A mathematical model for the estimation of hardness of electrochemical deposits

Binding of metal powders using electrochemically deposited binders provides a novel way of carrying metal additive manufacturing at ambient temperatures. In this paper, a mathematical model was developed to predict the hardness and the yield strength of electrochemically bound parts. In this work, an existing composite hardness model is modified to predict the deposit hardness. Experimental verification of the model was performed using brass and aluminum substrates with nickel as the binder under similar deposition parameters to verify that substrate effects were not involved in the measured hardness value. The film hardness values were then compared for deposits on both brass and aluminum substrates. The model was able to predict the hardness values on both substrates within 8% of each other thereby eliminating the substrate effects involved.