Luso Microwave, a division of Luso Electronic Products Ltd, has expanded its manufacturing capability by expanding its electroforming plant and tooling capability. They see electroforming taking on an increasing role in waveguide manufacturing as operating frequencies get higher. They have invested in increasing our plant and in 3D printing for the mandrals.
Luso has been designing, developing, testing, installing, and servicing tailored microwave and high-quality radio frequency (RF) systems solutions since 2001. The company manufactures a diverse range of RoHS compliant microwave components including antenna, waveguide equipment, filters, diplexers, adapters, and associated electronic circuitry.
Electroforming is a metal forming process in which parts are fabricated through electrodeposition on a model, known in the industry as a mandrel. Conductive (metallic) mandrels are treated to create a mechanical parting layer or are chemically passivated to limit adhesion to the mandrel and thereby allow its subsequent separation. Non-conductive (glass, silicon, plastic) mandrels require the deposition of a conductive layer before electrodeposition. Such layers can be deposited chemically, or using vacuum deposition techniques (e.g: gold sputtering). The outer surface of the mandrel forms the inner surface of the form.
