The benefits of gold-plated material connector contacts
Why do we always emphasize and insist on using gold-plated terminals for power aerial plugs and signal aerial plugs? It is not that we use expensive materials for no reason to increase product costs, but that gold-plated materials can increase the stability of our connectors.
General connector products will use tin plating because tin is cheaper and has a better anti-corrosion function. At the same time, the texture of tin is also relatively soft, which is conducive to a better fit between plugs and sockets. However, because the texture of tin is relatively soft, the tin-plated surface will be worn out after multiple insertions and unplugging, which will cause the deformation of the contact end, which will not reach the designed contact force. At the same time, tin-plating will also produce work. Circumstances where the temperature does not meet the requirements.
In addition, there are some methods that the working temperature of brass or bronze tin plating can reach 110°C, and the tin plating of steel can reach 190°C. For high mating cycles, gold plating is generally required. For higher operating temperatures, other coatings are needed, such as nickel plating on copper up to 340 degrees Celsius, and nickel plating on brass or bronze up to 250 degrees Celsius.
Our industrial connectors are mainly used in small-signal applications with high-reliability requirements, applications requiring small contact force, and multiple insertion and removal. Therefore, we generally use gold plating, and the corrosion resistance of gold is also outstanding. Nickel is generally used as the bottom layer of gold plating, and most of the steel contacts are nickel-plated (copper must be plated first). The conductivity of palladium is worse than that of gold, and it is mostly used to replace electroplated gold in certain restricted areas. At present, the price of gold continues to rise, and more and more products are plated with palladium-nickel alloy. Silver-plated contacts have very good electrical conductivity, but silver is easy to oxidize, so it is only used in special circumstances. In addition to being superior to other methods in terms of corrosion resistance, gold-plated industrial connectors also greatly increase the number of insertions and removals of our products due to the wear resistance and ductility of gold. It is ensured that a high contact force can be maintained even after multiple insertions and unplugs, so as to better ensure the conductivity and the continuity of the signal. The last point is the unparalleled conductivity of gold. This is also an important reason why we choose gold as the plating material for industrial connectors.
