• Margot Robbie@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Gold/Nickel plating is standard for most connectors nowadays except for the cheapest of contacts, which uses tin plating.

    Gold plating can still wear off, because pure gold plating is “soft” and “hard” gold plating is usually done with some kind of mixture with other metals for hardness. And the cost of gold plating depends greatly on the thickness, since most of the cost won’t be in materials but in process time.

    That being said, if you truly want the absolute best uncorrodible and toughest plating for a connector, look for rhodium plating, but that is VERY expensive.