Besides manufacturing contact materials from the solid phase, i.e. by melt or powder metallurgy, the production starting in the liquid or gaseous phase is generally preferred when thin layers within the μm range are required , which cannot be obtained economically by conventional cladding methods (<xr id="tab:Overview_of_Important_Properties_of_Electroplated_Coatings_and_their_Applications"/><!--(Tab. 7.1)-->). Such coatings fulfill different requirements depending on their composition and thickness.
They can serve as corrosion or wear protection or can fulfill the need for thin contact layers for certain technical applications. In addition they serve for decorative purposes as a pleasing and wear resistant surface coating.
The properties of these reflow tin coatings are comparable to those created by conventional hot tinning.
Besides overall tin coating of strip material, the hot tinning can also be applied in the form of single or multiple stripes on both sides of a continuous substrate strip(<xr id="fig:Typical examples of hot tinned strip materials"/>).
<figure id="fig:Typical examples of hot tinned strip materials">[[File:Typical examples of hot tinned strip materials.jpg|left|thumb|Figure 23: Typical examples of hot tinned strip materials]]<br style="clear:both;"/></figure>
<br style="clear:both;"/>
*'''Materials'''
Solid lubricants include for example 0.05 – 0.2 μm thin hard gold layers, which are added as surface layers on top of the actual contact material.
Among the various contact lubricants offered on the market, contact lubrication oils have shown performance advantages. They are mostly synthetic, chemically inert and silicone-free oils such as for example the DODUCONTA contact lubricants which differ in their chemical composition and viscosity.
For sliding contact systems with contact forces < 50 cN and higher sliding speeds, oils with a lower viscosity (< 50 mPa·s) are preferential. For applications with higher contact forces and operating at higher temperatures, contact oils with a higher viscosity are advantageous. Contact oils are mainly suited for applications at low current loads. At higher loads and in situations where contact separation occurs during the sliding operation, thermal decomposition may be initiated, which causes the lubricating properties to be lost.
Most compatible with plastics are the contact oil varieties B5, B12K and B25, which also over longer operating times do not lead to tension stress corrosion.
For the optimum lubrication, only a very thin layer of contact oil is required. Therefore it is, for example, recommended to dilute the oil in iso-propylenealcohol during the application to contact parts. After evaporation of the alcohol, a thin and uniform layer of lubricant is retained on the contact surfaces.
*'''Properties of the Synthetic DODUCONTA Contact Lubricants'''
<table class="twocolortable">
<tr><th>Lubricant</th><th colspan="5">DODUCONTA</th></tr>
<th></th><th>B5</th><th>B9</th><th>B10</th><th>B12K</th><th>B25</th>
<tr><td><p class="s8">Contact force</p></td><td><p class="s8">>1N</p></td><td><p class="s8">0.1 - 2N</p></td><td><p class="s8">< 0.2N</p></td><td><p class="s8">0.2 - 5N</p></td><td><p class="s8"><1N</p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">Density (20°C)</p><p class="s8">[g/cm³]</p></td><td><p class="s8">1.9</p></td><td><p class="s8">1.0</p></td><td><p class="s8">0.92</p></td><td><p class="s8">1.0</p></td><td><p class="s8">1.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">Specificel. Resis-</p><p class="s8">tance [<span class="s9">S · </span>cm]</p></td><td/><td><p class="s8">2 x 10<sup>10</sup></p></td><td><p class="s8">10<sup>10</sup></p></td><td><p class="s8">6 x 10<sup>9</sup></p></td><td><p class="s8">5 x 10<sup>8</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">Viscosity (20°C)</p><p class="s8">[mPa·s]</p></td><td><p class="s8">325</p></td><td><p class="s8">47</p></td><td><p class="s8">21</p></td><td><p class="s8">235</p></td><td><p class="s8">405</p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">Congeal temp.[°C]</p></td><td/><td><p class="s8">-55</p></td><td><p class="s8">-60</p></td><td><p class="s8">-40</p></td><td><p class="s8">-35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">Flash point[°C]</p></td><td/><td><p class="s8">247</p></td><td><p class="s8">220</p></td><td><p class="s8">238</p></td><td><p class="s8">230</p></td></tr></table>
*'''Applications of the Synthetic DODUCONTA Contact Lubricants'''
<table class="twocolortable" style="text-align: left; font-size: 12px;width:80%">
<tr><th><p class="s8">Lubricant</p></th><th><p class="s8">Applications</p></th></tr>
<tr><td><p class="s8">DODUCONTA B5</p></td><td><p class="s8">Current collectors, connectors, slider switches</p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">DODUCONTA B9</p></td><td><p class="s8">Wire potentiometers, slip rings, slider switches, measuring range selectors, miniature connectors</p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">DODUCONTA B10</p></td><td><p class="s8">Precision wire potentiometers, miniature slip rings</p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">DODUCONTA B12K</p></td><td><p class="s8">Wire potentiometers, slider switches, miniature slip rings, connectors</p></td></tr><tr><td><p class="s8">DODUCONTA B25</p></td><td><p class="s8">Current collectors, measuring range selectors, connectors</p></td></tr></table>
==<!--7.6-->Passivation of Silver Surfaces==