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In the basic electroforming process, an electrolytic bath is used to deposit nickel or other electroplatable metal onto a conductive patterned surface, such as glass or stainless steel. Once the plated material has been built up to the desired thickness, the electroformed part is stripped off the master substrate. This process allows high-quality duplication of the master and therefore permits quality production--at low unit costs with high repeatability and excellent process control

Electroforming is an additive process and herein lies electroform's superiority over etched metal and other forming technologies. The precision and resolution inherent in the photographically produced conductive patterned substrate, allows finer geometries to be produced to tighter tolerances while maintaining superior edge definition with a near optical finish.

Etched metal, EDM, and laser machining rely on the removal of material to form the desired features. All have limitations associated with one or more of the following: resolution; tolerancing; process repeatability; or cost. In etched metal the minimum opening diameter is limited to 1.5 times the metal thickness. EDM and laser machining have resolution limits and normally are more costly than electroforming. None of these alternatives provide the surface finish within the hole or aperture that electroforming does.

Smooth surface finish for NI Co Shim Master Mold for microfluidic applications.