Cadmium Alternatives for Selective Plating Applications

Aircraft Landing Gear

Today’s demanding aerospace applications require well-engineered and proven deposits that pose as little risk as possible to both the operator and the environment. SIFCO’s cadmium replacements are superior quality deposits that can be applied anywhere, in the shop or in the field.

For the aircraft industry, Zinc-Nickel LHE and Tin-Zinc are less toxic alternatives to cadmium that can be used to repair damaged cadmium, zinc-nickel, tin-zinc, and damaged IVD aluminum on high strength steels. Both deposits provide excellent corrosion protection and are LHE, and do not require a post-plating, hydrogen embrittlement relief bake.

Deposit Data

	Zinc-Nickel LHE	Tin-Zinc 4019
Composite	8-12% Ni	80% Sn : 20% Zn by weight
Structure	Microporous	Microporous
Corrosion Resistance	120 hours (ASTM B 117)	96 hours (ASTM B 117)
Average Hardness	132 HV	17 HV
Maximum Thickness	0.005 inch	0.005 inch
Plating Rate	0.043 inch/hr	0.007 inch/hr
Micrograph