can be easily chromated after
baking or heat treating with minimum
activation. Another advantage of
chromated zinc-nickel over cadmium
and zinc is its ability to maintain a high
48 PRODUCTS FINISHING
corrosion resistance following heat
treatment (Fig. 2). Since it is an alloy- are
rich chromate, the thermal degradation oP
is not as critica1 as with conventional
chromated zinc or cadmium. Ni
Other tests conducted by Boeing, and ati
later by other industries, confirmed that haI
zinc-nickel-coated fasteners did not set as
up a detrimental galvanic corrosion ce11 str
when in contact with aluminum. mí
This is the closest simulation tocad- te5
mium performance in such applica- ler
tions to date. It opens the door for co
industries using aluminum bodies. The wi
performance of zinc-nickel plated fas-
teners is expected to exceed that of al1
cadmium-plated in this field. OI
nc
Defense Industry
A wide range of activities are taking
place in this area, propelled primarily
by the desire to replace cadmium. Since
cadmium coatings have been at the
core of many military plating specs for Ca
years, its replacement in such a critica1 Zil
industry must proceed carefully. Stud- Nil
ies have been commissioned to research Te
labs such as Battelle and Otean City Ar
Research. Thorough evaluations, at vari-
ous levels of completion, are underway C¿
at severa1 plating shops. Al
The Army. FMC is a primary sup-
plier of tanks and armored personnel
carriers to the Army. In 1989, during
al
the earthquake in Loma Prieta, Califor-
U
nia, a minor amount of cyanide-cad-
w
mium plating solution splashed out of
plating tanks. Although the solution
was safely captured in containment
s:
tanks, the incident raised concerns about
Z
potential accidental cross-contamina-
OCTOBER, 1991
 tion with acids, or other releases of
cadmium solution.
Management directives accelerated
the evaluation of cadmium substitutes.
As a result, in 1990 FMC obtained
approval to apply alkaline zinc-nickel
to most of its components that had been
cadmium plated. The changeover was
publicized in the community as an ex-
emplary step in adopting environmen-
tally safe technologies. More than 2,000
gal of barre] and rack alkaline zinc-
nickel solution are used in production,
and finishes regularly exceed specifi-
cation requirements.
Other Army branches, such as main-
tenance depots, are actively evaluating
the same process for their in-house
plating shops. Under government con-
ALKALINE ZINC-NICKEL-PLATED fasteners. tract, Otean City Research Center un-
Right is as plated; left after 136 hrs salt dertook a comprehensive study of
spray and one hr heat treatment at 250F. available, environmentally acceptable
ZINC-COBALT-PLATED SLEEVE and zinc-
plating technologies. Its initial find-
iron-plated fastener salt spray tested 136 ings showed alkaline zinc-nickel one
hrs. Left is as plated; right after one hr heat of the leading cadmium replacements.
treatment at 250F. Additional work is being done in this
.

OCTOBER, 199 1 PRODLJCTS FINISHING 49

FunctionalPlating

area to develop a complete range of Japan and a growing list of countries

options.
The Navy. After a moratorium,
NADEP was asked to resume its evalu-
ation of alkaline zinc-nickel, which
had previously shown excellent results
as a cadmium substitute. It demon-
strated low to no hydrogen embrittle-
ment and favorable torque and tension
tests compared to zinc-cobalt. Excel-
lent corrosion resistance after baking
compared to zinc-cobalt and zinc-iron
was also demonstrated.
Alkaline Zinc-Nickel System. An
alkaline zinc-nickel bath is simple to
operate, and is similar to the alkaline
non-cyanide zinc bath (Table 1). The
worldwide have banned cadmium coat-
ings. U.S. manufacturers and suppliers
are expected to conform with these
requirements, so they can maintain
their export and trade positions. The
last few years have seen large-scale
testing and evaluations of zinc-alloy
coatings, and the installation of many
plating lines.
Alkaline zinc-nickel exceeds the
corrosion resistance of al1 other alloys.
Forming and heat treating after plating
do not diminish its performance, mak-
Hrs. to Neutral Salt Spray Test
RedRust
8 um plate
1400 n iridescentchromated

1200
0 Zinc
Caustic 15-19oz/gal
Zinc 0.8-t .6otigal Alkaline
Nickel 0.18-0.24oz/sal Zinc Nickel
It’
Temperature 74-86F ’ 800
Anodic current density 5-9Amp/dm2 OI
Causticcurrentdensity l-5 Amp/dm2 600
th
Alloy Composition: 5-8 pct Nickel
92-95 pct Zinc 400
j ‘4>y*qq’”

alloying nickel metal is added in a liq- 200

uid form or on an amp-hr basis along
with grain refiner brightening agents. 0
Conventional zinc anodes are used to After Heat 360 F,
supply zinc metal. The main electro- Treatment 2 hrs.
lyte, caustic soda, contains the dissolved
AL
zinc. 2. EFFECT of heat treatment; zinc VS. alkaline
EQUIP
NATO, Scandinavian countries, zinc-nickel -
75;
50 PRODUCTS FINISHING OCTOBER, 1991 Indiani
TYPICAL
AUTOMOTIVE
COMPONENTS
and fasteners
plated in alkaline
zinc-nickel with
iridescent or
bronze chromates.

ing this process the likely candidate for

cadmium replacement.
Zinc-nickel plating began in Japan
and Europe ten years before debuting
in the U.S. But it is now accepted in the
U.S. as a viable, environmentally ac-
ceptable alternative to cadmium plat-
ing, and its use is growing. More indus-
tries are finding that zinc-nickel has al1
the attributes of cadmium plating plus
the added benefit of environmental
safety. PF
To obtain more informationon products
or processesmentioned in this article,
circle corresponding numbers on the
ReaderServiceCard.
Zinc-nickelplating .... ........... Circle299
To request an additional copy of this
article, write on company letterheadto
“Reprints,”c/o PRODUCTSFINISHING,
6600 CloughPike,Cincinnati,OH45244.

OCTOBER, 1991 PRODUCTS FINISHING 51