Experimental investigation of fabrication properties of electroformed Ni-based micro mould inserts
In this work, Ni and NiFe micro mould inserts with high aspect ratios are fabricated by SiLIGA. Many analyses were performed to elucidate the material properties of Ni-based micro mould inserts. The surface properties were examined using a scanning probe microscope (SPM). Nanoindentation was used to measure the elastic modulus and hardness of NiFe microstructures. When the iron content of NiFe micro mould inserts exceeded 12%, the grain size of the NiFe alloy was under 15 nm. Additionally, the mechanical properties of Ni-based microstructures obtained by electroforming are superior to those obtained by casting or powder metallurgy. Satisfactory electroforming current densities for obtaining a mould insert with a fine surface profile ranged from 4 ASD to 6 ASD.
electroforming micro mould insert spm nanoindentation siga