Hydrostatic Horizontal Cell
A new type of cell (Hydrostatic horizontal cell (HHC)) developed for continuous electroplating of strip is described. The cell consists of upper frame, lower frame, upper anode, lower anode, liquid baffle, conductive roll, backup roll, edge mask and its control system etc. The upper and lower hydrostatic cavities are located at the middle of the cell. The HHC adopts an innovative operating principle to generate strong capability of using hydrostatic pressure to grip the strip and to correct the strip twist. It thereby remarkably decreases the running space height and the deviation-from-center error of the strip in the cell. It originally builds up the horizontal spray of electrolyte to both directions at the center of the cell. Consequently the gas exhausting ability of the cell and the electroplating efficiency are improved. The cell has improved overall technical performances over conventional horizontal cells, and it is capable to effectively prevent short circuiting between the strip and the anodes. In general, the advantages of HHC include stable operation, excellent coating quality, high current density, low power consumption, and simple as well as compact equipment.