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NiCoForm
 
 

High Performance NiColoy® Bellows and Assemblies

   
 


Metal bellows are produced by rolling, welding, hydroforming and electroforming, but only electroformed bellows feature seamless design, isotropic alloy composition and properties, unaffected by the heat of welding or the strains of cold working.

Bellows are electroformed by 
electroplating metal onto a conductive mandrel (model) of the desired configuration. Mandrels are often machined out of Aluminum, which allows them to be chemically dissolved after electroforming, leaving behind a stress-free bellows, as shown in the illustration on the right.

Produced
since the 1950-ies, Nickel bellows have a limited operating range of up to 175 °C (350°F). Such bellows, therefore, can not be reliably brazed or welded.  Additionally, to overcome the porosity of thin (<50 micron/.002") Nickel electrodeposits, a Copper lamina is usually plated halfway through the Nickel wall to assure the bellows' leaktightness.

NiCoForm's goal,
since inception, was an electroformable material free from the limitations of electrodeposited Nickel. The result was NiColoy®, a trademarked family of Nickel-based engineering electrodeposits. Possessing improved mechanical and thermal properties, these alloys can be used over a wider temperature range (cryogenic up to 315 °C/600 ºF), and withstand higher stresses without permanent deformation. NiColoy® bellows can be soldered, welded and brazed. Freedom from stress assures the material's reliable performance in extension, compression, bending and rotation. Non-porous and corrosion resistant, NiColoy® bellows require no Copper lamina to be Helium leakproof.
Today, electroformed NiColoy® bellows successfully replace their electrodeposited Nickel counterparts across the board, and are the only choice where the improved performance and greater consistency of NiColoy® are essential.

  • NiCoForm's advanced mass-electroforming technology produces bellows with otherwise unattainable part-to-part consistency and reliable performance in extension, compression, bending and rotation
  • NiColoy® bellows can be produced with walls as thin as 0.0004” (10 µm), and diameters as low as 0.03” (0.75 mm) - much smaller than possible with alternate methods - making them ideal for precision sensing applications. On the opposite end of the spectrum lie electroformed bellows 10” (250 mm) in diameter and 25” (625 mm) long
  • When specified, Copper, Silver, Gold, Rhodium and other coatings further increase the bellows' corrosion resistance  and improve their contact performance in electronics
  • Leak testing of bellows is performed by helium mass spectrometry up to 10-9 ccHe/sec
  • NiColoy® bellows can be hermetically attached to mating components by welding, brazing, soldering, electrojoining and the use of adhesives

A Partial List of Electroformed Bellows Applications

Accumulators Actuators Compensators Couplings

Bladder
Diaphragm
Piston

Pressure
Temperature

Alignment
Volume

Flexible Shaft
Low Inertia
Torque

Expansion Joints Seals Sensors Miscellaneous

Pressure
Thermal

Axial
Hermetic
Mechanical

High Sensitivity
Pressure
Temperature

Sealed Contacts
Dynamic Pump Housings


Whether you are supporting an existing product or develop a new application, our experts can help you design, optimize, prototype and manufacture your bellows in a timely, efficient and cost-effective fashion.

Please enter your project parameters into the form here, so we can assist with your bellows design.

At NiCoForm, there is no need to choose from a standard line of components - we custom engineer bellows to your specifications

 

 

Bellows electroforming sequence
Bellows Electroforming Steps (X-section)

Metal Bellows
Small Electroformed Bellows

Bellows assembly
Bellows Assembly (Electrojoining)

miniature bellows and cold shields
Miniature Bellows and Cold Shields

 
 
 
  NiCoForm, Inc. 72 Cascade Dr. Rochester, NY 14614
toll free : 877-NICOLOY (642-6569)   |   phone : 585-454-5530   |   fax : 585-454-5167   |      |   sitemap