The PdNi layer is harder and more durable than gold. The soft gold flash on the surface acts like a solid lubricant, moving around with each mating cycle, effectively filling in valleys in the PdNi plating and creating a smooth surface that proved to be quite durable when mated many cycles. So the PdNi plating with gold flash proved to be a superior plating to traditional micro inch gold plating.
High cycle life is a very valuable characteristic for many connectors, especially in IO connectors that are mated and unmated every day, in test systems and even modular jacks. Molex, for example, reports that modular jacks plated with PdNi and gold flash are rated for mating cycles while the comparable gold plated jacks are only rated for cycles. PdNi plating with gold flash also proved to be superior to gold in porosity testing, environmental corrosion resistance, and creep corrosion.
If using gold in a corrosive environment, the corrosion product actually grows or creeps across the surface of the gold, eventually contaminating the mating point and potentially causing failures. The chemistry of PdNi plating is such that the corrosion products do not creep. This allows some connector contacts with bare edges or points where the contact was removed from the carrier strip to pass environmental exposure while the comparable gold plated connector will fail.
PdNi plating with gold flash has become the preferred alternative for FCI, Molex, and TE Electronics, with products sold in very high volume for the last 25 years and performing well in the field. Another alternative that is finding some success is nanocrystaline nickel, also used with a gold flash. This plating was invented at MIT and is licensed to the connector industry by Xtalic, a specialty plating chemistry firm in Connecticut.
Contacts plated with this low-gold formula have also passed the rigorous requirements of Telcordia core environmental testing and IEC PL 2.
By the way, precious metals used in connectors are all subject to the vagaries of the commodity market. Between , after the industry spent millions to prove that PdNi was acceptable and lower cost, the price of Palladium went through the roof, exceeding gold in similar applications.
This spike in Palladium prices was largely driven by the use of Palladium as a catalyst in automotive catalytic converters. Fortunately, supply caught up with demand and now PdNi plating remains less expensive than gold plating. It might not always be that way, so caveat emptor. This plating is normally less than 5 u-in.
This kind of plating is most likely found in connectors used in low cost personal computers and similar commodity devices where long life is not important and cost is. You get what you pay for! My message to you is that at least two plating alternatives have been through the qualification gauntlet at major connector suppliers and major OEMs and have proven to be reliable alternatives at a lower cost than 30 micro inch gold plating. GCSmakes use of a special hard silver plating layer providing improved durability and therefore higher mating cycles compared to traditional soft silver plating widely used today.
The gold flash covering the hard silver layer ensures an effective long term protection against tarnishing and sulfidation which outperforms traditional silver plating protected only by conventional organic anti-tarnish solutions. Our Partners. Medical Production Robotics Security Wireless.
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