Application of laminate and nanolaminate materials to tooling and molding processes
AssigneeModumetal, Inc.
InventorsChristina Ann Lomasney, Guohua Li
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide molds made by additive manufacturing coupled with electrodeposition. Such methods comprise subjected a workpiece to one or more deposition process(es), such as electrodeposition, that provide a coating that possesses desirable chemical, physical, and/or mechanical properties. In some embodiments, the methods further comprise forming at least one workpiece for the mold by, for example, an additive manufacturing process such as three-dimensional printing (3D printing). Additionally, the present disclosure provides methods for the use of a mold for molding polymerizable, settable, thermoplastic, or thermoset materials.
Claims23
A method for preparing a mold, the method comprising:
- forming a shaped polymeric workpiece including a polymeric workpiece and one or more thieves, one or more shields, or both, by an additive manufacturing process, the one or more thieves, the one or more shields, or both, being arranged in a manner that produces a substantially uniform current distribution over the shaped polymeric workpiece during electrodeposition, the shaped polymeric workpiece comprising one or more ports configured to allow for circulation of liquid or gas through a portion of the mold and a first surface including a first feature and a second feature that have a surface aspect ratio ranging from 1 to 10, the surface aspect ratio being defined as:
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- contacting the shaped polymeric workpiece with a bath including at least one electrodepositable metal;
- and
- applying a current to the shaped polymeric workpiece to electrodeposit a nanolaminated conductive coating on each surface of the shaped polymeric workpiece, the nanolaminated conductive coating comprising a plurality of alternating layers comprising first layers and second layers, the first layers comprising a first metal alloy comprising nickel and cobalt, the second layers comprising a second metal alloy comprising nickel and cobalt, the current being redistributed by the one or more thieves, the one or more shields, or both, thereby resulting in a substantially uniform current distribution over the first surface of the shaped polymeric workpiece so that the nanolaminated conductive coating covering all of the first surface has a substantially uniform thickness across the first surface including the first feature and the second feature.
A mold, comprising:
- a shaped workpiece comprising an assembly of a substrate of a polymeric material and one or more thieves, one or more shields, or both, on the substrate, the one or more thieves, the one or more shields, or both, being arranged in a manner according to a Computer Assisted Design-optimized geometry that results in a substantially uniform current distribution over the shaped workpiece during electrodeposition, wherein the shaped workpiece comprises one or more ports configured to allow for circulation of liquid or gas through a portion of the mold;
- and
- a nanolaminated conductive coating on each surface of the shaped workpiece, the nanolaminated conductive coating comprising a plurality of alternating layers comprising first layers and second layers, the first layers comprising a first metal alloy comprising nickel and cobalt, the second layers comprising a second metal alloy comprising nickel and cobalt, the nanolaminated conductive coating covering all of a first surface and having a substantially uniform thickness across the first surface, wherein the first surface comprises a first feature and a second feature that have a surface aspect ratio ranging from 1 to 10, the surface aspect ratio being defined as:
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.