AURUNA® 3408: The new generation of hard gold plating – sustainable, safe, and powerful

With AURUNA® 3408, Umicore Metal Deposition Solutions (MDS) introduces an innovative hard gold electrolyte that uncompromisingly meets the requirements of modern plating in terms of environmental compatibility, occupational safety, and technical performance. The cyanide-free gold-copper electrolyte completely dispenses with hazardous substances and grain refiners such as arsenic, thallium, lead, cadmium, cobalt, or tellurium – while offering the highest material quality and process reliability.

Benefits for production and the environment

AURUNA® 3408 offers users a high-performance plating solution that is typical of Umicore MDS. At the same time, the absence of hazardous substances enables a significantly simplified and safer production process in everyday operations.

• No special safety requirements
  The process can be done without respiratory protection, protective suits, or complex ventilation systems. This lowers operating costs, simplifies work organization, and protects employee health.
• No restrictions due to hazardous substance limits
  The electrolyte does not affect a company's hazardous substance account. This creates more leeway for other processes—or allows additional production capacity to be tapped.
• Simpler and more cost-optimized disposal
  As there are no toxic residues, disposal can be carried out via regular chemical waste channels. This reduces both costs and administrative effort.
• Reduced risk of downtime
  The fact that there are no hazardous substances minimizes the risk of regulatory requirements, incidents, or temporary production stoppages – a clear advantage for planning reliability.
• Competitive advantage through sustainability
  The use of AURUNA® 3408 can be actively communicated in sustainability reports, environmental certifications, or customer presentations—a strong argument for customers and stakeholders.

Sustainability meets functionality

The light yellow ultra bright layers deposited with AURUNA® 3408 impress with their exceptional corrosion resistance and a hardness of around 180 HV, despite their high fine gold content of 99.7 percent. Coating thicknesses of up to 10 µm can be achieved even in standard electrolyte with a gold concentration of 5 g/l. By increasing the concentration to 20 g/l, coating thicknesses of up to 200 µm are possible without cracking. The layers remain low-stress and abrasion-resistant, making them equally interesting for decorative and technical applications.

Wide range of applications

AURUNA® 3408 can be used in a wide variety of applications. In the decorative segment, the electrolyte ensures high-quality, durable surfaces for jewelry, watches, and eyeglass frames that are not only visually appealing but also resistant to environmental influences.

In technical applications such as connectors and contact surfaces, the deposited layer ensures excellent electrical conductivity and abrasion resistance. AURUNA® 3408 really comes into its own in the field of printed circuit board manufacturing: the low-stress, plain surface offers outstanding adhesion for solder and bonding wire, while also being compatible with common materials such as copper, nickel, palladium, and solder resist.

AURUNA® 3408 also meets the highest requirements in highly specialized areas such as defense technology. The purity and hardness of the deposited layers enable compliance with the MIL standard - a decisive advantage for our customers in the defense and high-tech industries,“ explains Martin Stegmaier, Division Manager at Umicore MDS. „At the same time, we offer a solution that can be used worldwide without restrictions - safe, sustainable, and powerful.“

Efficient process – flexible integration

AURUNA® 3408 can be easily integrated into existing production lines – both in rack and barrel processes. This allows flexible use for individual and mass-produced parts without additional investment in new equipment.

The simple refreshing of the electrolyte with coordinated replenishment solutions reduces downtime and simplifies maintenance. This saves time and operating costs.

Another benefit: the wide and stable process window in terms of temperature, current density, and pH value makes the electrolyte particularly fault-tolerant. This means that reproducible results with a low reject rate can also be achieved in automated lines.

Service included

With AURUNA® 3408, customers not only receive a high-performance product, but also comprehensive support from an experienced partner. From initial consultation and sampling in the company's own technical center to technical support during installation, Umicore MDS supports its customers with expertise and commitment.

Users also benefit from ongoing support, training, and regular analyses during operation. This ensures that the process remains stable, efficient, and economical in the long term.