PCB Through Hole Plating Steps (2)

3. PCB Electroplating:

3.1 Immerse the PCB in the water tank or flush it directly, so that the wall of the hole can be fully wetted. After wetting, pay attention that there are no air bubbles in the wall of the hole. If there are air bubbles, flush them with water to remove them.

3.2 Put the PCB into the electroplating tank, and shake the PCB back and forth in the tank (about 10 times) to completely wet the hole wall with the plating solution.

3.3 Use a dovetail clip to fix it in the center of the slot. Taking an A4 size PCB as an example, the plating current is 3.5A, and the plating time is 60 minutes.

*In order to obtain better electroplating quality, it is best to place the board in the center of the electroplating tank, and the alligator clip (black) of the cathode is clamped in the center of the crossbar, so that the concentration of the electroplating solution and the electroplating current can be evenly distributed to each part of the PCB, and get better plating quality.

3.4 The PCB plating current setting ratio is recommended to set the current according to the size of the PCB.

3.5 After the electroplating is completed, take out the PCB, rinse it with clean water and then dry it to avoid oxidation on the surface of the PCB.

3.6 After the electroplating is completed, use 400-grit fine sandpaper or steel wool to grind the surface of the PCB comprehensively back and forth until the surface of the PCB is smooth, so as to level the bumps and depressions generated during electroplating to avoid errors in plane detection during PCB engraving.

3.7 Move the board to the PCB engraving machine for circuit fabrication.