Experimental study on friction-assisted electroforming of Ni-Co alloys

Abstract

Abstract Owing to the complexity of the electroforming mechanism, the structure of electroformed deposits is affected by many process parameters, and defects such as pinholes and nodules in electroformed deposits must be solved. In this study, the mechanism by which hard particles inhibit the formation of the above defects in the electroforming process of Ni-Co alloys was analyzed. Through the friction-assisted electroforming Ni-Co alloy tests, the effects of friction and current density on the hardness, texture and microstructure of the Ni-Co electroformed deposits were studied. The results show that the microhardness of the Ni-Co coatings obtained is between 651 HV and 669 HV with the increase of the cathode speed from 8 rpm to 512 rpm. When the cathode speed is 16rpm, the grain sizes of Ni-Co coatings increase with the increase of cathode current density from 2 A dm−2 to 8 A dm−2, and the microhardness of the coatings is between 672 HV and 590 HV.