Electroplating Thickness Calculator

Work out electroplating thickness instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Electroplating Thickness Calculator

Plating thickness is Faraday's law followed by a geometry step: charge gives the deposited mass, and mass divided by density and area gives the thickness spread over the work. Nickel figures are used here (58.69 g/mol, divalent, 8.908 g/cm3). Two amps for thirty minutes over 100 cm2 at 95% efficiency lays down roughly 11 um.

Formulas

Mass from charge

mass = (I x t x efficiency x M) / (n x F)

Thickness

thickness = mass / (density x area)

Worked example

With the default values below, Electroplating Thickness Calculator returns Coating Thickness of 11.677. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Plating currentminimum 0 A: 2 A
Plating timeminimum 0 min: 30 min
Area being platedminimum 0 cm2: 100 cm2
Cathode current efficiencyaccepts 1–100 %: 95 %

Results

Coating Thickness: 11.677 um
Metal Deposited: 1.0402 g
Same Thickness In Mils: 0.4597
Deposition Rate: 0.3892 um/min

Step by step

1Values used
2Mass from charge
3Thickness
4Coating Thickness= 11.677 um
5Metal Deposited= 1.0402 g
6Same Thickness In Mils= 0.4597
7Deposition Rate= 0.3892 um/min

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why include current efficiency?

Some current goes into hydrogen evolution rather than metal. Real nickel baths run at 92-97%, so ignoring it overstates thickness.

Is the coating really uniform?

No. Current density concentrates on edges and corners, so those plate thicker than recessed areas. This gives the average.