Microplater Classic

£143.69 + VAT

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Our unique Microplater Classic has been designed and constructed in-house for the Spa Plating process.

The Microplater Classic is designed expressly for our small plating set ups and so is easy and quick to use. It can switch seamlessly between our pen, brush and tank plating process.

It is very portable, compact and light; it can be powered with a 9 volt battery and is easily packed away when not in use.

It comes with its own 12v adapter.

 

This shows the Microplater Classic set up for pen plating.

To set the Microplater Classic for pen plating, refer to the product label on your bottle of Spa Plating’s pen plating solution, where you will find the correct voltage for that solution. This is the setting you should enter into your microplater to correctly set it up for pen plating. The amps should be set to between 2 and 3.

With pen and brush plating, the important factor is the volts.

This shows the Microplater Classic set up for brush plating.

To set the Microplater Classic for brush plating, refer to the product label on your bottle of Spa Plating’s brush plating solution, where you will find the correct voltage for that solution. This is the setting you should enter into your microplater to correctly set it up for brush plating. As with pen plating mode, the amps should be set to between 2 and 3.

With pen and brush plating, the important factor is the volts.

This shows two Microplater Classics being used for gold tank plating in one of our 250ml beakers.

The first microplater is connected to the cleaner tank and is in locked mode to 4 volts, with a maximum of 2.5 amps.

The second microplater is connected to the gold beaker and is set at a maximum of 5 volts with the amps set according to the surface surface area of the work.

You can calculate the amps by estimating the surface area using our online calculator.

Generally with beaker/tank plating, the important setting is the amps.

There is a green on/off switch on the back of the unit. Make sure the unit is switched off when not in use.

You can lock the Microplater Classic’s volts and amps output so that they can’t be altered.

This microplater has been put in lock mode; in image B you can see the padlock in the top right hand corner of the microplater’s blue screen.

The ability to use the Microplater Classic in lock mode comes in very useful when you’re using it to power a small cleaning tank. You can set up the Microplater Classic with the volts to 3.5 and the amps to 3.5 ,knowing these settings will stay in place for all your up-coming cleaning needs.

Here is a back view of two of our microplaters side-by-side, showing one being powered with the adapter (included) and the other with a 9 volt battery (not included).

Setting up the Microplater Classic for pen plating

 

Setting up the Microplater Classic for brush plating

Setting up the Microplater Classic for tank plating

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How to set up the Microplater Classic

You can use the Microplater Classic for pen, brush and beaker/tank electroplating
It is particularly useful for tank plating as you can programme it.
You can also monitor the amount of electricity you are using (in amp hours) and this, when used with our online calculators, helps you plate to specific thicknesses.
The default settings do not need to be changed but can be viewed. This is talked about below.

Overview

The Microplater Classic is an electroplating rectifier which outputs dc voltage within the range 0.6 – 30 volts and amps between 0.00 and 3.5

You can set the volts and amps (along with other parameters) using the dial. To control the output, use the yellow on/off switch.

The black negative output and three red positive outputs allow for the three different processes of pen, brush and tank plating to be run from the Microplater.

There is plenty of venting on the sides and base of the unit.

Switching on

To power up the unit, plug in the power lead from the adapter or 9 volt battery into the socket on the back of the unit and press the green button. This will light up when the power is on.

Please note that we only recommend using the battery option with pen plating, not with brush or tank.

The Microplater can be powered with a lead (1) or with a battery (2).

How to switch the Microplater Classic to pen and brush plating mode

1. Make sure the output indicator (1) displays ‘OFF’ by depressing the yellow Output On/Off switch (3).

Take a note of the correct voltage for your pen or brush plating solution – it is displayed on the side of your plating solution bottle.

2. To set the voltage, briefly depress the dial (2). The last digit in the output indicator will start flashing. You can now adjust this digit up or down by turning the dial clockwise (up) or anticlockwise (down).

To move to the next decimal place, depress the dial again and while this digit is flashing you can adjust this one, by turning the dial.

Continue to the next digit to complete the voltage setting.

3. Select the amps by pressing and holding down the dial until the last digit of the amps starts flashing. As above, adjust the amps by rotating the dial clockwise and anticlockwise. To set all the decimal places of the amps, follow the same procedure you followed for the volts.

4. For both pen and brush plating mode, adjust the amps to 3.5 Please note that 3.5 amps is very unlikely to be reached during the plating process and only indicates a maximum value.
The volts figure, however, should remain unchanged from its set value during the plating process.

6. When you’re ready to start plating, press the output ON/OFF button so that it says ‘On’ in the output indicator.

Please note that you can program the output to be permanently on in Program Mode which is discussed below.

How to switch the Microplater Classic to beaker/tank plating mode

Tank plating is different to pen or brush plating in that the important setting is the amps rather than the volts. To work out the correct amp setting for your piece of work and the tank plating solution you’re using you will need to use one of our online plating calculators. Links to these can be found under ‘Calculators’ on our main menu. Once you have established the correct amp setting, take a note of this.

1. Make sure the output indicator (1) displays ‘OFF’ by depressing the yellow Output On/Off switch (3).

2. First set the volts to 5. This will be the same for every subsequent tank plating job you carry out and is the standard volt setting for tank plating. Follow the same procedure for selecting the correct volts as that outlined above for pen and brush plating.

3. Now you will need to enter in the amp setting you have worked out with one of our online calculators. Select the amps by pressing and holding down the dial (2) until the last digit of the amps starts flashing. As above, adjust the amps by rotating the dial clockwise (up) and anticlockwise (down). The amps figure should remain unchanged during the beaker/tank plating process.

4. Lower your work into the plating solution and press the yellow ON/OFF button to start plating.

Technical data

Input voltage 0 – 12 volts (max) via 2.1mm DC Jack Plug (see notes)
Output voltage 0 – 36 volts
Output current 3.5 amps
Output power 35 watts constant, 80 watts maximum
Voltage display resolution 0.01 volt
Current display resolution 0.001 amp (1 milliamp)
Over temperature protection 100℃
Ripple voltage 150 peak-to-peak

Notes:

Do not exceed an input voltage of 12 volts as this may result in device failure.

 

General guide;

Certain small items, for example Swabs, Nibs and Plating Pens can be sent by normal post within the UK

  • The courier option for UK deliveries is FedEx
  • Free UK mainland delivery available on orders over £200
  • International orders usually 3-5 working days.

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