Some of the largest industries in Europe are becoming more efficient, more competitive and more secure as a result of a nickel electroforming, a simple process that can be used in a myriad of ways.
Take aerospace, for instance, an industry that has an annual turnover of Euro 80 billion and employs almost half a million people. Manufacturers in that field are reducing the weight and fuel consumption of their airplanes, while increasing lifespan, by using electroformed moulds to make precision parts. Having a stronger, lighter wing edge, tail rudder or nose cone can make the difference between completing the sale of an airplane and being sent back to the drawing board.
Or textiles: Europe has been able to remain competitive in this industry despite losing market share to less developed countries by guaranteeing high levels of precision and accuracy while increasing production levels. Nearly 15% of world-wide textile production takes place in the European Union (EU), supporting more than 2.5 million jobs, according to recent research by the Brussels-based Weinberg Group, a scientific and regulatory consulting firm.
In the case of textiles, it is not moulds but rotary screens that make the difference. Electroforming creates precise, finely patterned screens, which in turn transfer intricate and colourful patterns to textiles, wallpaper, and carpets.
The common denominator in both moulds and rotary screen technology is nickel. During the electroforming process, perfected in Germany in the mid-1800s, nickel or other metal in solution is electroplated onto a mandrel in order to reproduce the pattern on the mandrel’s surface. Although gold, silver and copper can all be electroformed, nickel is the metal of choice because it is versatile, has excellent heat, corrosion and abrasion resistance, and can be electro-deposited quickly.
Another lesser known application of nickel electroforming is the production of the millions of small, detailed holograms that are embedded in bank cards and notes as a security feature. Banks rely on electroforming technology to create the high precision moulds needed to protect the integrity of both cash and non-monetary transactions. The Weinberg groups says this kind of protection is becoming more important as identify theft and other attacks on payment integrity continue, while the use of cash in the EU grows.
The billions of albums, films and computer games produced each year rely on a similar kind of high-precision replication technology enabled by electroforming. Roughly 20 billion CDs and DVDs are produced worldwide every year, according to the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDRA), and each electroformed mould can produce about 100,000 of them. In the EU, entertainment applications of this sector generate annual sales of Euro 40 billion and support 400,000 jobs, according to the Weinberg Group.
The Weinberg report concludes that nickel electroforming supports the competitiveness of some of the largest industrial and service sectors in the EU. By supplying a platform for continued improvements in efficiency, sustainability and innovation, the process also plays a key role in reducing resource and energy consumption.