What Are The Benefits Of Silver Plating?
Silver plating has been around since the 18th century, when it was used to create cheaper versions of household items that would otherwise be made of solid silver, such as cutlery and candlesticks. Silver plating is a very popular metal finishing choice for many industries including medical, automotive, electronics, telecommunications, and many more. In this blog, we discuss why silver electroplating is used and what the key benefits of electroplating with silver are.
What is Silver Plating?
Before we talk about the benefits of silver plating, let’s discuss what exactly the process of silver electroplating involves. Metal plating, also known as metal finishing, is a process used by many manufacturers to coat the surface of an object in a thin layer of metal, such as silver in silver plating. From silver-plated tableware and jewellery, to medical equipment and electrical connectors, silver has the most applications compared to any other plated metal.
Read our guide to silver electroplating to find out more about the silver plating process and silver electroplating solution.
What Are The Benefits Of Silver Electroplating?
Due to the unique nature of this metal, silver electroplating offers a range of great benefits. You’ll find plenty of excellent reasons to use silver plating, some of which include:
- Resistance To Wear and Corrosion
If you want to create a durable product that is resistant to corrosion, silver is one of your best bets. Adding a silver coating to your metal objects can allow them to become resistant to corrosion, resulting in a sturdier and longer-lasting product.
- Thermal And Electrical Conductivity
Silver is known as one of the most conductive metals and possesses a high level of thermal and electrical conductivity, which makes it a perfect coating choice for applications that involve electric and heat such as electronics, automobile manufacture, or aerospace engineering.
- Antibacterial And Antimicrobial Properties
Besides silver’s conductive properties, silver also has many other benefits that make it a popular choice when it comes to metal plating. Studies have shown that silver electroplating creates a finish that has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, making it extremely valuable in medical as well as scientific applications.
- Cost-Effective
Silver plating is truly cost-effective and can help reduce manufacturing costs in a number of ways. Coating your products with a silver finish is much cheaper than making them entirely out of this precious metal. In addition, silver is one of the least expensive precious metals, and choosing silver plating over gold plating, for example, can save you quite a bit of money.
What Are The Alternatives to Silver Plating?
Although silver is an excellent coating for a variety of substrates, it may not always be the most suitable metal finish option, depending on the application. You can choose to employ other materials such as gold or copper. Find out which metal plating finish is the best for you here.
As with any manufacturing process, when considering using silver plating services, ensure that they are being done by experts in the field. If you are looking for top-quality silver plating services for your equipment or products, contact Dorsetware today. We are proud to be one of the leading professionals in the industries of electroplating and metal finishing.
To learn more about our silver electroplating services get in touch with us using our online contact form or give us a call on 01202 677939 to speak to a member of our friendly team.