Disclosed herein are dendritically porous three-dimensional structures, including hierarchical dendritically porous three-dimensional structures. The structures include metal foams and graphite structures, and are useful in energy storage devices as well as chemical catalysis.

A method for manufacturing a three-dimensional structure by localized electroforming of a material from an electrolytic solution includes emitting a jet of the electrolytic solution towards a target substrate, controlling position of the jet with respect to the target substrate, and controlling potential difference between a control electrode and the target substrate or an ion current intensity through the jet between the control electrode and the target substrate to obtain deposition of material on the target substrate or removal of material from the target substrate. The method further includes injecting a predetermined probing electrical current into an electroforming circuit including the control electrode, the jet, and the target substrate, detecting potential difference across the electroforming circuit, determining present elevation of the three-dimensional structure, comparing the present elevation with a predetermined design elevation and calculating a corresponding elevation difference, and modulating physical parameters of localized electroforming affecting deposition or removal rate.

A method for manufacturing metallic horological components includes the steps of forming a LIGA-UV type method a multi-level photosensitive resin mould and of galvanically depositing a layer of at least one metal using at least two conductive layers to form a block substantially reaching the top surface of the photosensitive resin.

In one embodiment, a method for manufacturing an aperture plate includes depositing a releasable seed layer above a substrate, applying a first patterned photolithography mask above the releasable seed layer, the first patterned photolithography mask having a negative pattern to a desired aperture pattern, electroplating a first material above the exposed portions of the releasable seed layer and defined by the first mask, applying a second photolithography mask above the first material, the second photolithography mask having a negative pattern to a first cavity, electroplating a second material above the exposed portions of the first material and defined by the second mask, removing both masks, and etching the releasable seed layer to release the first material and the second material. The first and second material form an aperture plate for use in aerosolizing a liquid. Other aperture plates and methods of producing aperture plates are described according to other embodiments.

Method for manufacturing an electroformed timepiece component: the same first alloy including a first precious metal is selected to make both functional inserts and an electroformed shell; these inserts are made; an electroforming substrate having a complementary profile to the inner profile of this component is formed in a second sacrificial material; these inserts are inserted into housings made on this substrate, to form an equipped sacrificial substrate, which is provided with the resists necessary to obtain, by means of an electroforming process, a bare electroformed component, with deposition of material on this substrate, acting as a core to form this electroformed shell, and on each accessible surface of each insert to secure the insert to this electroformed shell; then this sacrificial substrate is destroyed and all of these resists are removed.

A method of manufacturing an orthodontic appliance includes plating a first pattern of a material on a substrate to define a layer. Repeating plating of the first material one or more times forms an additional pattern. A layered structure is built up and forms a portion of the orthodontic appliance. A pattern of a second material different from a first material may be plated on the substrate or on a pattern of the first material. The material may be a sacrificial material that may be later removed. The orthodontic appliance may be an archwire or a self-ligating orthodontic bracket having one or more layered structures formed by plating patterns of the material. Plating may include plating patterns of materials so as to form a movable member in place relative to a bracket body.

A high-aspect ratio structure production method and an ultrasonic probe production method of the present invention include: forming, in a principal surface of a substrate, a plurality of pores each extending in a direction intersecting the principal surface; plugging, among the plurality of pores, one or more pores formed in a first region; and forming a recess in a second region by a wet etching process. A high-aspect ratio structure includes a grating having a plurality of convex portions, wherein each of the plurality of convex portions is provided with a plugging member plugging a plurality of pores formed therein in a thickness direction of the structure.

Embodiments are directed to forming reentrant multi-layer micro-scale or millimeter scale three dimensional structures, parts, components, or devices where each layer is formed from a plurality of deposited materials and more specifically where each layer is formed from at least one metal structural material and at least one organic sacrificial material (e.g. polymer) that are co-planarized and a portion of the sacrificial material located on a plurality of layers is removed after formation of the plurality of layers via one or more plasma etching operations or one or more neutral radical etching operations.

An electroformed composite component includes reinforcing particles in a metal matrix. The composite component is formed by a method including passing an electric current between an anode and a cathode in the presence of an electrolyte. The electrolyte includes a metal salt and a plurality of reinforcing particle precursors. The method further includes depositing a composite layer on the cathode, wherein the composite layer includes the metal matrix and the plurality of reinforcing particle precursors dispersed in the metal matrix. An optional heat treatment can be performed subsequently to transform the precursor particles to more stable forms with concomitant improvement in composite material properties.

An electrochemical deposition system—for the electrochemical deposition of a metal-based material (e.g., aluminum or an aluminum alloy)—comprises an electrolyte solution, at least one working electrode, and at least one counter electrode. The electrolyte solution comprises at least one imidazolium-based tetrahalo-metallate compound (e.g., alkyl methylimidazolium tetrachloroaluminate(s)) and at least one metal-containing compound (e.g., AlCl.sub.3, AlBr.sub.3) of a metal of the metal-based material to be electrodeposited on the at least one working electrode. The working electrode is configured to be exposed to the electrolyte solution. The at least one counter electrode is in contact with the electrolyte solution. In some embodiments, the system is configured for additive manufacturing of the metal-based material being electrochemically deposited. Related methods are also disclosed.