High-quality, reliable plating for busbars, connectors, and components, engineered to meet the anticipated IEC 61439-6 updates and keep your low-voltage assemblies safe, durable, and fully verified.
What is IEC 61439?
The IEC 61439 is a mandatory international standard for the design, construction, and verification of low-voltage switchgear and control gear. It presents the regulations and rules governing low-voltage switchgear and control gear assemblies. It ensures the safety and performance of low-voltage switchgear in power distribution and electrical systems.
The standard, and equivalent British Standard (BS EN 61439), helps assemblies maintain verified performance and supports designers and end users in meeting their obligations for safe, reliable low voltage switchgear and busbar trunking systems.
Future Updates
The international standard for low-voltage switchgear and control gear assemblies (IEC 61439-6) is expected to be updated imminently to specify nickel and tin plating. Whereas before, the standard did not specify a specific surface treatment method, this anticipated update would mean switchgear and control panel components, such as busbars, connectors, contact points, fasteners and terminals may need to be coated with nickel and tin.
Benefits of nickel and tin plating
These standards are designed to ensure switchgear and control gear assemblies maintain consistent mechanical, electrical and thermal capabilities during their service life. Nickel and tin plating offer such benefits to improve the performance and safety of components, and supports manufacturers looking to produce high-quality, durable products. It also gives products a quality engineered appearance, which improves aesthetics and increases customer confidence.
Nickel and tin plating of busbars greatly increases corrosion resistance and reduces oxidation of the copper, helping maintain stable electrical performance over time. Tin plating alone already provides good corrosion protection, low contact resistance, and excellent solderability, particularly in humid environments.
Adding a nickel underlayer introduces a dense, hard, wear resistant barrier that further improves corrosion resistance, limits copper diffusion into the tin, and supports long term reliability, especially in harsher or higher temperature conditions.
For all your IEC 61439-compliant plating needs
If you need support to ensure your components are plated as expected in line with the updated IEC 61439 standards, or BS EN 61439, then we are here to help. Karas Plating can support you with:
1. High-quality, competitively priced nickel and tin plating process
2. Industry-leading dimensional range of up to 4.2m
3. Bespoke busbar plating solutions to suit your low-voltage switchgear and control gear assembly applications
4. High quality plating fully compliant with ISO45001:2018, ISO14001:2015 & ISO9001:2015, RoHS & REACH
5. A team of surface engineering experts on hand to make sure your busbars are plated consistently throughout your product’s production lifetime
6. Collaborative R&D to support prototyping, trials, and validations with all necessary industry qualifications, such as PSW / PPAP
Contact Us
For any nickel and tin plating requirements for low-voltage switchgear and control gear assemblies in accordance with the expected updates to IEC 61439-6, please contact us today!