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Now onto the power supplies!
This section will be explained in simple terms so its as easy to understand as possible. (plus I'm not one for big words!!)
The power supply is what supplies the electricity to make the metal move out of the solution and onto your part dangling in it.
There are several factors related to power supplies that should be explained now.
1. D.C. Voltage (direct current)
2. Voltage
3. Amperage
When you plug your drill, toaster, or any other appliance into the wall (including your power supply) it runs off of the available electricity you have coming into your house. That is usually 120 volts A.C. (alternating current)
What the A.C. means is that it is alternating. The electricity is fluctuating 60 times a second back and forth. If you tried to use this type of electricity for electroplating you would be plating and unplating, plating and unplating, and never getting anything on your part. To over come this the A.C. has to be converted into a D.C. current. This means that the current is no longer fluctuating but is going into your part smooth and straight like the power that comes out of a battery.
So how do we get it to convert from A.C. to D.C.????.........POWER SUPPLIES!!!!!! Big ugly mean power supplies!! Well ok some are not so ugly but you get the picture. Below are a few that I use for my plating.
Inside of a power supply you have components such as
Transformers,capacitors,diodes,wires, resistors and all kinds of
other little gizmodies. All of this is designed to turn the regular
120 or 220 volt A.C. current into D.C. current.
Voltage is what drives the current to where you want it to go. Its like the pusher for the current. If you have a electroplating bath that is not very conductive, or wires that are too small, or your part is very far away from the anode, then you will have to use more voltage to bring the current up to where you want it.
For electroplating you don't want to go over 6 volts D.C. output. If you start going higher then this you will run the risk of burning the edges of your plating on the part.
Current is what makes the metal move! Remember back when you had to figure out the square inches of the part and multiply it by the amps per square inch of the particular bath you were going to use? Well this is what you were figuring out. How much current to use to make all those little metal ions in the bath do their thing and stick to your part. If you use too much current you will either burn the plating, or blister the plating right off the part, too little current and it will not plate.
My main power supply is a 10 volt 100 amp Sorenson. Its old and heavy but works good. Even though you may have or might purchase a ......say....40 volt 100 amp power supply, it will still work the same as my 10 volt 100 amp.
By this I mean, even though the unit may be rated at a higher voltage then mine. It will only use so much voltage to push the amperage through the part.
If my power supply takes 3 volts to move 10 amps in a certain bath, then your power supply will take the same 3 volts to push 10 amps in the same bath. Remember..........its the higher amperage you want. Don't get a power supply below 10 amps or all you will be plating is nickels and dimes!
Some people have used 6 volt batteries and battery chargers for power supplies to plate with sucsecfully. I have not done this so I wont be able to write about it.
If you have used this method please write me on how you did it and I will post it here for others to use.
