Metal plated additively manufactured plastic seal plates and their method of manufacturing

A method of forming a seal plate for a rotary machine, the method comprising:

• forming, by an additive manufacturing process, a plastic substrate having an outer surface;
• impregnating, by the additive manufacturing process, the plastic substrate with fibers having a first coefficient of thermal expansion, such that the fibers are embedded in a matrix material of the plastic substrate;
• and
• applying a metal plating to at least a portion of the outer surface of the plastic substrate, the metal plating having a second coefficient of thermal expansion;
• wherein a bulk coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate at the outer surface of the plastic substrate substantially matches the second coefficient of thermal expansion of the metal plating;
• wherein the plastic substrate and the metal plating together form the seal plate having a hub with a bore configured to be centered on a central axis of the rotary machine and having a disk portion extending radially outwards from the hub.