Analyzing the influence of process parameters on anode usage in electroplating process

• Main Authors: Begum S., Tarlochan F., Sambasivam K.
• Other Authors: 7101852571
• Format: Article
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Anode; Anode wastage; Cathode; Electrolyte concentration; Electroplating; Porosity

Electroplating is a process of depositing a layer of metal onto another base metal using the electrodeposition technique, where an acid is used as a medium of transferring the desired metal onto the base metal. During electroplating anodes are wasted and burnt and ended up not being used on the end product. A series of experiments with various input parameters were carried out in order to identify the best possible setting and to minimize anode usage. It was observed that for different voltage setting and electrolyte concentration the consumption of anode was more when porosity in anode basket was higher. The statistical analysis revealed that the input variables like the porosity, concentration of electrolyte and applied voltage have pronounced effect on the anode usage; however, the most significant influence was from porosity. The usage of the anodes was much less as the porosity due to the arrangement of anode in anode basket decreased. The interactive affects of the input variables such as the porosity and the voltage and the porosity and the concentration were also prominent. The second order model developed by using response surface methodology also revealed the same trend. The optimum operating conditions were identified by response optimizer plot and were verified experimentally. Both the analytical and experimental results indicated that anode usage could be reduced by 6.12% from that of the current practice. Hence by optimizing the process variables in electroplating industry, it is possible to reduce the usage significantly and to make the process cost effective. � 2013 Knowledgia Review, Malaysia.