72 Cascade Dr. Rochester NY Not Just for Mold Repair - Applications of Plating to MoldMaking

Transcription

1 72 Cascade Dr. Rochester NY Not Just for Mold Repair - Applications of Plating to MoldMaking

2 Presentation Outline P What options do we have when a mold component is undersized - Welding, Plating or Fabricating a new part P Selective plating for mold repair - how does it work? P Mold materials and NiCoForm s NiColoy - a high strength Ni-Co alloy P Plating for improved release, corrosion and wear resistance P Electroforming of Mold Inserts - benefits and advantages P Conclusions

3 How Selective Electroplating Works Mold core with an undersized area needing to be plated (shaded) Mold core with contact wire (red), maskant applied (light brown) and plated area (blue) Mold core after the maskant is removed and plated area remachined to correct size

4 The Electroplating Process Ni & Co Ions, ionic radii , 0.72 Partially Masked Part Nickel and Cobalt ions are attracted by the negatively charged cathode, travel to its unmasked conductive surface and, gaining two electrons, turn into atoms of nickel and cobalt, forming a metallic layer on the part s surface. The plated layer tightly adheres to the surface Plated Layer

5 What Can (and Can Not) Be Plated? P Tool Steels - H13, S 7, P 20, many others P Stainless Steels and 400 series P Brass, Copper, Copper alloys (Beryllium Cu) P Nickel, Nicoloy Limitations: P Can not easilyplate on Aluminum P Pre-existing coatings (TiN, Cr, etc.) need to be stripped P EDM d surfaces need to be stoned to assure proper adhesion

6 The Critical Question - Will the Plating Stick? Yes - here is why: P All our plating cycles have been developed in house and thoroughly tested in hundreds of tests carried out on sample materials provided by our customers P Over the past 11 years we have plated up thousands of mold components most of which are still in use today P Any time we run into a problem, we rework the part free of charge and do not rest until we fully understand what caused the problem and how to avoid it in the future

7 NiCoForm s Nicoloy in Comparison to Selected Mold Materials NiColoy - an alloy of N ickel and C obalt developed by NiCoForm, Inc. for engineering plating and electroforming applications. Hardness - up to 50 HR C as plated Temperature stability -up to 700 O F Corrosion resistance - better than stainless steel Thermal conductivity - higher than tool steels UTS, MPa Hardness, Rc x10 Therm. Cond., W/m*K NiColoy Nickel H13, S7 420 SS P 20 Copper

8 How NiColoy Can be Machined and Joined P Grinding P Milling P Turning P EDM machining P Drilling P Tapping P Welding P Brazing P Soldering P Epoxy bonding P Buffing and polishing

9 Part Processing Sequence 1 In these photos, from left to right: 1. A 5 x 8" mold block to be selectively plated to a thickness of 0.010" and customer drawing showing areas that require plating 2. Part with contact mounted and maskant applied 3. Maskant is being trimmed to expose areas subject to plating

10 Part Processing Sequence 2 Photos Continued: 4. Work ticket is prepared and part is loaded in tank 5. After the cycle is over, part is unloaded and maskant removed 6. Rinsed, heat treated and inspected, the part is ready for pick-up

11 To Plate or To Weld?

12 What Additional Benefits Can NiColoy Provide? P Improve wear and corrosion resistance of copper alloy and brass parts providing a combination of high thermal conductivity with excellent durability P For P 20 and other non-hardenable steels - better mold life is achieved with an easier to machine and less expensive material P For 420 stainless steel components - improved corrosion and wear resistance is achieved with highly corrosive plastics such as CPVC Nicoloy plated Copper cores

13 Examples of Selectively Plated Mold Components 1" OD stainless steel sleeves plated to a thickness of 0.020" 10x10x3" blocks plated to a thickness of.035" 250 lb 12 x 24" mold block, plated to a thickness of.025"

14 Advantages of Plating for Mold Repair P Plating is performed at a low temperature (120 o F) causing no heat distortion or strength loss in the adjacent metal P Properties of the plated material - hardness, tensile strength, thermal conductivity etc. can be tailored to the application P Narrow, small and difficult to weld areas (inside diameters, threads, narrow channels, etc.) can often be successfully plated P Precision masking can be performed allowing selective plating of well defined areas without affecting the rest of the part P Rapid turnaround - most repair jobs can be done in 1-3 days P Improved corrosion resistance, better release properties and higher wear resistance of components machined out of soft materials is assured

15 How Electroforming Works 1 Electroforming on a reusable (permanent) mandrel Thread-forming screw Electroformed NiColoy shell Alignment pin Reusable Mandrel Non-conductive maskant

16 How Electroforming Works 2 Separation of electroform from permanent mandrel Electroformed shell after separation from mandrel Alignment pin incorporated in the electroform Mandrel ready for reuse Electroformed threaded hole after the screw is removed

17 How Electroforming Works 3 Backed up Shell Ready to be Mounted in the Mold Electroformed shell Backing Material

18 Advantages of Electroforming How You can Benefit from this Technology P Rapid turnaround -an average form takes 1-2 weeks to electroform P Exact replication of intricate surface finishes, geometries and textures, excellent dimensional stability P Multiple replicas from the same mandrel are possible, drastically reducing manufacturing costs P Mounting and alignment elements can be incorporated in the electroform P Desired material properties - hardness, wear resistance, thermal conductivity can be achieved P Multiple layers of diverse metals can be consecutively electroformed offering unsurpassed design flexibility

19 Some Electroformed Mold Inserts 1" OD Optical Mold Insert 8 x 12" Solar Array Stamper 6" OD Nanofluidic Mold Insert

20 Go to for more information, technical papers and to download the Order/Quotation form, slide shows, etc. Our mold repair customers: Out of State P Vector Tool (Grandview, MO) P Titan Plastics (Charlotte, MI) P Bow Plastics (Granby, Quebec, Canada) Upstate NY P Alliance Precision Plastics P JADA Plastics P Advent Mold P Val Tech P Blue Chip Mold P Brandy s Tool and Mold P Connection Mold P Delphi P Empire Precision Plastics P Gatti Tool and Mold P Imco, Inc. P Pro-Mold P Century Mold

21 NiCoForm s Capabilities What we can do for you: P Selective NiColoy plating for mold repair P High-strength Nicoloy electroformed mold inserts for injection and compression molding of optics and other components P Part size - up to 20" x 40" P Rapid turnarounds P Competitive Pricing P Expert Staff

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