Why should the pins of the connector be gold-plated?
The pin of the connector is our usual POGO PIN, which is composed of a needle, a spring, and a needle tube. The entire product is not only important for the craftsmanship of needles, needle tubes, and springs, but also for its electroplating. Electroplating can directly affect the quality of a finished product and determine whether a product is quality or scrapped. If the spring is not plated with gold, it will not be able to carry a large current. If the needle tube of POGO PIN is not plated with gold, it will not have such a stable signal and conductivity.
The reason why the connector plug-in POGO PIN is gold-plated
POGO PIN springs are made of beryllium copper, stainless steel, and piano steel wire. Various materials have unique characteristics. In the field of spring design, there are some basic considerations: working temperature, impedance, and elasticity requirements. The spring is basically silver-plated. For better conductivity, it will be gold-plated. Gold can better improve electrical conductivity and high thermal performance, as well as anti-oxidation and corrosion.
The needle tube of POGO PIN is a deep-turned part. Usually, it needs to go through two processes of nickel plating and gold plating when electroplating it. First, it needs nickel bottom treatment. The usual thickness is 1~2 microns (40u" = 1 micron as usual. ), gold plating is the usual surface treatment layer, the thickness is basically 0.1~1.0 microns. For small-diameter and relatively long blind-hole tubes, it poses a challenge when electroplating the inner wall, usually we will open side holes at the bottom end to allow electroplating The liquid fully forms a backflow at the bottom of the tube to ensure that the inner wall and the bottom of the tube are deposited to the gold composition. Or we will inform the customer of the basic ratio of the design: the length and the inner diameter of the tube.
The needle shafts of POGO PIN are basically gold-plated, which is the preferred treatment method because gold has excellent conductivity and oxidation resistance. In addition, the thickness of the gold plating definitely affects the life of the entire product, because of the cost considerations we will choose the thickness of the nickel bottom treatment and the gold plating. As with some other electroplating solutions, such as rhodium plating, palladium, and some noble materials, different products will have different needs.
