Electrodeposited products are formed by machining a precision mandrel to the shape of the desired form (or inside of the bellows) and then depositing the correct thickness of quality metal on to the mandrel. The mandrel is then dissolved away leaving the precision finished product behind. In some cases another thickness of material can be added to produce a truly bimetallic structure. Electroforms are used in both mechanical and electrical applications and can provide essential advantages to application challenges. Unique electroforms of copper, nickel, gold or any combination can be easily produced with the electroforming process.
Key features
Spot light on using Gold for Electroforms
Enabling the use of gold within applications has allowed some remarkable properties of the material to be exploited. For example, gold is the most non-reactive of all metals. It is benign in all natural and industrial environments. Gold does not react with oxygen, which means it will not oxidize or tarnish. Gold is among the most electrically conductive of all metals and is able to convey even a tiny electrical current in temperatures varying from -55° to +200° centigrade. Gold is also the most reflective and least absorptive material of infrared (or heat) energy. High purity gold reflects up to 99% of infrared rays but is it also an excellent conductor of thermal energy or heat. Lastly, Gold is ideal for invasive or implantable medical devices as it is one of the least rejected materials in the human body.
This unique combination of properties makes gold a vital component in many medical, industrial, and electrical applications. By refining the gold electroforming technique we can supply extremely intricate parts with unusual shapes, thin walls, deep crevices and other design features. The electroforming process is especially crafted for tolerance-critical miniature parts and makes them suitable for both flexible bellows and rigid electroformed components.
The controlled electroforming process can also vary the wall thickness in different places on the same part for selective rigidity and flexibility allowing hollow parts with walls as thin as 0.012 mm for miniature applications including electrical bellows contacts and precision instrument applications.
Further information on electroforms can be found here
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