Electroforming is a metal forming process that is widely used to develop and manufacture metal parts that can be used on a specific machine or piece of equipment. The resulting metal parts are formed with the aid of electrodeposition or electroplating on a model that is also known as a mandrel.
A unique feature of the electroforming process is that the metal part grows atom by atom and this process imparts absolute accuracy and high aspect ratios in a new metal.
The electroforming process is a metal forming process where metal parts are produced by the precise deposition of a conductive layer of metal onto patterned substrates known as mandrels. The electroforming process occurs in an electrolytic solution. These patterned substrates or mandrels are negatively charged in an electrolytic solution and thus, tend to receive a deposition of a conductive layer.
This is a highly stable, accurate procedure for fabricating metallic components. Due to the high precision and near to no loss of material, the electroforming process has been very successful for fabricating metal parts and components used in micro or nano scale metallic devices.
Some advantages of the electroforming process:
- High aspect ratio
- No loss of material
- Stable and accurate fabrication process
- Forms accurate internal cavity
- The exterior portion of the fabricated material can be easily machined
- Manufacturing a wide variety of shapes and sizes is possible through this technology