What is Electrojoining

A common task in engineering - permanently and hermetically joining two or more components - is often accomplished by welding, brazing or soldering.

However, this is challenging when: the articles being joined are made of materials that can not be welded, the presence of solder material in the joint is undesirable, or one of the items is non-metallic.

Adhesives can be used in such cases, but the joint then does not provide electrical or thermal conductivity, and often is not as durable and mechanically strong as a metal joint.

Electrojoining is an electroforming technique, in which two or more items are permanently joined by a tightly adherent layer of electroplated material, bonding the components together. Exceptionally strong mechanically, such joints, when properly executed, are also air- and helium-tight, thermally and electrically conductive.

The added benefits of this joining method are:

• low (<120°F/50ºC) temperature of all operations - no heat affected zone that often compromises metal strength
• a choice of materials that can be used in the joint - NiColoy®, Nickel, Copper, and their combination
• ability to join dissimilar or non-conductive materials that can not be welded, soldered or brazed
• ability to join very thin (.001"/25 micron) components - bellows, electroforms, etc.