Provided is a valve seat insert for an internal combustion engine, which has both an excellent heat dissipation property and excellent wear resistance. The valve seat insert for an internal combustion engine is used while being press-fitted into an aluminum alloy cylinder head, is made of an iron-based sintered alloy, is formed by integrating two layers of a functional member side layer and a supporting member side layer, and has a plating film on at least an outer peripheral side. The plating film is preferably a copper plating film. The plating film is a plating film having a thickness of 1 to 100 m and a hardness of 50 to 300 HV, and the hardness of the plating film is adjusted so as to satisfy a range of 1.05 to 4.5 times hardness of the cylinder head in Vickers hardness HV. Pores contained in the valve seat insert are preferably sealed with a curable resin before plating treatment. Consequently, a valve seat insert for an internal combustion engine which does not go through complicated processes, is not accompanied by a significant decrease in wear resistance compared with the prior art, and has an excellent heat dissipation property is provided. If a roughened surface region is further formed at at least one portion on the outer peripheral surface of the valve seat insert in addition to the plating film, a falling out resistance property is improved. The same effect can be obtained even if the valve seat insert is a single layer of only the functional member side layer.

A method and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided. In some implementations, the method comprises providing a silicon substrate having an aperture containing an exposed silicon contact surface at a bottom of the aperture, depositing a metal seed layer on the exposed silicon contact surface and exposing the substrate to an electroplating process by flowing a current through a backside of the substrate to form a metal layer on the metal seed layer.

A linear shape member is composed of a linear shape electrical insulating body comprising irregularities on a surface, and a plating layer coating the surface of the electrical insulating body. An average irregularities spacing Sm of the irregularities is not more than 20.0 m.

In certain aspects, electrolytic deposition and electroless displacement deposition methods are provided to form bimetallic structures that may be used as a bipolar current collector in a battery or a substrate for forming graphene sheets. In other aspects, bipolar current collectors for lithium-ion based electrochemical cells are provided. The bimetallic current collector may have an aluminum-containing surface and a continuous copper coating. In other aspects, a flexible substrate may be coated with one or more conductive materials, like nickel, copper, graphene, aluminum, alloys, and combinations thereof. The flexible substrate is folded to form a bipolar current collector. New stack assemblies for lithium-ion based batteries incorporating such bipolar current collectors are also provided that can have cells with a tab-free and/or weld-free design.

In certain aspects, electrolytic deposition and electroless displacement deposition methods are provided to form bimetallic structures that may be used as a bipolar current collector in a battery or a substrate for forming graphene sheets. In other aspects, bipolar current collectors for lithium-ion based electrochemical cells are provided. The bimetallic current collector may have an aluminum-containing surface and a continuous copper coating. In other aspects, a flexible substrate may be coated with one or more conductive materials, like nickel, copper, graphene, aluminum, alloys, and combinations thereof. The flexible substrate is folded to form a bipolar current collector. New stack assemblies for lithium-ion based batteries incorporating such bipolar current collectors are also provided that can have cells with a tab-free and/or weld-free design.

Provided are a plated material having excellent abrasion resistance, electrical conductivity, sliding performance, and low friction, in which a plating layer does not undergo embrittlement properly; and a method for producing the plated material. The method includes a first step of at least partially removing a reflow tin plating layer from a metallic base material having the reflow layer on at least a part thereof and a reactive layer provided at the interface between the reflow layer and the base material; a second step of at least partially subjecting a region in which the reflow tin plating layer has been removed to a nickel plating treatment; a third step of at least partially subjecting the nickel plating layer to a silver strike plating treatment; and a fourth step of at least partially subjecting a region of the silver strike plating to a silver plating treatment.

Provided are a plated material having excellent abrasion resistance, electrical conductivity, sliding performance, and low friction, in which a plating layer does not undergo embrittlement properly; and a method for producing the plated material. The method includes a first step of at least partially removing a reflow tin plating layer from a metallic base material having the reflow layer on at least a part thereof and a reactive layer provided at the interface between the reflow layer and the base material; a second step of at least partially subjecting a region in which the reflow tin plating layer has been removed to a nickel plating treatment; a third step of at least partially subjecting the nickel plating layer to a silver strike plating treatment; and a fourth step of at least partially subjecting a region of the silver strike plating to a silver plating treatment.

A metal sheet for separators of polymer electrolyte fuel cells comprises: a substrate made of metal; and a surface-coating layer with which a surface of the substrate is coated, with a strike layer in between, wherein a coating ratio of the strike layer on the substrate is 2% to 70%, the strike layer is distributed in a form of islands, and a maximum diameter of the islands of the strike layer as coating portions is 1.00 m or less and is not greater than a thickness of the surface-coating layer.

Methods and apparatus for producing helix windings used for a transformer are provided. For example, apparatus comprise an electrically conductive mandrel comprising an elongated body, a head comprising an eyelet detail, and a winding structure disposed along the elongated body.

Methods and apparatus for producing helix windings used for a transformer are provided. For example, apparatus comprise an electrically conductive mandrel comprising an elongated body, a head comprising an eyelet detail, and a winding structure disposed along the elongated body.