What is the difference between plastic plating and metal plating

Author: MULAN – Plastic Molding Manufacturer

With the rapid development of industry, the application of plastic electroplating processing is becoming more and more extensive, and it has become one of the important means of surface decoration in plastic products. At present, electroplating has been widely carried out on plastic surfaces such as ABS, polypropylene, polysulfone, polycarbonate, nylon, phenolic glass fiber reinforced plastics, and polystyrene at home and abroad, among which ABS plastic electroplating is the most widely used and the electroplating effect is the best. . The appearance of plastic electroplating is required to be smoother than the electroplating surface of metal products, and the brightness can generally be achieved, but there are certain differences in its degree.

It is generally believed that the appearance of better plastic plating is "black" in the bright, and the visual sense of brightness is "thick". This macroscopic feeling is determined by the microscopic state of the surface, which means that the microscopic surface must be very flat. The coating of plastic electroplating must not be foggy. Very slight fogging cannot be found under strong light or when looking directly at it. It can only be found under a specific angle and light, so it is easy to be ignored.

As for defects such as plastic exposure, peeling, burrs, pitting and poor deep plating, they are absolutely not allowed to exist in plastic electroplating. Some secondary assessment parts and the back and other parts must be coated with a coating, and the color should be bright, and it must not be blackened, exposed plastic, or scratched by fixtures. Compared with metal parts, plastic electroplating products can not only achieve a good metal texture, but also reduce the weight of the product. While effectively improving the appearance and decoration of the plastic, it also improves its electrical, thermal and corrosion resistance. Performance, but the selection of plastic materials for electroplating should comprehensively consider factors such as material processing performance, mechanical properties, material cost, electroplating cost, difficulty of electroplating, and dimensional accuracy.

Because of its structural advantages, it not only has excellent comprehensive performance, is easy to process and shape, and the surface of the material is easy to erode to obtain high coating adhesion, so it is currently widely used in electroplating.