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Electroless Nickel Plating on Aluminum (6061, 7075) — Entech
PUBLIC SPECIFICATION · ASTM INTERNATIONAL
Electroless Nickel on Aluminum · ASTM INTERNATIONAL STANDARD

ASTM B733 Electroless Nickel Specification, All Classes.

Entech is a Material Science-approved processor for Electroless Nickel on Aluminum electroless nickel plating, executed under NADCAP Chemical Processing accreditation. Landing-gear and structural-aerospace components, processed against the Electroless Nickel on Aluminum callout and shipped worldwide.

Approved on
6061 7075 Zincate NADCAP CP

What on Aluminum means on a print — and why it matters.

Electroless Nickel on Aluminum sits at the intersection of aerospace structural reliability and chemical-process discipline. When it appears on a engineering drawing, the part isn’t a candidate for a generic plating shop. Below is what the callout actually requires.

Electroless Nickel on Aluminum is Material Science’s Landing Gear Plating Specification 1108 — the customer-controlled standard for electroless nickel plating on landing-gear and adjacent structural-aerospace components built under aerospace programs. It defines the chemistry envelope, deposit characteristics, allowable substrates, post-treatment requirements, and inspection criteria that an electroless nickel deposit must satisfy before a part is accepted into a aerospace assembly.

The specification exists because landing-gear and load-path structural components live at the demanding end of the aerospace duty envelope: cyclic loading, fatigue, corrosive service environments, and tight dimensional tolerance after build-up. A generic "per Electroless Nickel on Aluminum" deposit doesn’t satisfy Electroless Nickel on Aluminum by itself — the callout layers ASTM-specific bath-control, hardness, post-bake, and adhesion criteria on top of the public-spec foundation.

What Electroless Nickel on Aluminum actually controls, in plain English: which platers can run it (only public spec approved processors), how the bath is run (phosphorus content, temperature, pH, replenishment cycle), what the deposit must measure (thickness range, hardness as-plated and post-heat-treat, adhesion), what substrates are allowed, and how the part is post-treated (hydrogen-embrittlement relief bake on high-strength steels; optional heat treatment to elevate hardness). Get one of those wrong, and the part isn’t Electroless Nickel on Aluminum — even if the deposit looks right.

For procurement engineers, the practical consequence is simple: Electroless Nickel on Aluminum work must be sourced from a ASTM-approved processor with current NADCAP Chemical Processing accreditation, full traceable lot records, and a quality system that stands up to a customer source-survey audit. Entech is on that list.

Issuing Body
Material Science
Material Science aerospace systems business unit. Specification owner; processor-approval gatekeeper via the public NADCAP-accredited shop list.
Plating Type
Electroless Ni-P
Autocatalytic nickel-phosphorus deposit. No external current. Uniform coverage on internal features and complex geometries.
Typical Thickness
0.0005–0.003″
Per drawing callout. Common range 12–75 µm. Heavier build-up acceptable on engineering review.
Common Substrates
Steel · SST · Al · 300M
Carbon and alloy steels, stainless, aluminum, copper alloys, Invar 36, Inconel, plus high-strength steels including 300M.

The numbers behind on Aluminum.

Use this matrix as a starting point when scoping a part to Electroless Nickel on Aluminum. The exact values for any given component come off the drawing — we cross-reference each callout against the live specification before quoting.

Parameter Typical Electroless Nickel on Aluminum Range Process Notes
Phosphorus Content 10.5–13 wt % High-phosphorus deposit. Maximum corrosion resistance and amorphous as-plated structure. Bath chemistry maintained inside the Electroless Nickel on Aluminum envelope by daily titration.
Deposition Rate 12–20 µm / hr Bath temperature (88–92 °C) and pH (4.6–5.0) controlled to deliver predictable plate-time per drawing thickness.
Hardness, As-Plated ~500 HV / ~48 HRC Amorphous Ni-P matrix. Naturally hard but ductile relative to electrodeposited chromium. Acceptable for service without further heat treatment when drawing permits.
Hardness, Post Heat Treat ~900–1000 HV / 65–70 HRC Optional precipitation heat treat at 350–400 °C / 1–4 hr precipitates Ni₃P and elevates hardness. Used when drawing calls for hard-EN equivalent to chrome.
Typical Thickness Range 0.0005–0.003″ (12–75 µm) Per drawing callout. Heavier build-up (up to 0.005″) on engineering review. Thinner values for corrosion-only callouts.
Embrittlement Relief Bake 190 °C / 23 hr min. Mandatory on high-strength steels (e.g., 300M, AerMet 100, 4340 above 1000 MPa) within 4 hours of plating to release diffused hydrogen.
Allowed Substrates Per Electroless Nickel on Aluminum § Carbon & alloy steels, stainless, aluminum (with appropriate strike), copper alloys, Invar 36, Inconel, 300M, AerMet, A286, beryllium copper. Each substrate has a controlled prep / activation sequence.
Adhesion Test Bend / Thermal-shock Sample coupons run with each lot. Visual inspection for blistering, peeling, or cracking after thermal-shock cycle confirms metallurgical bond.
Post-Treatment Options Bake · Heat treat · Polish Combinations applied per drawing: hydrogen relief, hardness elevation, dimensional polish to print. Selective masking available for non-plated zones.
Quality Documentation CofC + lot data Each shipment carries certificate of conformance citing Electroless Nickel on Aluminum, NADCAP audit reference, lot ID, thickness verification, and bake record.
Note: ranges shown are typical values consistent with public on Aluminum guidance. The controlled specification governs the exact requirements for any given part — Entech runs each Electroless Nickel on Aluminum lot to the live, current revision of the specification on file, with full traceability into the spec audit record.

How Entech runs an on Aluminum lot — from drawing to dock.

Each step exists to remove a variable. By the time your parts hit the bath, every ASTM-controlled requirement — chemistry envelope, thickness range, post-treatment, lot documentation — is already locked.

01

Submit Drawing & on Aluminum Callout

You send the part drawing, material certificate, finish callout, and any program-level spec requirements. We confirm on Aluminum revision, allowable substrate, and any masking or selective-plate zones before quoting.

02

Process Review & Engineering Sign-off

Process engineering matches the substrate to the right preparation, activation, and post-treatment sequence. Hydrogen-embrittlement relief bake and any heat-treat steps are scheduled into the route before the bath.

03

Plate to on Aluminum

Bath chemistry, temperature, and pH controlled to the on Aluminum envelope. Real-time monitoring with daily titration. Thickness developed against the drawing tolerance, with selective masking applied where the print requires it.

04

Inspect, Document & Ship

Thickness verification, visual inspection, embrittlement-relief bake record, and certificate of conformance citing on Aluminum and NADCAP CP. Packaged for international export and shipped on schedule worldwide.

Related approvals, sibling specs, and the parent process.

on Aluminum lives inside a larger landscape of Material Science and aerospace-industry approvals. Here’s how to navigate from this page to the closest neighbours.

on Aluminum — the questions buyers ask us most.

Direct answers, with the specification numbers, certification IDs, and validity dates that aerospace procurement engineers need to evidence sourcing.

Q: Is Entech approved for Material Science Electroless Nickel on Aluminum?
A: Yes. Entech holds active Material Science Electroless Nickel on Aluminum approval as an approved processor on the public NADCAP-accredited shop list, executed under our NADCAP Chemical Processing accreditation (Cert 24321236442) valid through February 28, 2027.
Q: What is Electroless Nickel on Aluminum?
A: Electroless Nickel on Aluminum is Material Science Landing Gear Plating Specification 1108, the electroless nickel plating standard for landing-gear and related aerospace structural components manufactured under Material Science programs.
Q: What substrates does Entech plate to Electroless Nickel on Aluminum?
A: Entech plates to Electroless Nickel on Aluminum on carbon and alloy steels, stainless steel, aluminum, copper alloys, Invar 36, Inconel, and high-strength alloys including 300M. Each substrate has a tailored preparation, activation, and post-treatment sequence.
Q: Does Entech ship Electroless Nickel on Aluminum work internationally?
A: Yes. Entech ships Electroless Nickel on Aluminum-processed components worldwide, with established workflows for Canadian, US, UK, French, and German aerospace customers.
Q: How do I request an Electroless Nickel on Aluminum quote from Entech?
A: Submit a quote request at https://enplating.ca/contactus with your part drawing, material, and finish callout. Entech responds with a process review and quote within one business day.

Talk to a process engineer about your on Aluminum part.

Send us the drawing, material certificate, and finish callout. We’ll confirm the on Aluminum revision against your program, scope the route, and respond with a quote and lead time inside one business day.

Cert 24321236442 · NADCAP CP through Feb 28, 2027 · AS9100D · Worldwide shipping