Design And Experiment Research On Electroforming Anode Profile

The profile and position of the electroforming anode determine the current density distribution ofthe cathode surface and so the distribution and properties of the deposited metal. The existing methodof electroforming conformal anode design which can improve the current density distribution oncathode is hard to meet the needs of high current distribution uniformity.A universal method of electroforming anode design is proposed in this paper. To optimize theanode profile, points on the anode corresponding to points on the cathode are obtained firstly, andthen the distance between points on the anode and the cathode is adjusted according to the electricfield of each point on the cathode. With this method, the anode used in electroforming a nozzle modelis designed, and the current density ratio of maximum to minimum on cathode decreased from2.19to1.3. The result shows that the uniformity of current distribution on the cathode is more uniform withsmaller distance between electrodes.A design method of electroforming insoluble combined anode which is composed of manyinsoluble anode elements with rectangular section is proposed to adapt to varieties of partselectroforming. To improve the current distribution on cathode, the spacing between each anodeelement and cathode is adjusted. With this method, the anode used in electroforming a nozzle model isdesigned, and the current density ratio of maximum to minimum on cathode decreased from2.16to1.16. The result shows that the uniformity of current distribution on cathode is more uniform withsmaller distance between combined anode and cathode.With the anode profile designed by the above-mentioned method, the complicated part iselectroformed. It is theoretically and experimentally shown that the method of anode design iseffective.