Just wondering if anyone already tried to coat a nozzle with Nickel or other metal ?
Because I am thinking of making this on CHT clone nozzle with Nickel…
The problem with coding is is that you will change the internal dimensions. That’s where you want your hardened surface or clean surfaces on the inside I am guessing.
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Yes this is a risk, but from what I know it is usually only a cupple of microns thick, I just want to try to make a Nickel coated CHT clone for the Bambulab 
EDIT: already ordered a plate of Nickel 99,6%
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0.4mm nozzle == 400µm, even if it is a 5µm coating it will still be 390µm, I am pretty sure that not all nozzles are that precise.
Problem is that I got nothing to make good measures… but coating is an easy process and I think that I know how to polish inside & ouside. But I a curious to know if someone already try it what was the result ? in any case I will do it, but sometime best to know before to avoid result frustration
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Give it a shot. I’d be curious to see how long a coating that thin lasts.
You my sir are a busy man with multiple projects going on at the same time with this printer.
ABL gauge, Glass bed, AMS, Multicolor print speed…
What do you expect from this coating?
They have multiple advantage, one is that it is more resistant to abrasion. I dont use much abrasive filament but for occasional use it can do the job well with lot less abrasion and clogs.
From Bondtech
Advantages of the Nickel Coating
A Nickel coating is applied to our Coated Brass nozzles to provide protection against corrosion, erosion, and abrasion. With a Nickel coating the nozzles are more corrosion resistant and have lower coefficient of friction, which allows slicker feeding of material and prevents plastic from adhering to the nozzle surface.
Here’s a topic I can shed some light on.
Here’s the catch : you need to get an EVEN layer on your nozzle. I don’t think electrolytic nickel solutions will be able to do this ; a combination of phenomenoms causes the thickness to be higher on sharp angles and I think you’ll get none inside the nozzle itself.
So how do they do it? If I had to guess, chemical nickel plating. It’s often branded as “electroless nickel”, and it’s not using any electricty (well none from a generator). It helps achieve very very even layers no matter the shape.
Bottom line, I think it’s a bit too hard for an enthusiast to pull off. However, if you need chemical names and directions, I’d be happy to help. I’m a material science engineer with a good knowledge on electrolyte/electroless based coatings.
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From my understanding “path length between anode and cathode throught the electrolytic solution” have a certain importance, that’s why usually there are not only one Anode, it is likely that the shortest path will be the most used. So I got an idea, may be silly one… what do you think if I slowly toss the electrolic solution while it is in action ?
Do you think that it may give a more even result ?
You’ll get uneven layers. I can almost guarantee that. Near the surface of the solution, you get a whole lot of stuff happening. If I understand your “tossing out” idea, you want to empty out a bit of the container during the electrolysis so that the “water” level allows only a part of the nozzle to be treated at any given moment ?
Let’s dive in the physics a bit more.
Usually, you’d want to plate with a fixed cathodic current density. That is the number of amps per unit of surface of your cathode. No matter how large your cathode is, it’s always going to be the same number. Let’s settle on 4 A/dm², a common value for electrolytic solutions of nickel.
Let’s say now that your nozzle has a surface of 0,25 dm² (rough estimation, probably way off). You’d need to apply a current of 1 A to get to this fixed value of 4 A/dm². But if you lift up your nozzle during action, or if you lower the water level, your cathodic surfaced changed, and got smaller. Consequently, you just changed your cathodic current density from 4 A/dm² to something more.
You can use Faraday’s law (well, one of them!) you work out how thick of a coating you will get. Here’s the simplified version of it :
e = tMJ/(nFrho)
t is how long you’re plating in seconds
M is the molar mass of the element you’re reducing (Ni = 58,7 g/mol)
J is your current density (A/dm² or A/cm²)
n is the number of electrons needed to get a reduction ; for Ni based electrolytic solutions, n = 2
F is Faraday’s constant. 95000 C
rho is the volumetric mass of the element you’re trying to reduce. (Ni = 8,7 g/cm3)
e is the thicnkess you’ll achieve (e because of my native language, “épaisseur” = thickness)
You can do the math yourself, don’t forget to convert units so that everything is in cm or dm. The takeaway is that J, current density is a factor of a bunch of stuff ; you can maybe think of this equation as
e = Jkt. The bigger J gets for a given time, the bigger your thickness.
I think I used the wrong word :), was thinking of “moving” the bath with a little motor (or moving the nozzle into the bath) but always fully imerged
My bad.
You mean having the solution stirred ? It’s sort of prerequisite, you ensure you always have enough ions close to the surface to get a reduction happening.
WIll it help? In your acidic non complexed nickel solution, it will almost have no effect on your layer thickness. Extremes cases, as in no stirring at all would cause the layers to be even more uneven, but a little bit of stirring or a whole lot wont change much.
Moreover, nickel electrolytic solutions often produce a poreous layer. It will slowly corrode over time because of this.
I’d strongly advise you look into electroless nickel commercial solutions if you wish to achieve a good looking, non poreous even layer of nickel.
If you want to go the DIY way, it’s possible but you’ll have to buy somewhat exotic chemicals (nothing you wont find on eBay).
This is more a hobby than a professional grade project, it have to be fun, last time I play with electrolytic was when I was a child about 35 years ago 
(I am 45) for doing some hydrogene pops and a little copper plating, once again this is just for fun and learn
I’m sorry, I often get on a professional mindset when giving advices !
If you want to go the electrolytic way, I suggest using the following chemicals to get a good looking layer :
NiSO4 ; 6H2O = 250 g/L
NiCl2 ; 6H2O = 50 g/L
Boric acid : 40 g/L or adjust the pH using only sulfuric acid
The solution is to be used at a temperature of 50-60°C for best results. Maintain pH between 3 and 5 for best results.
Current density should be kept between 1 and 5 A/dm². The lower you go, the less you exacerbate the uneven coating problem. Avoid positioning sharp angles towards anodes. I hope this might help you.
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I have seen that some do the electrolytic nickel bath by using two piece of nickel (anode + cathode) in white vinegar + a tea spoon of salt for 24 H, then filtering. What do you think about this solution ?
EDIT: one problem of this I see, seems to be the bubbles, somthing must be added to reduce fluid tension and avoid too much bubble
It will work, sure. I can’t vouch for this, nor I can guarantee you’ll get the results you want, as it will probably produce a very crude coating. But you will get nickel on your nozzle !
To adress the bubble problem, you can use any surfactant stable in acidic solution. Full DYI? A drop of liquid soap, the kind you use to wash your dishes.
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Thanks for all those advices, I should receive the Nickel in the following days, will see 
, I am not convinced that I will succeed but that’s will be fun
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For any kind of resistance to abrasive materials the coating will be far too thin and will wear out very very quickly. But the other advantages are still valid, even more so if you polish the nozzle afterwards. But I would say most of it is more marketing then real benefit.
I cant fully agree, (note I have to say that they also advise it is not made for abrasive filament in the same web page), but from my own experience on that, I have one 0.6mm Bondtech CHT coated nozzle on my CR10S pro since 2020 and it is still looking good, I dont print that often, but I have printed some Kg of filament including abrasive ones (but yea not that much)
EDIT:
Electroplating printed object looks fun too :
I am wondering, why he does not simply put it in an oven (300C°) to remove inside plastic
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