DC Supplies for plating

You need a power supply that has about 3 volts DC output and can supply the maximum current you wish to plate at. If you have access to a good lab power supply that can be set to output a specified current then that is perfect. If you have access to a simple power supply from say 0 to 16 volts, you will have to set the current going through the cell carefully and keep an eye on it so that it does not drift too much.
There can be great confusion regarding what voltage should be applied to the plating tank for to get the anode to plate. The voltage should not be what you think in terms of, but rather the current. Decide what current you need and apply that current to the tank. THAT current will cause a particular voltage to appear across the tank and that is your plating voltage. It is not an important figure in itself, all voltages will be only a few volts. The best type of power supply for plating is a supply having controlled current characteristics. This sounds rather complicated but it is not. To make a supply with controlled current characteristic you simply take a voltage supply (a battery is a good example) and put a fairly large resistor in series. This gives a supply which is more like a controlled (programmed) current source.
A good, easy to obtain supply that is also uninterpretable, is the ubiquitous car battery charger together with a good battery and some 12 volt (car) bulbs. Depending on the wattage of the particular bulb it will allow only a certain current to flow when put in series with the plating tank. The current will not be very accurate but good enough for our job. Some 50 and 100 ohm resistors can also be useful for setting the smaller currents. 100 ohms gives about 100mA.

[IMAGE OF CHARGER AND BATTERY SUPPLY]
The bulbs can be obtained from scrap yard. The wattage of the bulb will give you an idea of what current will flow when that bulb is in circuit. 21 watts get you about 2 amps, 55 watts gets you about 5 amps. Bulbs can also be put in series to get you a smaller current if you wish. Any number of flying leads can be attached to the plating anode.
The computer power supply could also be used. I would recommend using the 12V output with resistors as above.

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