Cybershield electroless and electroplating capabilities offer design engineers with low cost, light weight and durable plastic antenna, waveguide and RF filter solutions. Cybershield has extensive experience and can provide designers with design recommendations, engineering prototypes for evaluation and testing and volume production capabilities.
Cybershield can deposit uniform thickness electroless copper plating to provide the conductive metal layer required in Waveguides, Antenna Systems or RF Filters. This plating thickness can range from 40 micro-inches (1.0 µm) to 0.001” (25µm) or more depending upon the design requirements. Additionally, Cybershield offers several options for applying a topcoat over the copper plating to protect the copper plating from oxidation in the field. The options are:
- Passivate Copper Plating: treat the copper plated parts in a chemical tank that significantly slows the oxidation rate. Several antenna customers have used this approach for parts that were even used in outdoor environments.
- Tin Plating: many customers will specify electrolytic tin plating over copper to provide corrosion protection of the copper layer. Cybershield has capability to electroplate tin over copper.
- High Phosphorous Electroless Nickel: Electroless nickel contains phosphorous. Low phosphorous electroless plating typically contains 2-5% phosphorous, medium phosphorous nickel plating typically contains 6-9% phosphorous, and high phosphorous electroless nickel contains 10-13% phosphorous. High phosphorous electroless nickel will provide higher corrosion resistance than low or medium phosphorous electroless nickel plating. At phosphorus content above 11%, electroless nickel becomes non-magnetic. For more details about electroless nickel plating, including non-magnetic properties of high phosphorous electroless nickel, view the online PDF here.
- Silver Plating: in some applications, customer may specify silver plating 120 micro-inches (3 µm) – 320 micro-inches (8 µm) thickness to maximize surface conductivity and provide corrosion protection to the copper plating. Silver plating is most often applied by electrolytic plating. At this time Cybershield does not silver plate but can outsource this operation to a plating company with extensive experience silver plating over copper plated plastic parts.
Learn more information about Cybershield’s industry-leading Plating Plastic capabilities.
Cybershield has over 25 years experience in plating plastic for use in wide range of industries and applications. We offer extensive technical assistance in the selection of cost effective plastic resins and plating systems that will meet your technical requirements for antenna, waveguide and/or RF filter systems.
Download the Cybershield Brochure to obtain more information about metallized plastics and other manufacturing services offered by Cybershield.
Cybershield can support customer applications from initial concept, to prototyping & testing and volume production. We can streamline your supply chain by offering Turnkey Services, including:
- Injection Molding
- Mechanical Assembly Services, including insert installation, part marking, decorative painting, gasket installation, mechanical assembly and more.
Contact Cybershield to review your requirements or to discuss design options. We will promptly respond to your phone or email inquiry and provide technical assistance to help you design a cost effective plated plastic antenna, waveguide and/or RF filter systems.
