1: Jewelry & Luxury Goods‌

Revitalize heirlooms or create bespoke pieces:

• ‌Thickness Options‌: 0.25μm (cost-effective) to 3μm (high-wear items)
• ‌Color Variations‌: Rose gold (copper alloy), white gold (palladium), antique finish
• ‌Case Studies‌: 92% customer-reported lifespan increase vs. competitors

‌2: Industrial Applications‌

• ‌Aerospace‌: MIL-G-45204 compliant coatings for sensor contacts
• ‌Medical‌: Biocompatible plating for surgical instruments
• ‌Automotive‌: Connectors with <5mΩ resistance variance

‌3: Electronics Gold Plating‌

• ENIG (Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold) for PCB edge connectors
• Gold wire bonding for semiconductor packaging
• EMI/RF shielding for 5G components

Gold plating is more than a decorative luxury; it is a critical enabling technology across virtually every high-reliability sector. Below are the major fields where gold coatings—ranging from 0.05 µm “flash” to 5 µm hard-gold—are specified today.

Gold plating Electronics & Telecommunications

• Printed-Circuit Boards (PCBs): Selective soft-gold (ENIG, ENEPIG) on pads, edge-fingers and high-frequency signal traces ensures solderability, wire-bondability and ultra-low contact resistance in smartphones, laptops and 5G base-stations.

• Connectors & Switches: 0.75–2.5 µm hard-gold (Ni-Co alloyed) survives >1,000 mating cycles in USB-C, RF, HDMI and pogo-pin assemblies .

• Semiconductor Packaging: 30–50 µin gold on lead frames and bond pads prevents oxidation during die attach and wire bonding

• MEMS & Sensors: Soft, pore-free gold layers (<0.1 µm) on pressure and biosensors maintain stable millivolt-level signals.

Automotive & EVs Gold plating

• Safety-critical ECUs, airbag sensors and ABS controllers use 1.25 µm gold over nickel for corrosion resistance in under-hood environments

• Battery & Charging Systems: Gold-plated HV connectors carry 400–800 A with minimal heating.

• Radar & Lidar: 50 µin gold on 77 GHz RF modules guarantees signal integrity across –40 °C to +155 °C.

Gold plating in Aerospace & Defense

• Satellites & Avionics: 100 µin hard-gold on backplane connectors endures 20-year missions under vacuum, radiation and thermal cycling.

• Missile Guidance: Gold-plated slip rings and rotary joints prevent fretting corrosion during high-g maneuvers.

• Space-qualified PCBs comply with NASA outgassing and MIL-G-45204 Class 2 specs.

Medical & Dental use Gold Plating

• Implantables: Soft, high-purity (99.9 %) gold on pacemaker feed-throughs offers biocompatibility and low polarization impedance.

• Surgical Instruments: 2 µm gold on electrosurgical tips resists blood corrosion and provides clear cauterization marks.

• Diagnostic Probes: Micro-gold electrodes enable single-cell electrochemical sensing.

Jewelry, Watchmaking & Luxury Goods Gold plating

• Fashion Jewelry: Flash-gold (0.25 µm) on brass gives the look of 14–18 kt at a fraction of the cost while resisting tarnish.

• Swiss Watches: 5 µm hard-gold on crowns and bezels survives decades of wear and perspiration.

• Awards & Trophies: Mirror-bright decorative gold on aluminum, stainless steel or zinc die-cast.

Gold Plating in Industrial & Energy

•Test & Measurement: Gold-plated probe needles maintain <10 mΩ contact resistance after 1 M touchdowns.

• Renewable Energy: Gold-plated busbars and junction boxes in solar inverters prevent galvanic corrosion.

• Hydraulics & Pneumatics: 2 µm gold on valve spools reduces stiction in ultra-clean gas delivery systems.

Optics & Quantum Technologies

• IR Reflectors: Soft gold films on copper mirrors reflect >98 % at 1–10 µm wavelengths for CO₂ lasers.

• Cryogenic Electronics: Gold-plated bond pads on superconducting qubit chips minimize magnetic susceptibility.

Emerging & Specialty Applications Gold Plating

• Flexible Electronics: Nanometer-scale gold on polyimide enables foldable displays.

• Biosensors: Gold nanoparticle-enhanced coatings for SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests.

• RF MEMS switches: 0.3 µm gold on silicon bridges for 5G beam-forming arrays.

Our factory is equipped with advanced fully – automatic electroplating production lines, which are the backbone of our efficient and high – quality gold plating and silver plating electroplating services. These production lines offer numerous advantages:

Precision and Consistency: The automated systems ensure precise control over the electroplating parameters such as current density, temperature, and plating time. This results in a consistent and uniform plating quality across all batches, meeting the stringent requirements of our clients.

High – Efficiency Production: Fully – automatic production lines enable high – speed plating operations, significantly increasing our production capacity. We can handle large – scale orders efficiently while maintaining the quality of each plated item.

Reduced Human Error: Automation minimizes the chances of human error during the electroplating process. The precise control and monitoring systems ensure that each step of the process is executed accurately, leading to fewer defects and rework.

In addition to our fully – automatic production lines, we utilize a range of advanced electroplating equipment and technologies to deliver superior results:

Precision Electroplating Baths: Our electroplating baths are carefully formulated and controlled to ensure optimal plating conditions. We use high – purity chemicals and advanced filtration systems to maintain the purity and stability of the plating solutions, resulting in high – quality silver coatings.

Advanced Monitoring and Control Systems: We have installed state – of – the – art monitoring and control systems throughout our production process. These systems continuously track critical parameters such as solution composition, temperature, and current density, allowing our technicians to make real – time adjustments and ensure consistent plating quality.

Quality Inspection Equipment: We are equipped with advanced quality inspection tools such as thickness measurement devices, adhesion testers, and corrosion resistance testing equipment. These tools enable us to conduct thorough quality checks on our plated products, ensuring that they meet our strict quality standards before they are shipped to our clients.

At Chongqing SIPX Machinery, the words “gold plating” do not simply describe a final finish—they describe a rigorously standardized, data-driven journey that begins with incoming raw material and ends with a traceable, RoHS-compliant coating ready for aerospace, medical, or consumer-electronics duty. Below, we open every door of our production line so you can see exactly how controlled, repeatable, and transparent our gold plating process really is.

1. RFQ & DFM Review – Where Gold Plating Starts

Before any ampere flows, our application engineers analyze your drawings, usage environment, and electrical requirements. Whether you need 0.05 µm soft-gold on a 5 G flex-circuit or 3 µm hard-gold on a power-connector pin, we translate those needs into a Process Flow Chart (PFC) that locks in layer sequence, thickness targets, adhesion criteria, and salt-spray life. Keywords such as “gold plating specification,” “gold plating thickness,” and “gold plating adhesion” are captured in a single document that is signed off by both SIPX and the customer—eliminating downstream surprises.

2. Surface Chemistry Pre-Qualification

Incoming parts are first subjected to non-destructive tests: alloy verification via XRF, roughness via laser profilometry, and residual-magnetism screening for electronic parts. Only substrates that meet our internal spec advance to the gold plating line. This gate keeps rejects at <0.2 % and protects the integrity of every subsequent gold plating bath.

3. Precision Pre-Treatment – The Hidden Foundation of Gold Plating

a. Ultrasonic Alkaline Clean

A 60 °C, pH 11–12 solution removes cutting oils, fingerprints, and oxides. Ultrasonic cavitation reaches blind holes as small as 0.2 mm, guaranteeing that the gold plating will anchor to a pristine surface.

b. Electrolytic Micro-Etch

A 5-second pulse roughens high-phosphorus Ni or Cu substrates by 0.05–0.1 µm Ra, increasing mechanical tooth for the gold plating without compromising geometry.

c. Double Cascade Rinse + DI Final

Conductivity is held <5 µS/cm to eliminate drag-in contamination that could blister or stain gold plating.

4. Strike & Barrier Layers – The Gold Plating Safety Net

Depending on the final gold plating system, we deposit:

• • 2 µm low-stress Watts Ni for general corrosion barrier
• • 0.5 µm high-phosphorus EN for connector applications
• • 0.1 µm Wood’s Ni strike on stainless steel to enable gold plating adhesion

Thickness is monitored in real time with eddy-current probes; any deviation triggers an automatic hold.

5. Gold Plating – The Core Value-Add

Our plating cells are fully automated, PLC-controlled, and networked to a central MES. Two distinct chemistries are always on tap:

• Soft Gold: 99.9 % Au, 60–90 HK, for wire-bond or sliding-contact gold plating
• Hard Gold: Co-hardened, 130–200 HK, for >1,000 mating cycles

Key parameters locked inside each gold plating recipe: current density 0.5–3.0 A/dm², bath temperature 55 ±2 °C, pH 4.3 ±0.1, Au concentration 8 ±0.5 g/L. A Siemens S7-1500 PLC adjusts rectifier output every 0.1 s, maintaining thickness uniformity ±5 % across a 600 mm-wide rack.

6. In-Line Quality Gates During Gold Plating

• XRF head scans every 3rd rack; data populates the traveler in real time.
• Hull-cell coupons pulled every 2 h to verify brightness, grain size, and stress.
• Bath contamination monitored by CVS (Cyclic Voltammetric Stripping); carbon treatment triggered automatically when organic breakdown products exceed 50 ppm.

The result: gold plating defect rates below 50 ppm on 1.2 million parts per month.

7. Post-Plate Treatments – Extending Gold Plating Life

a. Hot DI Rinse 60 °C → eliminates occluded salts
b. Hot-air knife 120 °C → drives off hydrogen, preventing delayed embrittlement
c. Optional PTFE top-coat 0.05 µm → lowers insertion force in gold-plated connectors

8. Final Verification & Certification

Each lot undergoes:

• – Adhesion tape test per ASTM B571
• – Thickness mapping (XRF 5-point grid)
• – Porosity nitric acid vapor test for gold plating >1.27 µm
• – Salt-spray 48 h / 96 h per ASTM B117
• – RoHS & REACH SVHC screening via ICP-OES

A QR-coded C of C accompanies every shipment, allowing customers to trace any gold plating batch back to bath chemistry, operator, and XRF map within 30 seconds.

9. Packaging & Logistics – Gold Plating Leaves Clean

Parts are packed in nitrogen-purged, anti-tarnish bags, then vacuum-sealed with desiccant. For export shipments we add VCI film, ensuring gold plating arrives at your dock as bright as the day it left Chongqing.

1. What thickness of gold plating do I really need?

1. • Signal contacts: 0.05–0.1 µm (ENIG)
2. • Power connectors: 0.75–1.25 µm hard gold
3. • Wear surfaces: 2–5 µm cobalt-hardened gold

We confirm the optimum thickness after reviewing mating cycles, current load and environment.

2. Is your gold plating RoHS and REACH compliant?

Yes. All baths are cyanide-free or low-cyanide, and every lot is screened for Pb, Cd, Hg and 235 REACH SVHCs. Certificates ship with each batch.

3. Can you plate gold directly on stainless steel or aluminum?

Stainless: Wood’s nickel strike first.
Aluminum: zincate + electroless nickel undercoat. Both processes are in-house and fully automated.

4. How do you control thickness uniformity across large panels?

Automatic flight-bar speed, individual anode current control and in-line XRF scanning ensure ±5 % uniformity on parts up to 600 mm wide.

5. What adhesion tests do you run?

• • ASTM B571 tape test (100 % lots)
• • Bend test per IPC-TM-650 2.4.4
• • Thermal shock –55 °C ↔ +125 °C 10 cycles

6. Do you offer selective gold plating?

Absolutely. Masking tapes, peelable lacquers and laser-structured resist allow selective plating down to ±0.2 mm edge definition.

7. What is the maximum part size you can handle?

Rack line: 600 × 400 × 150 mm

8. How fast can I get prototypes?

Standard samples: 24 hours after receipt of parts.

9. Does gold plating change the final dimensions?

Gold adds only 0.1–5 µm per side. For tight-tolerance press-fit pins we pre-machine undersized and plate back to spec.

10. Is gold plating expensive?

Gold is a precious metal, but our high-current density baths, continuous XRF feedback and cyanide-free chemistries reduce gold consumption by 12–18 % versus conventional lines. We quote volume tiers and can lock prices quarterly.

If you are looking for reliable, high – quality silver or gold plating services, look no further than CHONGQING SIPX MACHINERY. Our strategic location in the Chongqing Tongliang Electroplating Industrial Park, advanced fully – automatic production lines, standardized processes, and stable quality have made us a trusted choice for clients both domestically and internationally. We are committed to exceeding your expectations and delivering electroplating solutions that meet your specific requirements.

Please feel free to contact us for more information about our services, request a quote, or discuss your electroplating project with our experts. We are ready to assist you and help you enhance the value and performance of your products through our superior silver or gold plating services.