Additively manufactured plating enclosures can be used as a cheap alternative to traditional plating tanks and fixturing, which can reduce the volume of chemistry required, allow for complex fluid dynamics across the part surface, and offer the possibility of augmenting and tuning the thermal gradients and electrical fields surrounding the part. Selective tank geometries allow for electrodes that can be integrated or conformally shaped onto the enclosure. By allowing for such diverse electrode geometries, these enclosures create the possibility of near-uniform electric fields for complex parts, unique electrical contact mechanisms that can be integrated into the enclosure itself, as well as accurate and minimally invasive part fittings to maintain part alignment during the plating process.

Several commercially-available thermoplastics and photopolymers were analyzed for compatibility with a variety of chemistries commonly used in the electrodeposition processes. Preliminary testing and analysis of custom polymer plating enclosures was performed to demonstrate process viability. Parylene coatings can further increase the chemical resistance of the enclosure, leading to a wider range of chemistries which the custom polymer enclosures are resistant to. Further, polymer metallization and evaporation techniques offer the possibility of directly incorporating electrodes into the fixture itself, as well as for creating thermal contacts with external heat sources.

Together, these techniques create the possibility of creating more uniform parts and coatings, while reducing chemical waste, material and equipment cost, and development time for laboratory-scale electroplating processes.

Supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories, a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.