Fabrication of micro molds by electrodeposition under supergravity field

Abstract

Nowadays, micro molds have been playing an increasing crucial part in social and industrial fields. As the industry develops, the wear resistance of the micro molds has become more and more important because of its effects on the service life and economic benefit. Improving the hardness of the micro molds was an alternative to enhance its wear resistance, which can be realized by the electrodeposition of Nickel cobalt silicon carbide (Ni–Co/SiC). In this paper, attempts were made to fabricate Ni–Co/SiC micro molds, where supergravity field was introduced to further better the microhardness of the micro molds. The effects of supergravity field on the SiC content, morphology and microhardness of the Ni–Co/SiC micro mold were experimentally investigated. It was demonstrated that under gravity field, grain size is refined, and both the microhardness and morphology were dramatically improved. Finally, Ni–Co/SiC micro-pit molds were successfully obtained using optimized parameters. Production of Ni–Co/SiC micro molds with enhanced microhardness is feasible via electrodeposition under supergravity field.