Setting up a plating station

[opcode66]

I'm wondering what all is involved in setting to start plating lacquers? What list of gear would I need. What is an estimate of the startup costs. I don't want to press. Just electroplate. Any input is more than appreciated!

[Aussie0zborn]

This is a difficult procedure with so many variables. In another post, MossBoss has detailed the chemicals required and their cost.

In a nutshell, the equipment required is:

Silvering machine (you can make one yourself) with fume exhaust
Pre-plating tanks (low current, low temperature) with rectifiers
High speed plating tanks (high current, high temperature) with rectifiers

Finishing Equipment :

Sheet Metal Circle Cutter (for cutting the part down to the required diameter)
Centering machine (for determing the centre of the stampe and punching the hole)
Forming dies to shape the centre hole and the edge of the stamper (often two seperate operations)

Laboaratory glassware, scales, etc.

Totalsonic has mentioned previously that plating in the USA is bound by many restrctions and environmental guidelines. Thats' not to say that it can't be done but you may encounter additional costs to meet those requirements.

Digital Matirx in the USA make plating gear for the optical disc industry. Before the advent of the CD they were known as Audio Matrix and made plating equipment and provided plating services for the vinyl record industry. (Note your American pressings from the 70s with "Audio Matrix" stamped in the dead wax area). Plating tanks for optical discs are much smaller and will not fit a lacquer disc but all other gear is the same.

[JayDC]

You do not have to fume the silver, you could just spray the plate with silver nitrate. There is an online shop based in the usa, they have kits for exactly this, the chemicals (metal solutions) at least. You will need to find one of those cool plating tanks that spin the master in the nickle solution while providing electricity to the silver on the plate, and the nickle anode.

Fuming seems to be a more traditional method, and seems to be the way to do it, everywhere but in the usa. All the plating places I have ever seen videos of that exist now in this country use a sprayer and silver nitrate. Maybe because its easier to recollect the over spray, or because it speeds up the process.

[opcode66]

Hmm. Ok. This gives me a better understanding.

Anybody reading this thread with any of the aforementioned gear for sale?

[Aussie0zborn]

Fuming??????????? Jay, silvering is always done by spraying (although there is another method that I wont go into now because its archaic and it's past midnight - and I'm not referring to sputtering which we have already discussed). The fumes need to be extracted from the spray booth.

Todd, some research and a couple of YouTube videos will give you a better idea. A plating facility would give your cutting service a competitive edge. You can get it up and running and do it propely as long as you dont have a deadline to meet and all your finances are not resting on the plating facility being up and running quickly. This is the only time you really need to take your time and learn the ins and outs properly before going to market.

Plating for the record industry is sometimes referred to as a black art but if you learn the basics and have the discipline you can do it just as so many others are doing it.

Dont take any advice from anybody who has NEVER made stampers. Get a job at, or visit your local CD/DVD plant before it closes down - the process is the same except they dont silver optical disc masters to make stampers.

[montalbano]

Opcode, except for the silvering booth talking about the bare equipment we could supply you with all you will need to set up a galvanic department. Baths, rectifiers, centerpunch, circular cutter, and btw Aussie forgot the backsander which you will effectively need. His list is anyway correct.

You are more than welcome to come visit us and see how all the process works, from beginning to end.

But I have to warn you about some aspects.

Electroplating is undoubtfully profitable, but very expensive for the simple reason that a very big part of what you could spend would go into chemical products and nickel.

Also the installation is simple but not that cheap; no one has mentioned distilled water, but you will need it for the silvering process.

Just to write down some numbers

- nickel-S pellets say 25 Kg x 8 baskets = 200 Kg = 4300 €
- silver nithrate say 1 Kg x 700 € or more (silvering)
- reducer for silver nithrate (silvering: DGlucose + other stuff)
- stannous chloride (sensitizing)
- ammonia (removal of bad silvering)
- hydrogen peroxyd (removal of bad silvering)
- acetone (backsanding)
- sulfamic acid (pH correction)
- nickel carbonate (pH correction)
- boric acid (pH buffer)
- distilled water: you can use columns with special filters or a real di-water production plant or you can buy di-water tanks
- chromic acid (degreasing bath)
- sodium dichromate or albumin (separation from metal to metal)

This, just to mention a few of the needed products. Assuming that your baths will be supplied with the nickel sulfamate (which almost no one wants to get rid of, so it usually travelling with the baths) - otherwise add another 5K or so.

Galvanics are definitely not the "touch and go" job, they need continuity. The more your baths will be running, once they are set up correctly, the better your stampers will come out. Also you will have to keep going with production, because some of the a.m. products (e.g. silver nithrate and reducer) will have to be prepared in stock solutions which will last for a while but not eternally.

And last but not least, you will have to keep the bath's circulating pump and the heating elements running, especially in winter, otherwise the boric acid could crystallize around the pumps, and not only.