Design and manufacture of structured surfaces by electroforming

Abstract Functional surface texturizing is increasingly demanded by multiple industrial sectors because it allows to achieve properties that significantly improve the functional characteristics of many products. The surfaces structured with geometric details at micrometric scale are allowing a selective modification of their properties. The electroforming process is acquiring a major role in the manufacture of microstructures, due to its great capacity for reproduction of details. The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has extensive experience in rapid tooling through the electroforming process and is collaborating with the University of Cadiz in the ELECTROTEX project to Study of the Tribological Behaviour of Textured Surfaces by SEDM. This collaboration consists of the development of a SEDM electrode with a structured surface for the machining of test specimens for tribological tests.