Pre-Plated & Plated Strip
Pre-plated strip arrives at the press with the finish already on the coil - tin, nickel, or selectively plated gold and silver zones - so the stamped part needs no post-stamp barrel or rack plating. That matters for three reasons: contact resistance is set by the strip supplier under controlled thickness and adhesion, cut edges inherit a plated surface instead of bare base metal, and the lead time that rack plating would add to every lot disappears from the schedule. In connector and terminal work, pre-plated strip is usually the difference between a part that assembles cleanly and one that oxidizes in storage.
ISTAMPING stamps pre-tinned and pre-nickel strip from a coil thickness of 0.05 to 3.0 mm, plus selective gold and silver plated zones, on 25-110 ton presses at ±0.005 mm positioning accuracy and up to 300 SPM. Because the finish is already on the strip, die design shifts to protecting it: polished, non-marking tooling surfaces where the coating faces the punch, generous radii at plating-critical bends, and no abrasive deburring after forming. Film thickness, adhesion and salt-spray performance arrive with the mill certificate and are verified again on the first-article inspection; where a program needs plating on bare strip instead, that runs through our managed plating partner lines with the same test regime.
Key Properties
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Finish Source | Applied at the coil by the strip supplier - uniform thickness and adhesion before stamping |
| Cut-Edge Behavior | Plated surface extends to sheared edges, reducing exposed base metal at the cut |
| Formability | Stamped 0.05-3.0 mm; tooling and radii selected to protect the coating at bends |
| Contact Performance | Selective gold and silver zones hold low contact resistance on mating faces |
| Lead Time | No post-stamp plating cycle on the critical path for pre-plated programs |
Typical Applications
- Connector and terminal contacts
- Board-to-board and FPC connectors
- Relay and switch contacts
- Battery and busbar contact faces
- Sensor and instrument terminals
- Automotive connector systems
Common Alloys
Pre-tinned copper and brass strip, Pre-nickel plated steel and copper strip, Selective gold plated zones, Selective silver plated zones
Finishing & Coatings
- Pre-tinned strip (solderability & corrosion protection)
- Pre-nickel plated strip (wear & barrier)
- Selective gold plating (low contact resistance)
- Selective silver plating (high-current contact faces)
- Post-stamp plating via managed partner lines where the spec needs it
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