Patent ID: 8329006

Claim:
A plating cell comprising: a first compartment housing: a workpiece holder upon which a workpiece is mountable; a housing defining an anode chamber, the housing having a flat porous cloth forming the front face of the anode chamber positioned to define only the surface of the housing that faces the workpiece holder such that a portion of the anode chamber is located opposite the entire surface of the workpiece when mounted on the workpiece holder; an anode housed in the anode chamber defined by the housing; wherein the anode chamber is positioned such that the porous cloth is interposed between the anode and the workpiece holder in a planar parallel relationship to the workpiece holder, wherein the porous cloth spreads the current distribution between the anode and the workpiece holder such that the anode chamber acts as a virtual anode; a plurality of eductors for directing an electrolyte solution into the plating cell, the eductors being located horizontally under the anode chamber, and a solution flow dampening member at least coextensive with the length of the housing defining the anode chamber, the solution flow dampening member having a flow-directing surface that is longer than the length of the workpiece when mounted on the workpiece holder and is shaped such that electrolyte solution ejected from the horizontally directed eductors is directed as a vertical solution flow that is parallel to and between the porous cloth and the workpiece holder; and a second compartment separated from the first compartment by a baffle that defines an opening therein, wherein the opening is positioned more proximate the top of the plating cell than the top of a workpiece when mounted in the workpiece holder; wherein the vertical solution flow changes direction to a unidirectional horizontal solution flow once past the top of a workpiece to flow through the hole in the baffle and into the second compartment.