Titanium Anode Basket for Nickel Copper Zinc Plating

Titanium Anode Basket for Nickel Copper Zinc Plating

Titanium anode basket is significantly applied in nickel, copper, and zinc plating. The anode baskets are mainly cubic containers whose forward and rear walls consist of 0. 8-1. 0 mm thick expanded metal of various mesh sizes. The cross-section of the basket hooks must be so dimensioned that the current density does not exceed 1 amp. /mm2. In general, the basket hooks are manufactured of bars in square or flat cross-sections. They shall rest with one edge on the anode bus with possibly high contact pressure, for the sake of an optimum current transfer from the bus to the basket.
Contamination of the baths by anodic mud is prevented by packing the titanium baskets into bags. Suitable bag materials are cotton, flannel, or synthetic fibers like Terylene, PVC, Polypropylene, or Nylon. The anode bags shall fit tightly and stiffly around the titanium baskets, especially in baths where the electrolyte is severely agitated and the baskets would flutter around otherwise. The bag shall be exchanged and washed in certain intervals to remove the excessive anode mud which would obstruct them and aggravate the bath resistance.

The savings resulting from an application of titanium anode baskets and from the consequent replacement of expensive metal plate anodes by pellets, granals, or even scrap are in the order of
30 %. Further advantages are a constant anode surface, a uniform electric field distribution in the bath, and a facilitated replenishment of the anode metal used up by simply refilling the basket. This is less time-consuming than exchanging the used-up plate anodes against new ones contained in fresh bags. The anode baskets only need to be removed from the bath if they contain too much mud and have to be cleaned.