Development of electroplated cu-sn-zn and Cu-Ni-Zn ternary alloys for coinage application

加拿大皇家造币厂（RCM）为加拿大生产流通硬币，并为世界上75个其他国家生产硬币。他们是铸造行业的全球领导者，其开创性的专利多层电镀（MPP）技术是世界上最先进的电镀技术之一，已被超过25个其他国家采用。该技术除了能节省成本和提高硬币质量外，还能通过更可靠的电磁签名来提高硬币的安全性。然而，随着金属价格不断上涨，需要不断创新，以满足日益增长的降低成本的需求。为了进一步降低生产成本，同时又不影响质量和耐用性，MPP技术的一个可能的应用方法是创造性地用三元合金代替目前使用的二元合金涂层。因此，RCM正在与马尼托巴大学合作，在这项拟议的研究中，开发新的电镀铜锡锌（Cu-Sn-Zn）和铜镍锌（Cu-Ni-Zn）三元合金。研究结果将导致生产成本降低，而不会危及可可质量和耐用性，这将转化为增加铸币税和加拿大的收入。除了RCM之外，电镀还广泛用于其他关键行业的涂层金属产品的制造，包括汽车，航空航天，生物医疗和能源，这些对加拿大经济至关重要。除了将培训的HQP之外，实现更经济和有效的电镀程序，正如这项拟议研究所表明的那样，肯定会对这些行业有益。研究成果的传播将改善制造程序，这可能会降低成本、增加加拿大以外的业务、创造就业机会并增强加拿大经济，同时也有助于提高加拿大在先进电镀技术方面的竞争力。

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) produces the circulation coins for Canada and has produced coins for over75 other countries around the world. They are a global leader in the minting industry and their ground-breakingand patented multi-ply plating (MPP) technology is one of the most advanced electroplating technologies in theworld, which has been also adopted by over 25 other countries. In addition to the cost savings and improvedcoinage quality enabled by the technology, it also produces coins with enhanced security feature through amore reliable electromagnetic signature. Nevertheless, continuous innovation is required to address theever-increasing need to reduce costs as the prices of metals keep rising. A possible approach with theapplication of the MPP technology to further reduce production costs, without compromising the quality anddurability, is to creatively replace the currently used binary alloy coating on coins with ternary alloys.Therefore, the RCM is collaborating with the University of Manitoba, in this proposed research, to developnew electroplated copper-tin-zinc (Cu-Sn-Zn) and copper-nickel-zinc (Cu-Ni-Zn) ternary alloys. The results ofthe research will lead to lower production costs, without jeopardizing coinage quality and durability, which willtranslate to increased seigniorage and revenue generation for Canada. Aside from the RCM, electroplating iswidely used in the manufacturing of coated metallic products in other key industry sectors, includingautomotive, aerospace, bio-medical and energy, which are vital to the Canadian economy. In addition to theHQP that will be trained, the realization of more economical and effective electro-plating procedures, as acontribution from this proposed research, will certainly be beneficial to these industries. Dissemination of theresearch results will lead to improved manufacturing procedures, which will potentially result in cost reduction,increased business from outside of Canada, job creation and enhanced Canadian economy, while also aidingCanada's competitiveness in advanced electroplating technology.