Improvement of deposition uniformity in alloy electroforming for revolving parts

Abstract

The ability to control the nonuniformity of electrodeposition is a key to successful application of electroforming technology. In this paper, an experimental system is developed to electroform the thin-walled revolving parts. Some measures are employed to improve the uniformity of deposition distribution, such as conformal anode, cathode shield and high-frequency pulse current. The profile of the conformal anode is precisely designed by using the function of electric field analysis of ANSYS software, so as to reduce the experimental works and increase the application effect of conformal anode. The deposition thickness, alloy composition and microhardness of the electroforms are measured to reveal the actual deposition distribution. The results show that the electroforms have a satisfactory deposition distribution, the patterns of which are similar to the current density distribution on cathode. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.