An electroplating apparatus applies an electroplated coating to a female thread formed on a pipe end portion of a steel pipe. The apparatus includes an inner seal member, a capsule, a discharge outlet, an opening, a cylindrical insoluble anode, a plating solution supply tube, and a plurality of nozzles. The seal member divides the interior of the steel pipe at a location longitudinally inward of a region on which the female thread is formed. The capsule is attached to the pipe end portion. The outlet is designed to discharge a plating solution inside the capsule therefrom. The opening facilitates discharge of the solution inside the capsule. The anode is disposed in the inside of the pipe end portion. The supply tube projects from an end of the anode. The nozzles eject a plating solution between the outer surface of the anode and the inner surface of the pipe end portion.

A hardened formed part is manufactured with the steps: producing a blank from a hardenable strip material; heating of the blank to an austenitization temperature; forming and hardening of the blank to a hardened formed part; cleaning the hardened formed part; coating the hardened formed part with a metallic coating in an dipping bath with an electrolyte solution, wherein during the coating process, at least one auxiliary element is used in the dipping bath, such, that the deposition of the coating is partially influenced. A plant is used for manufacturing a hardened formed part.

There is provided a wet surface treatment apparatus which can perform surface treatment on a desired place of a surface treatment target member, irrespective of an installed place of the surface treatment target member, or a shape of the surface treatment target member. A wet surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention has a tank that contains a treatment liquid, a nozzle that ejects the treatment liquid to a surface treatment target member, and a power source that supplies a current to the nozzle. The nozzle has a nozzle body, which has a flow path of the treatment liquid, a nozzle cover in which one end is connected to a tip of the nozzle body and the other end comes into contact with the surface treatment target member, and a power feeder line which supplies the current from the power source to the nozzle body and the nozzle cover.

A head unit for electrochemical treatment of a surface including a handle having an output tube and a vacuum tube. The output tube and the vacuum tube configured to couple the handle to a portable cart. The head unit including a body coupled to the handle and an electrode disposed within the body and coupled to the output tube and the vacuum tube. The electrode including a plurality of output channels for outputting an electrochemical solution and a plurality of vacuum channels for vacuuming the electrochemical solution outputted from the plurality of output channels. Each of the plurality of output channels is disposed proximate to at least one of the plurality of vacuum channels and the electrode is fluidly coupled to the output tube to receive the electrochemical solution from the output tube.

The present invention relates to a coating or surface treatment method. In the method, a substrate holder and slot die head are provided. The slot die head has a slit nozzle. A substrate is mounted on the substrate holder. The substrate is moved relative to the slit nozzle by supplying an electrically conductive liquid through the slit nozzle onto the substrate such that the liquid is deposited onto the substrate. A power source applies an electrical potential difference between the slit nozzle and the substrate while the conductive liquid is supplied through the slit nozzle to the substrate. The power source applies a first electrical potential to the slit nozzle and a second, different electrical potential to the substrate.

A photovoltaic cell is proposed. The photovoltaic cell includes a substrate of semiconductor material, and a plurality of contact terminals each one arranged on a corresponding contact area of the substrate for collecting electric charges being generated in the substrate by the light. For at least one of the contact areas, the substrate includes at least one porous semiconductor region extending from the contact area into the substrate for anchoring the whole corresponding contact terminal on the substrate. In the solution according to an embodiment of the invention, each porous semiconductor region has a porosity decreasing moving away from the contact area inwards the substrate. An etching module and an electrolytic module for processing photovoltaic cells, a production line for producing photovoltaic cells, and a process for producing photovoltaic cells are also proposed.

A bipolar electrochemistry printer and method are disclosed wherein electrolytic deposition onto a conductive substrate is accomplished by inducing ionic current in an electrolytic cell disposed above the substrate to undergo charge transfer at the conductive substrate, such that a portion of the substrate becomes a bipolar electrode. The ohmic current in the substrate undergoes a second charge transfer back to ionic current and returning to the cathode of the electrolytic cell. In an alternative embodiment the printing is similarly accomplished by electrolytic etching.

An apparatus for electrochemical etching and an apparatus for electroplating are provided, wherein the apparatus for electrochemical etching includes an etching solution spraying head, a support, and a first and a second electrode. The first electrode is disposed inside the etching solution spraying head, and current is provided to an etching solution inside the etching solution spraying head by the first electrode. The support is disposed opposite to the etching solution spraying head. The second electrode is disposed on the support. When a substrate is placed on the second electrode, a first surface of the substrate is in electrical contact with the second electrode, and the etching solution sprayed from the etching solution spraying head can naturally flow through a second surface of the substrate and then flow off from the edges of the support.

A hydrogen evolution assisted electroplating nozzle includes a nozzle tip configured to interface with a portion of a substructure. The nozzle also includes an inner coaxial tube connected to a reservoir containing an electrolyte and an anode, the inner coaxial tube configured to dispense the electrolyte through the nozzle tip onto the portion of the substructure. The nozzle also includes an outer coaxial tube encompassing the inner coaxial tube, the outer coaxial tube configured to extract the electrolyte from the portion of the substructure. The nozzle also includes at least one contact pin configured to make electrical contact with a conductive track on the substrate.

The present invention relates to an electroplating apparatus and an electroplating method, and more specifically, to an electroplating apparatus and an electroplating method, which can plate a target on one side of a substrate while moving an anode horizontally, and consistently maintain the concentration of iron ions in a plating solution through the injection of inert gas when the plating solution is supplied during the plating process, thereby providing excellent plating quality.