Online Plating Classes
Caswell Inc is happy to announce a revolution in small scale electroplating - Online Electroplating Classes!
Our first class is a 6 section online class, teaching students how to nickel plate. Nickel plating puts a beautiful layer of shiny, silver metal over almost any object. After taking our course, you will be able to turn out objects like this alignment tool, and you will have an excellent understanding of all electroplating processes.
Each of the six sections contains a Tutorial, Practical and Evaluation part, with hands on learning and theory. It was developed by a former college instructor, who is also an electroplating expert, and is designed for someone who has never electroplated anything before.
Once you enroll, you will have 6 months to complete and view the course materials, at your own leisure.
The course will cover:
- Hazards, safety and disposal
- Plating tank setup
- Part surface preparation
- Amperage and voltage calculations
- Nickel plating procedures
- Plating onto copper and aluminum
- Troubleshooting and tank chemistry
We offer several options for enrollment:
- Complete Class Package. This includes the online class enrollment, a 1.5 Gallon Nickel Plating Kit, a 3 Amp Plating Rectifier, and the E-Class Accessory Package (see below). Order this package if you don't have anything required to take the course.
- Class & Accessory Package. This includes the online class enrollment and the E-Class Accessory Package. Order this package if you already have a nickel plating kit and a power supply. The accessory package includes everything required for class materials that doesn't already come in the nickel plating kit.
The E-Class Accessory Package Contains:
- 2 x Copper Pipes (6"L x 1/2" dia)
- 2 X Aluminum Strips (6"L x 1" dia)
- Connecting lead set to connect the power supply to the plating tank
- Safety glasses and rubber gloves
- 6' of bare copper wire (to hang items into the tank)
- 1 Quart Zincate (to pretreat the aluminum practice pieces)
- pH tester and calibration kit
- Aluminum Polishing Kit (to polish the practice pieces). You need an electric drill to use this kit.
- 3" diam Nylon Bristle Brush
- Class Only Package. Order this package if you already have a nickel plating kit, power supply and everything listed in the accessory package above. Please note, if your supplies are slightly different than the supplies listed above, some course instructions may be different or may not apply. For best results in the course, we recommend using the exact materials specified above.
In addition to the materials above, you will need to supply:
- Distilled water (about 5 gallons should be enough). Walmart sells it in 5 gal drums, as do most grocery stores
- Three clean, empty 1-2 Gallon plastic buckets
- An electric drill, or similar rotary tool capable of spinning 4" wheels at approx 3500 RPM.
- A plastic or wooden stir stick (that you don't plan on using for food prep any more)
- About a gallon of automotive battery acid (buy at NAPA stores or other auto parts suppliers) (optional)
Minimum computer requirements:
- Windows, Linux or Mac OS
- Internet Explorer 6 or higher, Safari, Firefox
- Internet Connection (provider service charges may apply). Broadband recommended, but not required.
- Adobe Flash
- Apple Quicktime
- Adobe Acrobat 6 or higher