ASTM_B_689_-_97_2013.pdf

Designation:B68997(Reapproved 2013)Standard Specification forElectroplated Engineering Nickel Coatings1This standard is issued under the fixed designation B689;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S.Department of Defense.1.Scope1.1 This specification covers the requirements for electro-plated nickel coatings applied to metal products for engineer-ing applications,for example,for use as a buildup for misma-chined or worn parts,for electronic applications,including asunderplates in contacts or interconnections,and in certainjoining applications.1.2 Electroplating of nickel for engineering applications(Note 1)requires technical considerations significantly differ-ent from decorative applications because the following func-tional properties are important:1.2.1 Hardness,strength,and ductility,1.2.2 Wear resistance,1.2.3 Load bearing characteristics,1.2.4 Corrosion resistance,1.2.5 Heat scaling resistance,1.2.6 Fretting resistance,and1.2.7 Fatigue resistance.NOTE1Functional electroplated nickel coatings usually contain about99%nickel,and are most frequently electrodeposited from a Watts nickelbath or a nickel sulfamate bath.Typical mechanical properties of nickelelectroplated from these baths,and the combined effect of bath operationand solution composition variables on the mechanical properties of theelectrodeposit are given in Guide B832.When electroplated nickel isrequired to have higher hardnesses,greater wear resistance,certainresidual stress values and certain leveling characteristics,sulfur and othersubstances are incorporated in the nickel deposit through the use of certainaddition agents in the electroplating solution.For the effect of suchadditives,see Section 4 and Annex A3.Cobalt salts are sometimes addedto the plating solution to produce harder nickel alloy deposits.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2B183 Practice for Preparation of Low-Carbon Steel forElectroplatingB242 Guide for Preparation of High-Carbon Steel for Elec-troplatingB252 Guide for Preparation of Zinc Alloy Die Castings forElectroplating and Conversion CoatingsB253 Guide for Preparation of Aluminum Alloys for Elec-troplatingB254 Practice for Preparation of and Electroplating onStainless SteelB281 Practice for Preparation of Copper and Copper-BaseAlloys for Electroplating and Conversion CoatingsB320 Practice for Preparation of Iron Castings for Electro-platingB322 Guide for Cleaning Metals Prior to ElectroplatingB343 Practice for Preparation of Nickel for Electroplatingwith NickelB374 Terminology Relating to ElectroplatingB480 Guide for Preparation of Magnesium and MagnesiumAlloys for ElectroplatingB487 Test Method for Measurement of Metal and OxideCoating Thickness by Microscopical Examination ofCross SectionB499 Test Method for Measurement of Coating Thicknessesby the Magnetic Method:Nonmagnetic Coatings onMagnetic Basis MetalsB507 Practice for Design of Articles to Be Electroplated onRacksB530 Test Method for Measurement of Coating Thicknessesby the Magnetic Method:Electrodeposited Nickel Coat-ings on Magnetic and Nonmagnetic SubstratesB558 Practice for Preparation of Nickel Alloys for Electro-platingB568 Test Method for Measurement of Coating Thicknessby X-Ray Spectrometry1This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee B08 onMetallic and Inorganic Coatings and is the direct responsibility of SubcommitteeB08.03 on Engineering Coatings.Current edition approved Dec.1,2013.Published December 2013.Originallyapproved in 1981.Last previous edition approved in 2008 as B689 97(2008).DOI:10.1520/B0689-97R13.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 B571 Practice for Qualitative Adhesion Testing of MetallicCoatingsB602 Test Method for Attribute Sampling of Metallic andInorganic CoatingsB697 Guide for Selection of Sampling Plans for Inspectionof Electrodeposited Metallic and Inorganic CoatingsB765 Guide for Selection of Porosity and Gross Defect Testsfor Electrodeposits and Related Metallic CoatingsB809 Test Method for Porosity in Metallic Coatings byHumid Sulfur Vapor(“Flowers-of-Sulfur”)B832 Guide for Electroforming with Nickel and Copp