The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 03, 1995
Filed:
Feb. 01, 1994
Arnold J Cook, Mt. Pleasant, PA (US);
PCC Composites, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
The present invention describes a plated component and plating method in which the plating adheres to the reinforcement particles on the surface of a composite component. This allows the component to be processed above 400.degree. C. without blistering. The plating method allows brazing, such as gold/tin and gold/germanium brazing, maintains hermeticity, and prevents corrosion over a sustained period of time. By utilizing an activator such as palladium, which can produce catalytic sites on which electroless nickel can be deposited, a component with a surface of exposed reinforcement particles can be plated to form a uniform surface without voids. It has been found that by using a combination of nickel-boron and a palladium activator, that Al/SiC composites can be plated with good adhesion when exposed to temperatures above 400.degree. C. In addition, the present invention envisions that an activator can be used with other metal/reinforcement composites to allow the surface of exposed reinforcement material to be plated along with the metal.