Improvement of thickness deposition uniformity in nickel electroforming for micro mold inserts

Thickness deposition is a crucial issue on the application of electroformed micro mold inserts. Edge concentration effect is the main source of the non-uniformity. The techniques of adopting a non-conducting shield, a secondary electrode and a movable cathode were explored to improve the thickness deposition uniformity during the nickel electroforming process. Regarding these techniques, a micro electroforming system with a movable cathode was particularly developed. The thickness variation of a 16 mm×16 mm electroformed sample decreased respectively from 150% to 35%, 12% and 18% by these three techniques. Combining these validated methods, anickelmold insert for microlens array was electroformed with satisfactory mechanical properties and high replication precision. It could be applied to the following injection molding process.

Abrasive-assisted Nickel Electroforming Process with Moving Cathode

In traditional electroforming process for revolving parts with complex profiles, the drawbacks on surface of deposits, such as pinholes and nodules, will lead to varying physical and mechanical properties on different parts of electroformed components. To solve the problem, compositely moving cathode is employed in abrasive-assisted electroforming of revolving parts with complicated profiles. The cathode translates and rotates simultaneously to achieve uniform friction effect on deposits without drawbacks. The influences of current density and transla- tion speed on the microstructure and properties of the electroformed nickel layers are investigated. It is found that abrasive-assisted electroforming with compound cathode motion can effectively remove the pinholes and nodules, positively affect the crystal nucleation, and refine the grains of layer. The increase of current density will lead to coarse microstructure and lower micro hardness, from 325 HV down to 189 HV. While, faster translational linear speed produces better surface quality and higher micro hardness, from 236 HV up to 283 HV. The weld-ability of the electroformed layers are also studied through the metallurgical analysis of welded joints between nickel layer and 304 stainless steel. The electrodeposited nickel layer shows fine performance in welding. The novel compound motion of cathode promotes the mechanical properties and refines the microstructure of deposited layer.

Deformation behavior of explosive detonation in electroformed nickel liner of shaped charge with nano-sized grains

Nickel liner of shaped charge with nano-sized grains was prepared by electroforming technique and the ultra-highstrain-rate deformation was performed by explosive detonation.The as-electroformed and post-deformed microstructures of electroformed nickel liner of shaped charge were observed by optical metallography(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and the orientation distribution of the grains was analyzed by electron backscattering pattern(EBSP) technique.Both melting phenomenon in the jet fragment and recovery and recrystallization in the slug after ultra-high-strain-rate deformation were observed.The research evidence shows that dynamic recovery and recrystallization play an important role in ultra-high-strain-rate deformation for electroformed nickel liner of shaped charge with nano-sized grain.

Microstructural evolution in electroformed nickel shaped-charge liners with nano-sized grains undergone deformation at ultrahigh strain rate

Nickel shaped-charge liners with nano-sized grains were prepared by the electroforming technique, and the deformation at ultrahigh strain rate was performed by explosive detonation. The as-formed and post-deformed microstructures of electroformed nickel shaped-charge liners with nano-sized grains were observed by means of transmission electron microscopy, and the orientation distribution of the grains was analyzed by the electron backscattering pattern （EBSP） technique. The melting phenomenon in the jet fragment and the recovery and recrystallization in the slug after plastic deformation at ultrahigh-strain rate were observed in the ultrafine-grained nickel shaped-charge liners. The research evidence shows that dynamic recovery and recrystallization play an important role in plastic deformation at ultrahigh strain rate.

Microstructure and properties of electroformed nickel under different waveform conditions

In order to prepare electroformed nickel with excellent properties,the effect of different waveforms on microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated by optical microscopy(OM),X-ray diffraction(XRD) and tensile test,respectively.The results show that the samples are composed of micron columnar grains with high-density nanoscale coherent twin boundaries which are parallel to the growth plane.The tensile strength and elongation display opposite tendency with the increase in current density when direct current(DC) electroforming was applied.However,under the condition of pulse current(unidirectional,bidirectional) electroforming,the change regulation of tensile strength and elongation is close while cathode(peak,positive peak) current density increases.XRD results show that electroformed nickel layers with high purity are all fcc crystal configuration under different conditions of the current waveform.The nickel layers formed under bidirectional pulse current behave superior global performance with tensile strength of 692.0 MPa and elongation of 27.6 %.