In order to fabricate three-dimensional metal microstructures, a combined machining process based on 3D printing technology and electroforming technology is proposed. Firstly, a substrate with microstructures is fabricated by 3D printing technology, and then the microstructures were fabricated by electroforming technology. The influence of process parameters such as current density, distance between electrodes and pulse current duty cycle on the electroformed layer were studied and analyzed. It was determined that the peak current density 6A/dm2, the void ratio 20%, and the distance between electrodes 40 mm were the optimum process conditions of electroforming experiment. The electroforming experiments of different microstructures were carried out with the optimum process parameters.
Keywords: 3D printing; electroforming; process parameters; three-dimensional microstructure.