Electroforming is an additive electrochemical manufacturing technology. It builds metal parts atom by atom through metal ion electrodeposition onto a conductive patterned mandrel (master mould). After the deposited metal layer reaches the target thickness, the formed metal part is separated from the mandrel. Unlike chemical etching or stamping which cut away material from solid metal sheet, electroforming grows the component from zero thickness.

Step-by-step Electroforming Process

Mandrel Design & Fabrication A master mandrel (substrate) is manufactured with the inverse geometry of the final part. The mandrel surface is polished and treated to control adhesion; non-conductive areas are insulated to block metal deposition. For mesh and sieve products, the mandrel has insulated patterns defining the holes.

Surface Preparation of Mandrel Clean the mandrel thoroughly to remove grease and contaminants. Release agent is applied to enable easy separation between electroformed metal layer and mandrel after production.

Electroplating / Metal Deposition The mandrel is immersed in a metal salt electrolyte bath. Under controlled electric current, metal ions (nickel is most common) reduce and deposit uniformly on the conductive mandrel surface. Metal accumulates slowly and evenly to the specified thickness.

Post-deposition Treatment Once the required thickness is achieved, the mandrel is taken out of the electrolyte, rinsed and cleaned. Stress relief treatment may be applied to stabilize internal stress inside the electroformed metal.

Separation (Peeling off) The electroformed metal layer is carefully stripped from the mandrel. The mandrel can be reused many times for mass production.

Finishing & Quality Inspection Trim excess borders, perform cleaning and dimensional inspection. Check hole geometry, thickness uniformity, flatness and surface finish before shipment.

Key Advantages of Electroforming

Ultra-high dimensional accuracy & perfect repeatability Features replicate the mandrel geometry faithfully. Sharp, clean hole walls, consistent aperture size across large areas. Ideal for fine mesh and micro sieves.

Excellent surface quality No tool marks, burrs or mechanical deformation. The surface finish mirrors the polished mandrel surface.

Precise uniform thickness Extremely consistent wall thickness over the whole part, even for ultra-thin structures. Hard to achieve via etching or stamping.

Complex micro aperture structures Capable of producing dense, ultra-fine and high aspect ratio micro holes, such as precision test sieves and filter meshes.

Reusable mandrel Master mandrel can be reused hundreds or thousands of times, lowering unit cost for medium to high volume orders.

Controllable material properties Adjust electrolyte and plating parameters to tune hardness, tensile strength and magnetic performance of electroformed nickel parts.

Limitations of Electroforming

Longer production cycle for thick parts; material choices are limited (nickel, nickel alloys, copper are mainstream).

High upfront cost for mandrel fabrication, less economical for one-off prototypes or frequent design changes.

Not suitable for thick structural components. Best for thin-walled, micro-feature thin metal parts.

Typical Applications

Precision test sieves, electroformed nickel filter mesh

Semiconductor components, aperture masks, lead frames

Medical micro filters, tiny fluid control parts

Encoder discs, optical grating parts

Fuel cell and hydrogen energy micro mesh electrodes