Background

Metal parts are often plated to create a decorative surface finish or to ensure desired physical properties such as corrosion and salt resistance, lubricity, protection from wear and abrasion and to improve the hardness of the plated metal. Electro-plating and electroless plating are commonly used in almost every industry, from aerospace and electronics to the gas and oil industry and general construction. Monitoring the bath composition is vital in quality control to ensure finished parts are plated to the correct thickness to achieve desired properties without over-coating and wasting chemical materials. Applied Rigaku Technologies offers NEX QC benchtop EDXRF analyzer for the measurement of plating bath composition in a small, easy to use tool ideal for at-line quality checks or quality confirmation in the lab.