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EK introducing Electroless Nickelplating (EN) - 21/07/2011
EK introducing Electroless Nickelplating (EN)
Electroless nickelplating stands out as the best solution for complex liquid cooling systems in PC's. After thorough investigationand testing, EK have opted for the most expensive technology to raise the bar of quality even further.
Due to the high complexity of the coolants and coolant additives used in water cooling systems, and the possible consequences of galvanic corrosion, EK has been working 24/7 to find a solution to increase corrosion resistance of nickel plating against aggressive additives.
EK’s uniquely designed products with clear acrylic material tops increase visibility to the user’s eye giving better visual access from a maintenance point of view, as well as a stunning visual appearance, compared to the competition that mainly use acetal (POM) or metal tops. Because of this EK has given even more focus on the products visual appearance and attention to detail.
After much testing and research, EK has come to the conclusion that it offers its customers the finest and the most expensive nickel plating technique available in the industry – Electroless Nickel Plating (EN). The electroless nickel plating is about 3-5 times more expensive compared to standard nickel Electroplating. EN plating offers several advantages such as:
- Outstanding resistance to corrosion.
- Dimensionally uniform thickness to within 2 millionths of a millimetre.
- Highly adhesive and solderable.
- Very smooth and wear resistant.
- Hardness equal to hard chrome and greater than electrolytic nickel
Electroless nickel plating (EN) is an auto-catalytic chemical technique used to deposit a layer of nickel alloy on a solid workpiece, such as metal or plastic. The process relies on the presence of a reducing agent, which reacts with the metal ions to deposit metal. Due to increased corrosion resistance, the surface of nickel plating is not as shiny as standard Nickel Electroplating and has little darker tone. Throughout the years EN plating may become less bright.
EN Nickel products and availability
Not all currently available EK nickel products will be offered in EN nickel versions. First EN nickel plated products are already manufactured and available for purchase. EN plated EK products will be additionally marked with a silver sticker located in front of the box:
Prices of EN nickel plated EK products will be higher than “old” nickel plated products – in average from 3€ for the CPU blocks to about 10€ for the EK-FC590 GTX blocks.
“Old” Nickel plated blocks status
After further tests, only small number of received RMA returns because of corrosion and feedbacks from end-users, Resellers and Distributors, we have decided to continue selling “old” nickel plated blocks, while suggesting use of only market tested coolants with anticorrosion additive.
Some EK products nickel plated with “old” technology will be discontinued after the sale of current stocks, while we will continue to sell only EN nickel plated options.
All “old” and new EN nickel plated products remain with full 24 month RMA warranty on material, machining and nickel corrosion.
http://www.ekwaterblocks.com/index.php?mac...nt01returnid=17
Added on October 7, 2011, 7:09 pmbut should be ok i think, i using non EN, zzz. so far not yet open the block to see.
This post has been edited by Dennos: Oct 7 2011, 07:09 PM