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Electroplating enhances the mechanical, thermal, and tribological properties of components in industries like aerospace, computing, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. To achieve high-quality electroplated coatings, control of process parameters is essential. This study focuses on the challenges associated with the black nickel electroplating process, particularly its nonlinearity which makes traditional linear methods inadequate. We employed machine learning techniques to develop models capable of predicting defects, coating colour, and coating mass specifically for black nickel electroplating process adhering to the MIL-P-18317 specification, a boric acid-free method that is more environmentally friendly but more sensitive to bath conditions, hence making process optimization more challenging. Our research addresses significant gaps in the literature, focusing on boric acid-free black nickel plating, which requires unique modelling approaches different from other electroplating processes. Unlike previous studies that mainly focused on predicting coating mass, our models also predict defects and colour, ensuring comprehensive quality control. The best-performing models achieved an F1 score of 0.9875 for defect prediction, an F1 score of 0.95 for colour prediction, and R 2 = 0.9561, MAE = 0.0039, and MSE = 0.00001 for mass prediction. Additionally, we developed a novel optimization algorithm based on these models to fine-tune process parameters, ensuring that the resulting coatings meet strict standards for quality, appearance, and productivity. The validity of our approach was confirmed through experimental results. This research demonstrates how machine learning can help surface finishers, by providing effective strategies for optimizing processes in nonlinear scenarios, thereby improving product quality and productivity.

Electroless nickel plating is a suitable technology for the hydrogen industry because electroless nickel can be mass-produced at a low cost. Investigating in a complex environment where hydrogen permeation and friction/wear work simultaneously is necessary to apply it to hydrogen valves for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In this research, the effects of hydrogen permeation on the mechanical characteristics of electroless nickel-plated free-cutting steel (SUM 24L) were investigated. Due to the inherent characteristics of electroless nickel plating, the damage (cracks and delamination of grain) and micro-particles by hydrogen permeation were clearly observed at the grain boundaries and triple junctions. In particular, the cracks grew from grain boundary toward the intergranualr. This is because the grain boundaries and triple junctions are hydrogen permeation pathways and increasing area of the hydrogen partial pressure. As a result, its surface roughness increased by a maximum of two times, and its hardness and adhesion strength decreased by hydrogen permeation. In particular, hydrogen permeation increased the friction coefficient of the electroless nickel-plated layer, and the damage caused by adhesive wear was significantly greater, increasing the wear depth by up to 5.7 times. This is believed to be due to the decreasing in wear resistance of the electroless nickel plating layer damaged by hydrogen permeation. Nevertheless, the Vickers hardness and the friction coefficient of the electroless nickel plating layer were improved by about 3 and 5.6 times, respectively, compared with those of the free-cutting steel. In particular, the electroless nickel-plated specimens with hydrogen embrittlement exhibited significantly better mechanical characteristics and wear resistance than the free-cutting steel.

Additively manufactured metal components often have rough and uneven surfaces, necessitating post-processing and surface polishing. Hardness is a critical characteristic that affects overall component properties, including wear. This study employed K-means unsupervised machine learning to explore the relationship between the relative surface hardness and scratch width of electroless nickel plating on additively manufactured composite components. The Taguchi design of experiment (TDOE) L9 orthogonal array facilitated experimentation with various factors and levels. Initially, a digital light microscope was used for 3D surface mapping and scratch width quantification. However, the microscope struggled with the reflections from the shiny Ni-plating and scatter from small scratches. To overcome this, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) generated grayscale images and 3D height maps of the scratched Ni-plating, thus enabling the precise characterization of scratch widths. Optical identification of the scratch regions and quantification were accomplished using Python code with a K-means machine-learning clustering algorithm. The TDOE yielded distinct Ni-plating hardness levels for the nine samples, while an increased scratch force showed a non-linear impact on scratch widths. The enhanced surface quality resulting from Ni coatings will have significant implications in various industrial applications, and it will play a pivotal role in future metal and alloy surface engineering.

In this paper, electroless nickel plating is explored for the protection of binder-jetting-based additively manufactured (AM) composite materials. Electroless nickel plating was attempted on binder-jetted composites composed of stainless steel and bronze, resulting in differences in the physicochemical properties. We investigated the impact of surface finishing, plating solution chemistry, and plating parameters to attain a wide range of surface morphologies and roughness levels. We employed the Keyence microscope to quantitatively evaluate dramatically different surface properties before and after the coating of AM composites. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a wide range of microstructural properties in relation to each combination of surface finishing and coating parameters. We studied chempolishing, plasma cleaning, and organic cleaning as the surface preparation methods prior to coating. We found that surface preparation dictated the surface roughness. Taguchi statistical analysis was performed to investigate the relative strength of experimental factors and interconnectedness among process parameters to attain optimum coating qualities. The quantitative impacts of phosphorous level, temperature, surface preparation, and time factor on the roughness of the nickel-plated surface were 17.95%, 8.2%, 50.02%, and 13.21%, respectively. On the other hand, the quantitative impacts of phosphorous level, temperature, surface preparation, and time factor on the thickness of nickel plating were 35.12%, 41.40%, 3.87%, and 18.24%, respectively. The optimum combination of the factors’ level projected the lowest roughness of Ra at 7.76 µm. The optimum combination of the factors’ level projected the maximum achievable thickness of ~149 µm. This paper provides insights into coating process for overcoming the sensitivity of AM composites in hazardous application spaces via robust coating.

With the growing integration of electronic systems into modern infrastructure, the need for effective electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials has intensified. This study explores the development of electroless Ni-plated fiber composites and systematically investigates the effects of post-heat treatment on their electrical, structural, and interfacial performance. Both carbon fibers (CFs) and glass fibers (GFs) were employed as reinforcing substrates, chosen for their distinct mechanical and thermal characteristics. Ni plating enhanced the electrical conductivity of both fibers, and heat treatment facilitated phase transformations from amorphous to crystalline Ni3P and Ni2P, leading to improved EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI-SE). NGF-based composites achieved up to a 169% increase in conductivity and a 116% enhancement in EMI-SE after treatment at 400 °C, while NCF-based composites treated at 800 °C attained superior conductivity and shielding performance. However, thermal degradation and reduced interfacial shear strength (IFSS) were observed, particularly in GF-based systems. The findings highlight the importance of material-specific thermal processing to balance functional performance and structural reliability. This study provides critical insights for designing fiber-reinforced composites with optimized EMI shielding properties for application-driven use in next-generation construction materials and intelligent infrastructure.

The reliability of micro-light-emitting diode (Micro-LED) is closely associated with the uniformity of microbumps arrays. With continual decreases in pixel pitch in recent years, it is a challenge to guarantee the uniformity of bump arrays. To satisfy current requirements for ultra-high-density interconnections, this study proposes an electroless plating method for fabricating highly uniform nickel microbumps. This technique differs from electroplating, in which the morphology and consistency of microbumps can be easily controlled. Furthermore, it is a high-selectivity and cost-effective method of microbumps fabrication that eliminates solder wastage and avoids metal lift-off in traditional evaporation. To minimize the non-uniformity of the bumps, we aim to optimize the oxygen plasma treatment parameters and deposition intervals to eliminate the issues of skip plating, hydrogen bubble entrapment, and nodules. Under the combined effect of plasma treatment and intermittent deposition method, microbump arrays with less than 5% uniformity were successfully prepared, achieving the demands of high-density bonding. In addition, the preparation process is highly reproducible, extending the application range of this technique.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of chemical nickel plating and mechanical alloying on the mechanical and tribological properties of FeS/iron-based self-lubricating materials as well as the wear mechanism of the materials. Design/methodology/approach Surface modification of FeS powder was carried out by chemical nickel plating method and mechanical alloying of mixed powder by ball milling. The mechanical properties of the material were tested by tribological testing by M-200 ring block type friction and wear tester. Optical microscope was used to observe the surface morphology of the material and the transfer film on the surface of the mate parts, and scanning electron microscope and EDS were used to characterize the wear surface. Findings Mechanical alloying ball milling was carried out so that the lubricating particles in the matrix are uniformly dispersed; nickel-plated layer enhances the interfacial bonding of FeS and the matrix, and the combination of the two improves the mechanical properties of the material, and at the same time the friction side of the surface of the lubrication of FeS lubricant transfer film formed is denser and more intact, and the friction coefficient of friction side and the wear rate of the material have been greatly reduced. Originality/value This work aims to improve the mechanical and tribological properties of FeS/iron-based self-lubricating materials and to provide a reference for the preparation of materials with excellent overall properties.

With the development of electronic products in the direction of miniaturization and lightweight, the specifications of thread gradually become minor, and the high-precision forming of micro threads has become an urgent problem to be solved. In this paper, the extrusion forming process of the micro internal thread was mainly studied on the nickel-plated aluminum alloy parts. The process route suitable for the internal thread forming on electroplated parts was designed, and the key parameters of thread bottom hole diameter and thread tapping speed were determined by experiment. Aiming at the typical problem of internal thread blocked by a broken tap, a thread repair method based on laser ablation was proposed and the laser processing parameters were optimized. Eventually, the manufacturing of M1 micro internal thread on nickel-plated aluminum alloy parts was successfully realized.

Electroless nickel plating technology displays exuberant vitality in the field of surface treatment, nevertheless accompanying with its spent plating solution for environmental pollution and resource waste. Therefore, it is of great significance how to realize the high efficient utilization of various waste ions in the electroless nickel plating wastewater (ENPW). Herein, after transforming nickel and sulfur elements in ENPW into nickel hydroxide and barium sulfate, the remaining elements serve as primary raw materials for the synthesis of multi-porous multi-doped nano-Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 @C materials (D-NVP). This is achieved by integrating the sol–gel method with the carbon thermal reduction method. The as-synthesized D-NVP displays a 3D porous skeleton structure, where the pores with different nano-micron sizes are interlinked by the skeletons with the thickness of 40–200 nm. The unique structure, combined with Mg-Ca-Fe doping, contributes to D-NVP’s excellent electrochemical properties, with the initial discharge capacities of 108, 107, 104.3, 101.5, 98.6, and 95.3 mAh·g −1 at 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10 C, and the capacity retention rates of 99.2% and 98.9% at 1 and 5 C after 200 cycles, respectively.

Cu-based self-lubricating materials can effectively adapt to complex natural environments and ensure consistency in materials used for switch transitions. These materials were tested through interface reinforcement research, improving their mechanical and tribological properties and providing a theoretical basis for new switch slide baseplate materials. Results showed that the coefficient of friction and wear weight loss of Cu-based self-lubricating materials decreased with an increase in graphite content after Cu and Ni plating on the graphite surface, reaching a minimum value at a graphite content of 6 wt.%. The coefficient of friction and wear weight loss of the Ni-plated material were reduced 11.1% and 85.6%, respectively, whereas the coefficient of friction and wear weight loss of Cu-plated materials were reduced 7.2% and 78.4%, respectively. Compared to Cu plating, Ni plating substantially enhanced the friction and wear performance of Cu-based self-lubricating materials. Cu and Ni plating increased the adhesion of the materials on the pin surface and the adhesive materials’ composition was consistent with the lubricating film, which changed the grinding mechanism between the pin and the disk. Ni plating had a stronger effect on the tribological performance of Cu-based self-lubricating materials than Cu plating.