Every industry is different. Your company therefore faces very specific, unique challenges which result in needs that cannot be compared to other companies or industries. For which specific challenges of the industry, electroforming can be a highly suitable solution?
Electroforming is a method to produce metal parts by precise deposition of metals onto patterned substrates. Its uniqueness is that you can grow metal parts atom by atom, providing absolute accuracy and high aspect ratios.
Once you’ve discovered the benefits of electroforming, a whole new world of opportunities opens up. What if you could produce, atom by atom, stress- and burr-free precision metal parts with micron scale accuracy?
It would give you the opportunity to raise the bar on precision, tolerance, cost-effectiveness and the capability to withstand higher temperatures.
Motion control
Precision is key in the motion control industry. Precision of electroforming is proven to be unmatchable when compared to other micro fabrication techniques. In addition, the additive manufacturing process is highly suitable to create large quantities - while preserving its high quality.
For an application example for the motion control industry, view this page about encoder discs.
Medical
In the medical industry, engineers are often challenged with designing and development for the next innovation.
Electroforming, highly suitable to create thin, strong, flexible and - if preferred - unusual shapes, has already proved to be a great solution in many medical applications. It has also provided outcome in many situations where cost-effective production was needed.
If one wants to avoid nickel (the most commonly used metal), products can be electroformed in a biocompatible PdNi alloy and sometimes a PdNi coating is applied on top of the Nickel product. Electroforming technology is also highly flexible to fit into different demand. The overgrowth method of electroforming for example is a highly suitable method to produce nebulizers and filters.
For some other applications, thick resist electroforming, or etching, could also be a solution.
Semiconductor and electronic components
Industries that are in need for very small and precise electronic components, such as the semiconductor industry find a great match in electroforming. For example the use of electroformed electronic components during printed circuit board assembly and of high quality electroformed test contactors during the electrical device validation.
Test contactors are used to determine the performance of electrical devices like microelectromechanical systems (MEMs), sensors, microcontrollers and integrated circuits. The probes are used in for instance the semiconductor and automotive markets for pre-launch validation and production tests. With dimensions as small as a few micrometers, they can be cost-efficiently mass produced by electroforming.
Also, the semiconductor can benefit from electroformed stencils.
Stencil printing is the first and the most critical step in the surface mount technology (SMT) process, during which SMT stencils are the most important tool whose flexible design determines the success of the entire SMT assembly line.
Optical applications
When looking at optical applications, the property of the surface and therefore the way the material reflects light is very important.
Sometimes the material property should be blackened in order to absorb light, while in other situations the exact opposite is required: high level of reflectivity of light. Both goals can be achieved with the electroforming process.
With electroforming, quality of the surface (for it to be either smooth or rough) can be controlled. Also, applying different methods (for example surface finishing) enables you to ‘play’ with the optical properties of the material.
Security printing
In security printing industry, structure of the material is very important. Those structures are often more complex than those can be achieved with other technologies. To scale up production numbers, the surface replication technology can be highly suitable for the printing industry. Read more about surface replication to learn the technology behind security printing.
Aerospace and aviation
Electroforming can create great advantages for aerospace companies because it enables them to speed up lead time and therefore the production process.
Also, with this well controlled additive manufacturing process complex, lightweight, robust but precise metal parts can be created.
Electroforming is also highly suitable for:
- Automotive
- Laboratory equipment
- Defence
- And many others! Do not hesitate to contact us in order to discuss your industry challenges with us. Simply request a custom sample or send us your drawing.
